The Dagwood sandwich

My finished sandwich
It tasked a lot better than it looked
I

You have to be of a certain age to remember the comic strip, Blondie, and one of its main characters, Dagwood Bumstead. Dagwood and family made their debut in the 1930s and though the comic strip is long gone, Dagwood and his wife, Blondie, have made a variety of cameo appearances, well into the twenty-first century.

It seems Dagwood was the son and heir of a wealthy family but was disowned when he married Blondie, a flapper whose maiden name was Bookadoop. When their first child, Alexander, was born he was called Baby Dumpling. Daughter Cookie followed, named by popular choice of Blondie fans. You get the flavor of it now, don’t you, just in case you, like even me, weren’t around in the thirties and forties. Actually I do have vague memories of the strip.

Dagwood is a family man, devoted to his wife and children, but beyond that he loves a good sandwich. His idea of a sandwich is a concoction of many layers comprised of several meats (cold cuts), cheeses, and condiments. It’s all held in place (a big problem with these tall sandwiches, as you can see from the picture above) by a toothpick holding an olive.

My family loves sandwiches. We make our own version of those served at Great Outdoors, and poor boys also appear on our table. So when I ran across a recipe for a Dagwood, I thought it was a natural. I am truly sorry that I cannot remember where I saw this, so I can’t give credit appropriately. I suspect it was the Not the New York Times Cooking Community page.

Jordan was out of town, but I served it to Christian and Jacob the other night, and it was a hit. However, it was a challenge to make, and I learned along the way. Next time I’ll make a few changes. Here’s what I did:

Dagwood sandwich

Start with a round loaf of bread, sliced horizontally. That in itself is a challenge, but I found a round loaf of sourdough at Central Market, and the man in the bakery was more than willing to slice it. However, I should have specified I wanted to end up with five slices. As it was, I had too many and couldn’t fit the rounded top onto the sandwich. That may have been a blessing, because sometimes the crust on these breads is hard to cut through. Using the whole loaf would have made a more attractive sandwich, however, and my mom always told me food is half eaten with the eye.

Building the sandwich

First layer: sliced beef with a creamy horseradish sauce

Second layer: bacon, provolone, and Dijon mustard

Third layer: honey ham, sliced red onions, pickle slices, and mayo

Fourth layer: cheddar and provolone with honey mustard sauce

Put the top or cap on and coat the sandwich with garlic butter.

Bake at 400^o for 15 minutes.

Here’s another change I’d make: I’d wrap the sandwich in foil to bake. I think that would help it hold its shape.

I built the sandwich on a plate and then was faced with the challenge of transferring to a rimmed baking sheet. (Christian actually did it for me.) Next time—and I definitely will do it again—I’ll build it on a large piece of heavy-duty foil.

Cut in wedges. An 8” round loaf will serve six people.