St. Peter's Deli

If Heaven has a deli,
I'm quite sure this is the number one selling sandwich.

"St. Peter........I'll have one BLT, a Diet Coke, and a fluffy cloud please....

oh, and I would like a room on the Tudor/Windsor wing so I can chum around with Henry VIII and Princess Diana".

Until that day when I actually GET to Heaven,
(where I will meet said British royalty, every animal that I have ever loved, and Dian Fossey so I can ask her who really murdered her),
I will just have to continue to make these little gems of a sandwich myself.

STEP ONE:
THE BACON

I am oober picky about cooking my bacon.
I like it crunchy and flat.
To do this takes patience......lots of patience.

For me to make BLT's for the four of us requires at least a 45 minute commitment of standing in one spot in front of the skillet to fry 2 lbs. of bacon.

The lengths I won't go to for this family.
(But it is soooooooooooooo worth it:-)
"Cook it pretty low and flip it often"

STEP TWO:
THE TOAST

I toast mine and then stand it up on a plate like this to let it cool.
There is NOTHING yuckier than putting mayo on hot toast.

STEP THREE:
THE CONDIMENTS

Okay, THIS is where my mother will think I'm straying from my "roots",
but it just HAS to be REAL MAYO.

And it also has to be Hellmans.
(Maybe at St. Peter's Heaven Deli, it's called "Heaven"mans???)

Garrett likes his with mustard and while I do kinda consider that a BLT sin, it's a relatively minor one so I'll let it slide........

but I could NEVER let this slide:

EXHIBIT A:
BLT SIN CONDIMENT

People that put Miracle Whip on a BLT should be spanked,
put in time out,
and banned from BLT's in the afterlife.

I thought this was interesting:
On my newest jar of Hellman's it says:
"New Easy Open Cap".

I was unaware that opening a cap on a mayo jar had become so difficult?

STEP FOUR:
THE VEGGIES

ICEBERG Lettuce.
NOT that fancy lacey leafy stuff.
If someone is using that, make them go sit with the Miracle Whip people in the naughty corner.
Freshest Tomatoes you can find:
These tomatoes are fairly ripe store bought ones,
but if you can get your hands on some of THESE:

then consider yourself truly blessed by the BLT Culinary Fairy.

St. Peter's Heaven Deli ONLY uses fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes, I'm sure.

In the summer months, when I find myself blessed by the culinary fairy
(otherwise known in my house as Sally, my sweet tomato growin' neighbor)
and have some homegrown tomatoes, there are inappropriate ooohs and ahhhhs coming from the table once I take that first bite.......

Homegrown tomatoes can take the sounds of a BLT from
G-Rated to PG-13
in one bite flat.

STEP FIVE:
ASSEMBLY

Pay attention here!
There is an order that MUST be obeyed.
Bacon on one side...............
Lettuce on the other..........
Tomatoes in the middle.

Yes, the tomatoes MUST go in BETWEEN the bacon and the lettuce.
Otherwise...the bread can get soggy.



Here is one of my favorite "assemblers" assembling his masterpiece.

STEP SIX:
WELCOME TO NIRVANA
CAN I GET AN AMEN????
Go make one...........you know you want to.