1. The Lineup

This first batch of ingredients described below makes up what I would call the basic sandwich; items that I have settled on and no longer mess with too much. Pictured above, there are only two items (the fake deli meats) that aren't officially part of the basic sandwich yet.

Bread: Here we have Arnold 12 Grain bread. I'll level with you, 12 grains is a bit excessive. I'm quite satisfied with just 7 grains, but that loaf is not always available at my grocery store. But the Arnolds know their bread and they use each of the grains, whether they be 12 or merely just 7, to its fullest potential.

Spinach: Again, this is not my preferred spinach. Usually I go with the Safeway organic spinach leaves that come in a harder plastic container, but the key is really the baby spinach leaves. Even a bag will do.

Mustard: I've tried a variety of mustards over the years — sweet, spicy, sweet & spicy, yellow, brown — and I think I've settled on this Grey Poupon Harvest Coarse Ground mustard. Damn, it's got some flavor. If I'm in a pinch, Gulden's Spicy Brown mustard can certainly perform mustard duties. But Coarse Ground is really where it's at.

Pickles: I am absolutely in love with these Vlasic Zesty Bread & Butter Chips ("Well, then why don't you marry them?!" you ask. Maybe someday the world will understand a man's love for his pickles. But until that day arrives, us pickle lovers will simply just have to use them as sandwich condiments. Tasty, tasty sandwich condiments). Normally, bread & butter chips are too sweet for me, but the "zesty" = spice in this case, which makes the pickles fantastic.

Cheese: Extra sharp cheddar. Mmm. When dealing with cheddar cheeses, please keep anything less than "sharp" far away from my food. I do like to experiment with other cheeses too (I'm afraid of commitment), but sharp cheddar is a consistently tasty option.

Mayo: Surprisingly, the generic mayo is the best I've had on my sandwiches and compliments the mustard quite well. Usually, I'm a Miracle Whip guy (gotta love that tangy zip). But here, a milder mayo is really what you need. There's already a lot of flavors going on and the mayonnaise just needs to kind of hang out in the background, providing a steady beat while the mustard and cheese do their thing for the taste buds.

This is all assuming you even enjoy mayo. There is quite a large contingent that won't even touch the stuff. I'll be honest, I love it, but I'm not going to cry if you leave it out of this sandwich.

Plate: The plate was a very important addition to my lunches. I felt very bad using a different paper plate every day and the carbon offsets were getting pricey. Now I can enjoy my sandwiches guilt free. I bought this plate at Home Rule in DC. See the cape? He's a sandwich hero, keeping my sandwiches safe from any thieving coworkers.

The fake deli meats are new additions. But based on initial testing, I think they are going to become pretty regular ingredients.

Fake Meat: Until recently I'd been eating smoked turkey sandwiches topped with various items. I decided to cut back on my meat consumption so I crafted the above sandwich. It was good. But it got old after awhile. Then I learned about these fake deli meats. In this photo are peppered Tofurky and Yves deli ham. They don't taste like meat, but definitely add substance and flavor to give my sandwich the kick it was really missing. I highly recommend both.