Clifton Club Sandwich. The classic Club Sandwich is a throwback to my younger days. My late maternal grandfather was quite the golf fanatic. He used to play golf at a number of golf courses in Pennsylvania. Even in his 70s and 80s, my grandfather regularly won the Seniors Classic golf tournaments. He even played a few rounds with Arnold Palmer over the years.
One of the best parts of “going golfing” with Grandpap was getting to order a club sandwich at the golf course restaurant afterwards. In fact, the very first time I tried a club sandwich was at a golf course! Even my husband ate his first club sandwich at a golf course.
The Club Sandwich is rumored to have been created in the late 1800s. The classic multi-layer sandwich was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s and remains on many restaurant menus today. Three slices of bread are used in each sandwich. Ham or turkey, crispy bacon, ripe tomato, fresh lettuce, and mayonnaise are layered on toasted bread. The club sandwiches are generally cut into four triangles making them popular with kids. Fancy versions of the Club Sandwich include the Lobster Club Sandwich, the Oyster Club Sandwich and the Smoked Salmon Club Sandwich.
I named my club sandwich the “Clifton Club Sandwich” since it reminds me of a fun casual restaurant called The Main Street Pub in Clifton, VA. The Town of Clifton is a small town with lots of history. The Town of Clifton boasts several award winning restaurants along with cute locally-owned shops and its own small-town Post Office. The Main Street Pub’s “Pub Club” sandwich boasts ham, turkey, crisp bacon, Swiss and cheddar cheese layered between 3 slices of toasted sourdough bread with lettuce, tomato and mayo.
My Clifton Club Sandwich layers ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and Swiss cheese on toasted whole grain bread with a slather of mayonnaise. Sometimes, I will add a few crispy bacon strips for my husband. Mashed avocado is a good substitute for mayonnaise if you’re a huge avocado fan or you don’t eat mayo. Local 8-grain bread from Capital Baking Company or Dave’s Killer Bread are my favorite sandwich bread choices these days.
My Clifton Club Sandwich recipe makes one sandwich. You can double, triple, or quadruple the recipe to make more sandwiches. Start out by toasting three slices of bread.
Spread the bottom slice of toast with some mayonnaise. I like to use Duke’s mayonnaise on this sandwich.
Layer some lettuce leaves on top of the mayonnaise.
Add some slices of turkey and Swiss cheese. Spread some mayo on another slice of toast as the middle layer.
Place the middle slice of toast onto the Swiss cheese, mayo side up. Layer some ham and tomato slices on the mayonnaise.
Spread some mayonnaise on the third slice of toast and place it mayo-side-down on the tomato slices. Now, the Clifton Club Sandwich is assembled and ready to slice and plate.
Slice into quarters, secure with toothpicks and serve!
You can offer with a side of potato salad, a handful of potato chips, or even some creamy coleslaw.
Or serve along with a bowl of my favorite Rich Roasted Vegetable Soup.
Enjoy!
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From the kitchen of A Food Lover’s Delight….
Clifton Club Sandwich
Ingredients:
3 slices whole grain bread
2 T mayonnaise
2 lettuce leaves
3 slices roast turkey breast
2 slices Swiss cheese
3 slices Virginia baked ham
4 slices ripe tomato
pinch of salt
4 toothpicks
Method:
1. If the bread slices fit into your toaster, toast the bread. If the bread slices are too big, then you can broil them in your oven. Turn on your the broiler and toast both sides of each slice of bread in the oven.
2. When the bread is toasted, spread mayonnaise on the bottom slice.
3. On top of the mayo, layer the lettuce and then the turkey and then the Swiss cheese.
4. Spread mayo on another slice of toast and place it, mayo-side-up on top of the Swiss cheese.
5. Layer the ham and then tomato slices on the middle slice of toast. Sprinkle the pinch of salt on the tomato slices.
6. Spread the last piece of toast with mayonnaise.
7. Place the toast mayo-side-down on the tomato slices.
8. Cut the sandwich into 4 triangles using toothpicks to anchor them so they don’t fall apart.
9. Move to a serving plate, and serve!
Makes one Clifton Club Sandwich. Serve the sandwich triangles on their sides to show off the layers. Offer with a bowl of soup or a side salad or some potato chips.
Variations: Add or substitute your favorite meats such as sliced roast beef or chicken or crispy bacon. Use cheddar or Havarti slices instead of Swiss. Add some mashed avocado instead of mayonnaise. Make it fancy by adding cooked lobster or shrimp. Try one of my flavored mayonnaises such as garlic mayonnaise, pesto mayonnaise or my fancy truffled mayonnaise instead of regular mayonnaise.
Show your love of club sandwiches with this t-shirt from Amazon:
Order some fancy toothpicks from Amazon.com:
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