The Wasawich

Inspired by Oprah, this is a reinvention of my longtime love/nemesis: The Benny Melt.

Benny's Bagels, once a yearly winner of the "Best Place to Write a Novel" award from The Georgia Straight and where I once sat to read The Mosquito Coast in its entirety, once had the best melt sandwich ever, the Benny Melt. Then they got all chintzy with their toppings and now it's barely a figment of the monstrosity of yum it once was. Fuckin' bean-counters. Save a half-slice of cheese here and a shaving of ham there and next thing you know you're down to fuckin' tea time with the Queen and those piddly-ass little crustless finger sandwich jokes-of-a-food-group thingies.

But with The Best Ever Benny Melt came a zillion and four calories with 112% of them coming from fat.

And now, after a sandwich suggestion from Oprah, I have recreated the Benny Melt by way of the Whole Wheat Wasa flatbread crisp. And I just had it. And I'm in heaven. Heaven.

So, without ado, here's how it all shakes down. It has deviations in its future, I'm proud to say.

The Melty Wasawich by Steff!

2 Wasa crackers of your choosing (I went whole wheat)
1/2 cup shredded homecooked roasted chicken
one Roma (plum) tomato, sliced thinly
mayonnaise (Hellman's 1/2 fat) or cream cheese*
mustard (Russian sweet tipsy vodka-infused, or Cuarzon Tequila-infused... doh!)
cheese (I used expensive caramelized onion-studded extra aged cheddar from my fancy-ass cheese brokers and thought of going with Provolone, but I think the extra kick of a strong cheese makes it really go big)

Smear Wasas with mayo or cream cheese. Then spread mustard on. Put 1/4 cup roasted chicken on each. Layer with thin-sliced tomatoes. Salt & pepper to taste. Put sliced / shredded cheese on top. Broil in a hot toaster oven until bubbly & golden.

Next time I take it up a notch and make sundried-tomato-basil-garlic creamcheese to use on these sandwiches. I have a new favourite quick meal, dudes! Also in the plans: adding super-thin slices of green and yellow pepper and red onion.