I'm a huge fan of the open-face sandwich. What? The open-face sandwich is something that I'm going to credit my father with inventing, although I highly doubt that he was the first one to do it. It consists of very humble ingredients: bread, butter, cheese, onion, tomato and black pepper. You put those ingredients on some crusty bread, stick in the oven until the cheese gets bubbly, and you're done. My oven is never empty, and not because I'm always baking. I use my oven to store large cooking vessels that I can't keep in my lower cabinets. This is very inconvenient for making the open-face, which I crave almost daily.
Lately however, I have managed to mitigate this problem - all thanks to a little trick that my uncle mentioned to my mother, and which in turn was mentioned to me. I can't believe that I never thought of it before, but its very simplicity is what makes this idea so awesome. Turn the toaster on its side. Yes! That's all there is to it. If you have a toaster with wider slots then all the more awesome for you because you can add generous toppings to your bread. Here's what I do:
I begin by spreading a light coat of Becel on my favourite bread (rye with caraway seeds.) You can use regular butter, or garlic butter as well. Then I add some cheese - cheddar, havarti, mozzarella, whatever I'm in the mood for. Next come the onion and tomato which I like to slice in thin rounds, and a dash of black pepper. Now for the fun part - put the loaded up slices into the toaster (which is on its side) and get to toasting on your favourite setting. You'll have to help the bread into the toaster using a knife or other utensil. When your open-face comes out it will be not only beautiful but deliciously crispy. Just a quick note, keep a plate in front of the toaster because when the bread flies out, something will have to catch it.
