Swiss Club Sandwich

A club sandwich built on rye rather than white, with Swiss cheese and slaw standing in for the usual turkey and tomato. It is assembled, not cooked, so everything depends on the components being ready at the same moment.

• The hinge: assemble hot, eat immediatelyThe instruction to "serve as soon as made" is the whole point. The recipe calls for "fresh hot toast" and broiled bacon while the slaw stays cold and crisp. Left standing, the dressing soaks into the toast.
• QuantitiesNo amounts are given. As a working guess, figure per sandwich: two slices rye, two thin slices Swiss, two to three rashers bacon, two tablespoons drained slaw, two lettuce leaves.
• "Broiled bacon"Cook it under the broiler on a rack so the fat drains, or in a dry skillet, until firm but not brittle. Blot it well: bacon fat plus mayonnaise-dressed slaw is what turns the underside of the toast to paste.
• Piquant cold slaw"Piquant" indicates a sharp rather than a sweet dressing. Whatever slaw you use, drain it hard in a sieve and press out the liquid before it goes near the bread.
• Swiss cheeseProbably a firm Emmental-type cheese, sliced thin. It will not really melt against warm toast, so slice it as thinly as you can or lay it on the bacon straight from the broiler.
• The lettuce wrapperThe lettuce leaves are structural, not decorative. Whole crisp leaves of iceberg or romaine form a barrier between the wet filling and the toast; use them as the recipe directs rather than shredding them.
• Butter the toast while hotThe recipe says to butter "fresh hot toast." Butter and the lettuce leaves both help keep the wet filling off the bread.
• ServingCut on the diagonal and pin with picks if it is tall. One sandwich per person as a lunch dish.