Stinger Sandwiches

An assembly rather than a cooked dish, but a few of the condiments named have drifted since this was written.

• Plain pickled horseradishThis means grated horseradish root packed in vinegar, sold today as "prepared horseradish" — not the creamed or mayonnaise-based sauce. Buy it refrigerated; the shelf-stable jars have usually lost most of their heat, and heat is the entire point here.
• Chili sauce is not hot sauceIn mid-century American usage chili sauce means the thick, sweet-sour tomato relish with onion and pepper, close kin to catsup and still sold under that name. Substituting a vinegar-and-cayenne hot sauce will soak the bread and give a very different sandwich.
• CatsupDepending on the brand, bottled catsup can taste sweeter than the sharper condiment the author may have had in mind. If the sandwich tastes flat, a few drops of cider vinegar in the catsup sharpens it.
• "Juicy" black or rye breadRead this as a moist, close-crumbed pumpernickel or a deli rye with some spring, not a dry sandwich loaf. Slice it thick enough to stand up to a heavy spread.
• Butter earns its placeThe butter and the lettuce leaf are described as optional, but butter on the cut face of the bread keeps a wet condiment from soaking through. Spread it to the edges if the sandwich is going to sit in a basket.
• Half-and-half combinationsThe recipe allows any two of the four spreads, half and half. Pairing a sweeter spread with a sharper one (catsup with horseradish, chili sauce with mustard) gives more contrast than two sharp spreads together, though the text expresses no preference.
• YieldNo quantities are given because none are needed: figure a rounded tablespoon of spread per slice, two slices per sandwich, and one sandwich per person as a snack.