The New York Times recently had an article on grilled cheese sandwiches, and I started wondering how I can make better sandwiches here in college. Like most colleges, mine has a sandwich bar. Though their selection is fairly standard (chicken/ham/roast beef etc, yellow mustard, honey mustard, mayo etc.), we can spice it up with a little ingenuity. Everything here is available at my college’s sandwich bar with the exception of bacon, which you can get at the hamburger station. Parts in [brackets] are optional but recommended.

Bacon, Turkey, and Tomato with Peanut-Raisin Cream Cheese
(Adapted from The Sophisticated Sandwich by Janet Hazen; most of the recipes in the book aren’t feasible in college without some dedicated preparation)
2 slices bread [French bread if you can get it]
3 pieces bacon, fried
enough cream cheese to cover the bread (available at the salad bar)
1 Tbsp [crushed] peanuts (available at the salad bar)
1 Tbsp raisins (available at the salad bar)

Combine the cream cheese, peanuts, and raisins in a bowl.
Spread the cream cheese on the bread and top with bacon.
Enjoy!

Tuna Melt
tuna salad
tomato slices
3 or 4 slices cheddar cheese

Spread the bread with tuna, top with tomato slices and cheddar cheese and grill in a sandwich press until the cheese is melted.

Cæsar Chicken Veggie Wrap
lettuce
cucumber slices
tomato slices (or cherry tomatoes)
cubed, cooked chicken breast
cæsar dressing
a wrap (the tortilla things)

Arrange the vegetables and chicken in the wrap and drizzle with cæsar dressing. Roll up and enjoy.

Note: The sandwich at the top is a chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread with pesto and gouda cheese. It’s definitely doable at college, if you have a food processor for the pesto, but for the record I made that one at home.