Santa Fe Railroad’s Special Lunch Sandwich

Erma, your secret is safe with me. I’ve known for years that you were one of the cheapest women in the world. Well, I didn’t know that when I first met you. Back then, I thought you were elegant and brainless.

You might not have known back then much about cooking, but you had an inborn sense pinching pennies. It is just like you to have an assortment of rice and potato recipes that are just different enough that the average person thinks that Erma is fixing gourmet meals just for them.

It is just like you to gussy up leftover mashed potatoes and call them Puff Potatoes from the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad.

You know, the two of us could probably run a railroad dining car and make a profit. They say the railroads ran their diners as profit losers to attract travelers, and their labor costs were pretty high. But with today’s modern appliances and food storage abilities, a smart cook could put out a fancy meal on a tight budget.

It would just take a lot of planning. Rely on unfamiliar recipes, stress the presentation at the table, and use only the freshest produce. In an America, where many people live on fast food from Mickey D’s, and on those fully prepared entrees in the frozen food section, a dish like Puff Potatoes from the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad would be a welcomed treat. None of the diners would have a clue as to how cheap, easy, and fast it really is.

The Santa Fe Railroad’s Toasted Hot Mexican Sandwich is a perfect example of how a smart chef could create a unique luncheon sandwich out of common cubboard ingredients, and for very little money. There is what? 50 cents a serving involved? Naturally, the smart cook and railroad chef, used up the remains of the roast from the night before.

Again, like so many railroad recipes, this one could be made up during the down time of the day and held in the fridge. When there was an order, all you had to do was slap the mixture on a thick slice of bread, run it under the broiler, throw on a few chips and a dill pickle, and lunch is served.

Santa Fe Railroad’s Toasted Hot Mexican Sandwich:

1 pound cooked roast beef, diced fine (Use up that left over roast from the day , or days before)
1 hard boiled egg
1 green chili, parboiled (today, we would used canned)
½ cup pimentos1 celery stalk
¼ cup Swiss cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup chili sauce
8 drops Tabasco sauce
6 thick slices of a bread like French or Italian

In a food processor, fine chop the eggs, chilies, pimentos, celery and Swiss cheese. Mix the roast beef, eggs, chilies, pimentos, celery and Swiss cheese. Add the remainder and mix thoroughly.

Place the slices of bread on a baking sheet. Top each with a generously serving of the beef mixture. Broil until topping is lightly browned and bubbly.

6 servings.