ABC

Today, I explore a new topic in my blog: food. This is going to start out as a story and turn into a recipe, so get ready.

A few months ago, one Friday night in the miserable Raleigh winter, my precious boyfriend Ben took me out to a new (to me) place to eat. He had heard good things about the Rockford, this restaurant, but we were shocked to find at least twenty people packed into a tiny bar area waiting for tables. After about half an hour, we were seated at a table in the middle of the main room, and we started looking at the menu. Ben was a little less than thrilled to find that the entrees consisted of sandwiches, and only sandwiches. However, we ordered our sandwiches – turkey bacon avocado for Ben and ABC for me – with sides of mashed potatoes, and we waited. I should note that the service at the Rockford was neither quick nor friendly, but the food made up for it. I should also explain that the ABC stands for apples, bacon, and cheddar cheese, which comes on French toast. I got my ABC sandwich and really wasn’t sure how to approach it. It was a mess to hold and difficult to eat with fork and knife. The top of the sandwich was dusted with powdered sugar, and if you’ve seen me in the winter, you know – I was dressed in all black. These issues did not overshadow the fact that this sandwich was wonderful. In the middle of eating, I said to Ben, “I am going to have cravings for this sandwich.” That’s kind of strange to say the first time ever eating something, but I sure did have cravings for it. The mashed potatoes were delicious as well, and Ben also loved his sandwich.

After that first time, we went back to the Rockford for date nights in Raleigh. We even celebrated my birthday at the Rockford with my great friends Lindsay and Tom. Our last time eating there, we both decided we were finally going to try something different. It had been impossible to deviate from what we always ordered because it was SO GOOD. However, we asked our waiter for his opinion; he did offer input, which was more than I’d expect. Ben ordered some kind of chicken sandwich, and I got the focaccia sandwich. I don’t think Ben liked his very much; mine was good, but nothing compared to the ABC.

Last week, my mom delivered the bad news to me, that the Rockford closed after 15 years. I told Ben that we can’t go out anymore. Our favorite place to go together closed! Ben is especially disappointed that our last time eating there, we didn’t get our normal/favorite things. So, when Ben came to visit me yesterday, he suggested that we make our own ABCs!

Here is how I went about making our dinner, with pictures…

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. lay out strips of bacon on broiler pan.

3. bake bacon in oven for about 20 minutes, more if you like it more done.

4. mix up 3 eggs and a splash of milk.

5. dip bread and cook on stovetop over medium heat. note: you could cook it in the bacon grease from the pan, but I used butter.

6. make Ben slice Granny Smith apple very thin (I try to avoid knives).

7. assemble the sandwiches: French toast slice, cheddar cheese, bacon, apple slices, French toast slice.

8. put sandwich back in French toast pan to melt cheese and keep warm; flip. note: not as necessary if you’re working with a griddle instead of my little pan.

9. dust with powdered sugar and serve.

You may also want syrup to drizzle on or dip in. The Rockford put some kind of honey sesame dressing on their ABC that I have no clue how to replicate. Ben modified his ABC by substituting turkey bacon and adding turkey. Our sandwiches turned out amazingly delightful. I’m so glad I could make this restaurant favorite at home!

below: the setup/process

Ben's modified ABC

my finished product: ABC at home!

the layers