Growing up in New Mexico we ate all the usual sandwiches, ham and cheese, turkey on rye, peanut butter and jelly. Then you had my dad who would eat liverwurst and peanut butter.....with onions.....yuck!!! However, we do have a few sandwiches, that are particular to our area, not to say that they don't eat these sandwiches in other places, but they are certainly a staple of our culture here.

First up is the fried Spam sandwich! Most of the time this sandwich is made with white bread, fried Spam and a bit of mayo. For those of you unfamiliar with Spam it is a canned meat (pork, although there are other varieties) pressed into a rectangular can. It is an inexpensive protein and pretty good especially when fried.

It is perfect to take on camping and hunting trips. It is a quick easy meal; the meat comes out of the can in a block and you just slice pieces off and fry it until golden brown. We also have been known to eat fried spam on toasted bread with an over easy egg and salsa for breakfast.

Then we have "tortilla" sandwiches. Most households in New Mexico always have flour tortillas on hand, therefore any sandwich that would normally be made with traditional breads we use a tortilla. You just put all your regular sandwich fixin's in between two tortillas and chow down. Of course, you also have the famous tortilla burger, it is soooooo good!

This brings us to the main staple of a New Mexican's sandwich ingredients and that is roasted green chile, it is eaten on just about all sandwiches, well in reality we eat green chile with just about everything.

Right now, it is green chile season and everyone is stocking up on their green chile for the year. The chile is sold in bushels and roasted in specially designed roasters, we then put it in a large garbage bag for an hour or so to let the skins pull away from the meat of the chile, then seed and peal the chiles and freeze them for the year.

So, what is the ultimate New Mexico sandwich? Well it has to be fried bologna with green chile on Roman Meal bread, with Miracle Whip. When you are finished peeling your fresh green chile, there is no better way to enjoy the fruits of your labor than with a fried bologna sandwich. The combinations of the flavors are just heavenly. This sandwich is etched into the memories of so many New Mexicans.

To make the ultimate fried bologna sandwich, first you need thick cut bologna fried until golden brown.

Roman Meal bread is a particular brand of wheat bread, which is very popular here in the state.

Miracle Whip is like mayo but a little sweeter. (A side note about Miracle Whip, may years ago when my Aunt was going through some family documents she found a hand-written recipe for "Miracle Whip" and a receipt where one of my great-great aunts sold the recipe to Kraft for $1000 and no royalties. Of course, Kraft won't acknowledge they bought the recipe from my family, LOL.)

And lastly the roasted green chilie!!!!!

Anyway this is the sandwich of my childhood, this is the sandwich of our land, the one that so many New Mexicans love, it is simple, nostalgic and reflects our obsession with the almighty green chile!!