Classic Egg Salad Sandwiches

Week after Jess's birthday, and life reconstitutes itself around normal things: the Pilsen apartment move in four weeks, classroom supply shopping, a call from the school about the onboarding schedule for August. Mrs. Dominguez's assistant called to schedule a building walk-through in late June — I will see my classroom for the first time. I said yes to the first available date, which is June 18th. I have circled it on the calendar.

Spring cleaning of my room at Patty's this week — I will be moving in May and I want to leave the room the same way I found it. Sorting through things: the NIU notebooks, the box of notes from Dr. Perkins that I kept (not the content, just the date cards — proof that I went, that I did the work). A binder from Jess's mother with printed photos she had sent after the funeral. I sat on the floor for an hour holding it. Then I put it in the box I am taking with me. It is coming to Pilsen.

Made egg salad sandwiches this week — very simple, the way Patty makes them. Six hard-boiled eggs, mayo, yellow mustard, salt, pepper, celery for crunch. Ate them on white bread with a leaf of iceberg lettuce. Egg salad is the food of childhood and church basements and comfort, the food that says someone made something easy because easy is what was needed. Total cost under two dollars for four sandwiches.

I will miss cooking in Patty's kitchen when I move. The Pilsen kitchen has good counter space but it is unfamiliar. I will have to learn it — where the light is in the morning, how the oven runs, what is in the drawer to the right of the stove. Every kitchen is a new language. I have been learning new languages for two years now. I know how to do this. I will bring the cast iron and the notebook and the lemon cake recipe and it will eventually feel like mine.

With so much shifting right now — the move, the classroom, the sorting through boxes of things I’ve carried from one life into the next — this egg salad is exactly what I needed to make. Nothing complicated, nothing that asks too much. Patty’s version, the one I’ve been eating at her kitchen counter for two years, and the one I want to write down before I learn a new kitchen’s language. Here’s how I make it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 22 minutes | Servings: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

6 large eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 slices white bread
4 leaves iceberg lettuce

Instructions

Boil the eggs. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with cold water by one inch. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, then remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes.
Cool and peel. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 5 minutes. Peel under cool running water and pat dry.
Chop and mix. Roughly chop the eggs and place in a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise, yellow mustard, diced celery, salt, and pepper. Stir with a fork, mashing some of the yolks to make it creamy while leaving some larger pieces for texture.
Taste and adjust. Check seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or mustard to your preference.
Assemble sandwiches. Divide egg salad evenly among four slices of white bread. Top each with a leaf of iceberg lettuce and a second slice of bread. Slice in half and serve.

Nutrition (per serving)

Classic Egg Salad Sandwiches — The Food That Says Easy Is What Was Needed