Episode: Saved by the Shell
Fried Pickle, Anchovy, and Peanut Butter Sandwich

There are times when I’m just minding my own business and all of a sudden My Life as a Teenage Robot’s theme song will pop into my head. This can happen even when it’s been months since I last watched the show. All it takes is for me to start humming a couple of bars and my brain is fried. The song will stay there until I watch an episode. And then I have to watch a second. And a third and a fourth and soon I’ve watched the entire series. How can I resist a show about a superhero robot who’d rather live a normal teenage life than protect the Earth? Just about every day, there’s a different mutant or robot or alien messing around in Tremorton, but XJ-9, or Jenny, is more concerned with her appearance, popularity, and dating. It’s tough enough just being a human teenager, so Jenny’s attempts to fit in only lead to more craziness. Throw her friends into the mix and the craziness is doubled.

Just look at Sheldon. He builds and pilots the Silver Shell just to win Jenny over. The poor guy’s plans all fail, but you can’t blame him for trying. Sheldon tries to tell Jenny that he’s her secret admirer and she ends up thinking that the Sliver Shell set her up with Don Prima. She doesn’t think anything bad of Don yet, but I use lots of unflattering adjectives to describe characters like him and the Crust Cousins. One good thing that does come out of Don and Jenny’s date at Mezmer’s is the appearance of Sheldon’s (And apparently Don’s) favorite sandwich: Fried Pickle, Anchovy, and Peanut Butter. Am I sure it’s really a good thing? No. The sandwich sounds as weird as discovering your neighbor’s a robot, but I really like Jenny, so I might like this sandwich too.

The sandwich has 2 two pickle chips on it without a coating. That doesn’t sound all that tasty to me so, I made up a little batter for them. I’m not frying up a whole lot of pickles, but ½ cup makes me feel better than two. You’re free to fry up even more if you feel like it.

Recipe makes 1 sandwich.

Ingredients

You can add any amount of stuff to your sandwich, but here’s kind of a guideline:

3 slices Bread-Looks like a light colored wheat to me, but you can use white if you prefer

Peanut Butter

2-3 cans or jars of anchovies/anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained

1 slice Swiss Cheese

2-3 slices Cheddar or American Cheese

2 leaves Lettuce

2 strips Bacon

1 Green Olive

 

Fried Pickles

½ cup dill pickle chips

3 tablespoons flour

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons water

Vegetable Oil or Peanut Oil for Frying

 

Directions

Bacon:

Place room temperature bacon in a cold pan and set heat to low. When bacon begins to curl, flip it to the other side. This can take about 7 minutes. Continue to cook, flipping it over every few minutes, until it’s browned and almost at your desired crispiness. The bacon will continue to cook after it’s removed from the pan. Drain excess grease by setting the bacon on a plate covered with paper towels.

Fried Pickles:

Spread out pickles and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat oil in a large pot/deep skillet or in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and water until smooth. Add the pickles to the batter and coat. Remove the pickles using tongs or a slotted spoon, allowing the excess batter to drip off. Place the pickles in the oil one at a time and fry until golden, 1-2 minutes. Drain the pickles on paper towels.

Putting It All Together:

Place down a slice of bread. There is a mysterious brown space here, so you can put whatever you see fit or skip this layer. I placed some anchovies and a big blob of peanut butter here. Add slices of Cheddar or American cheese and top with lettuce, anchovies, and pickle slices. Top with a slice of bread. Add more anchovies, Swiss cheese, bacon, and more lettuce. Spread a heaping amount of peanut butter on a slice of bread and close the sandwich by placing it on top of the lettuce. Spear a green olive with a toothpick and top the sandwich with it. Here’s your order, kids!

Sheldon’s got some strange tastes. (He is in love with a robot after all.) But notice how I typed “strange” and not “bad.” Yep, the sandwich isn’t as scary as it looks. It’s no smooth operator, but it actually kind of works! Plus, it’s fun to make and eat. Jenny may have her work cut out for her looking for someone genuine and sweet, (Until she finally notices Sheldon!) but if she ever needs a sandwich, there’s one right here. Hey, Jenny’s wanted “skin”, the sense of touch, and the ability to dream. It can’t be too long until she’ll want to eat food.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!