Amy Sedaris poses with the “Hamy Sedarwich” Danielle St. Laurent
Hollywood’s most well-known quirky homemaker on her strongest-held sandwich opinions
In addition to her work as an actress, author, and comedian, Amy Sedaris is arguably Hollywood’s most well-known homemaker. Thanks to her kooky, cult-favorite TV show At Home With Amy Sedaris, which aired for three seasons on truTV, audiences have long seen Sedaris make wacky recipes and sew goofy garments. But she’s also quite the sandwich enthusiast, as evidenced by her recent collaboration with deli meats purveyor Hillshire Farms, in which Sedaris created sandwiches inspired by herself, and some of her most famous friends.
Eater sat down with Sedaris to talk about all things sandwiches, from how to make the perfect sandwich to the strong (and wrong) opinions of mayonnaise haters, along with the hypothetical sandwich preferences of Grogu, her tiny fuzzy co-star in The Mandalorian.
What are the important things to know about a person if you’re going to make them a sandwich?
You have to know what type of bread to use; that’s a tough one because a lot of people don’t eat bread anymore. And then there’s the mayonnaise, some people like pesto mayonnaise, some people want an olive-oil-based mayo. It’s always very interesting to me when someone wants a mustard sandwich, because I gotta go buy mustard. It’s not something I usually have in my refrigerator. If I’m making a sandwich for a kid, I like to make it fun: like using a cookie cutter on the cheese. You’ve got a lot to take into consideration when you’re making somebody a sandwich — are they eating it for fuel? Are they traveling? How is it going to keep?
Are there certain personality traits that you associate with what a person likes on their sandwich? What makes someone a mustard person or a mayo person?
There’s a certain kind of person that’s a mustard person. I like mustard people. I always think they’re kind of classy. Like, when they get a hot dog and just put mustard on it, I think, Oh, that’s cool. I like mustard people, it’s just that it’s such a dominant taste to me when I’ve got other things going on in my sandwich.
What do you think is the perfect, Platonic ideal sandwich?
It’s got ham, it’s got lettuce, it’s got Swiss cheese, there’s some red pepper in there and tomato. There’s salt and pepper, and it’s on a hamburger bun, with a little pickle. I also like a sandwich with melted cheese, like when you make it on the stove with a little melted butter in the pan, like you would a grilled cheese.
Your comedy is known for being a little bit quirky — and sometimes downright weird. What do you think is the weirdest thing you could put on a sandwich that would actually be good?
Oh god, I don’t know. The first thing that popped into my head is that I wouldn’t put a grilled vegetable in a sandwich because it might make the bread soggy, but at the same time, that might actually be good? Sometimes it’s good for the bread to be soggy. Especially if it’s an Italian-style sandwich with vinegar or olive oil. That wouldn’t be my go-to, but maybe it’s a good sandwich?
You’ve mentioned mayonnaise a couple of times, which is maybe the most polarizing sandwich ingredient on the planet. What would you say to the mayo-haters of the world?
I know! How can you hate mayonnaise? “Oh, I hate mayonnaise.” Well, you know, screw you. You don’t have taste! To me, it’s what kind of mayonnaise that matters most — I like Duke’s.
Like everyone else on the planet, I’m watching The Mandalorian, in which you play spaceship mechanic Peli Motto. In that role, you’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with Grogu, a.k.a. Baby Yoda. What do you think would be on his favorite sandwich?
Worms! On a hard roll.
