On one of our very first dates Thomas took the top piece of bread off of his sandwich and I thought it was a little weird. Who is this guy who eats his sandwich that way?! 🙂  Being from the South I suppose, I had never been exposed to the idea of an open-faced sandwich. Sure, I’ve had slices of baguette or crostini’s with toppings as appetizers, but I had never willingly left off that extra piece of carby deliciousness. However, now it’s my preferred way of sandwich eating because A) it looks cuter  B) I can pile on even more yummy toppings and C) if I only eat one piece of bread with each sandwich that means I can just eat sandwiches more often right?!

When I first went to Norway with Thomas, we took a weekend trip to Copenhagen and tried delicious Smørrebrød at Aamanns and I quickly joined the open-faced sandwich train. (Also, this is so creepy, as I was writing this Phil In Somebody Feed Phil walked into Aamanns in the episode we’re watching! How random is that?!) Anywho, once we returned to Norway from Copenhagan, Thomas’ family made delicious shrimp sandwich’s and there was no turning back! The shrimp have the heads on and they are the sweetest shrimp I have ever eaten! Don’t get grossed out k, but the ONLY way to eat these shrimp is to tear the head off and suck the salty delicious juice out. You won’t be allowed to sit at our table unless you eat them this way… 😉 

Since we can’t find shrimp like this easily at our local grocery stores, we use the little guys below and they are good as well! In Norway these beauties normally consist of a white piece of bread, a generous pile of shrimp, a hearty squeeze of Mills Majones (why isn’t all mayo in squeeze tubes), a drizzle of lemon juice, with a sprinkle of fresh dill on top.

For one of our favorite Sunday lunches to date, we used Ken’s Artisan Bakery country blonde bread, made a garlicky aioli, and added lettuce and radishes! This is such a great lunch to make on a summer day with a ice cold glass of white wine. Perfection.

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Open-Faced Shrimp Sandwiches

ingredients 

Sandwich
– Fresh peel and eat shrimp, or whichever kind of shrimp you prefer. 
– sliced crusty white bread
– thinly sliced radishes
– butter lettuce
– Lemon wedges
– Fresh dill

Aioli
 – 2 garlic cloves, pressed
– ¼ teaspoon (or more) coarse kosher salt
– ½ cup mayonnaise
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

What to do

1. To make Aioli – Mash garlic and ¼ tsp. salt in a small bowl until a paste forms. Whisk in mayonnaise, oil, and lemon juice. Season with additional salt if needed. 
2. Layer a slice of bread with a smear of aioli, then lettuce, a generous pile of shrimp, a squeeze of lemon juice, and top with sliced radish and fresh dill. 

And of course, give yourself a full glass of white wine to wash it all down! 🙂 

Enjoy!