Combining the best of two seasons into a sandwich that you’ll crave all year
(that’s definitely some marketing jargon right there).

Posted on | by Jonathan Surratt

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Read Time: 8 minutes

I have been informed that it’s Fall, y’all.

I’m sure you’re aware that this fact means that the summer season is coming to a close. It’s time to pack away the flip flops, time to match our hoodies with a pair of cargo shorts, start buying pumpkin-spiced drinks and/or hummus, and get back into dressing up in Han Solo vests.

Because of this change in seasons, I decided to embrace the middleground—minus the vests of wookie-loving, nerf herding scoundrels—and create a great sandwich that straddles the seasonal divide by focusing on incorporating one great component from hot weather and one sandwich component from slightly less hot weather.

What is this sandwich?

If you’ve been following this sandwich blog for a while, you’ll probably know that I very much enjoy pimento cheese, and you might be aware that I make at least one batch every summer. A homemade pimento cheese sandwich was one of my favorite beach or lake sandwiches that my mom whipped up during my youth, and I still attempt to recreate that feeling multiple times during the summer.

To me, pimento cheese in a sandwich screams summer.

This is a sandwich where we incorporate pimento cheese into two places. First, I made homemade focaccia that has been infused with pimento cheese. Yes, it’s pimento cheese focaccia. And it’s great. But I also wanted to bring in some fall flavors, which, for this particular sandwich, took on the form of apple butter and apple cider vinegar infused into a very flavorful vinaigrette to dress the healthy green-colored element in this sandwich.

I painted this helpful infographic for my Summer Meats Fall sandwich.

The full scope of the sandwich is first to take that pimento cheese focaccia and then stuff it with honey ham, slices of prosciutto, a bit more pimento cheese spread, and then a few green leaves that have been tossed in an apple cider vinaigrette dressing. This means we’ve got summer in the form of pimento cheese, fall in the form of an apple cider vinaigrette, and meat in the middle.

Now that we know what sandwich we’re getting into, let’s start with that cheese-infused bread.

Pimento cheese focaccia

I figured that pimento cheese is great when you add it between slices of bread, so why wouldn’t it also be great if you baked it into the actual bread? So, that’s what I did with this focaccia recipe. I make a lot of focaccia and have even built a tool that I’ve built to help you convert my focaccia recipe into any shape of pan. That’s where I got the base for the pimento cheese focaccia I have shared down below.

The extra cheese on top of this focaccia makes things a bit extra crispy.
Cheddar adds extra grease/oil/fat when it melts, which is actually a pretty good thing in a focaccia.

I made this recipe in an 8×8-inch baking pan with the base recipe being one that I crafted using my Focaccia Calculator. I also share my 8 x 8 inch pimento cheese focaccia, but I am aware that 8 x 8 isn’t a pan size that everyone might have available, so I’ve collected some additional tactics to use the Focaccia calculator for the size pan you have available and incorporate pimento cheese into it.

Focaccia pan calculator

This tool will build an ingredient list to help you create a focaccia to fit the size of the pan that you want to use. Enter the shape and size of your pan and the Focaccia Calculator will do the rest.

focaccia pan calculator
Focaccia Calculator
This focaccia recipe requires some simple stretch and folds, which create gluten and build structure in the bread.
Add a few tablespoons of pimento cheese that will get folded into the dough.
Fold the dough over the cheese so that there will be pockets of pimento cheese inside the bread.

I add the pimento cheese in two spots in this recipe. First, I tuck a few tablespoons of spread into the focaccia dough. As you can see in the photo above, I just dollop it on top of the dough, and then I fold it over on top of itself (not shown). I mainly just wanted to make sure there was some cheese mixed into the middle of the focaccia.

Then I also add about the same amount of pimento cheese in dollops to the top of the focaccia, along with a few extra pimentos and about a third of a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. This cheese, as well as the pimento cheese dollops, will melt into the top of the bread, leaving it with a flavorful and crisp exterior.

A sliced 4-inch square of pimento cheese focaccia.

Below are three photos of what I add to the top of the focaccia just before it bakes and right after I add some olive oil and dimple the top with my fingers.

After the fun dimpling process, I add a bunch of dollops of pimento cheese to the top of the dough.
And then to emphasise the pimento-ness of this pimento cheese focaccia, I add some pimentos.
If you have extra shredded cheese, add it to the top and make sure you get it near the edges of the pan to encourage browning.

I like making 8 x 8-inch focaccias because I enjoy the consistency of the pan that we own and because 8 x 8 divides well into 4 different 4-inch square sandwiches. Sometimes simple math tastes good!

This focaccia recipe should make four large sandwiches or six smaller, skinnier ones.
With a crispy bottom and cheesy top, this pimento cheese focaccia is really tasty.
With a quick rise time, this focaccia creates a soft interior that’s thick enough for good slices but still crispy on the outside.

Here’s my pimento cheese focaccia recipe. As I said above, if you do not have an 8 x 8-inch baking dish, you can use the pimento cheese recipe below and combine it with a recipe from the Focaccia Calculator that matches the size of the baking dish that you might have.

Pimento cheese focaccia
Recipe Card
Pimento cheese focaccia
3 hours and 20 minutes
Pimento cheese focaccia

Add a bit of pimento cheese spread to create a cheesy, crispy focaccia experience that's perfect for a late summertime sandwich.

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Pimento cheese

This is my mom’s pimento cheese recipe that she’s been making since at least the early 1980s. I have only slightly adjusted the order of operations for her recipe, but the ingredients list has stayed the same.

We both make our pimento cheese spreads in a food processor. You can make it without a food processor, but it’s just a whole lot easier with the machine. In my adjustments, I make sure that you do not add the pimentos into the food processor until the very last little bit. This keeps the tiny red pepper pieces visible in the finished spread.

Don’t forget to buy Bugles to turn your pimento cheese into a party!

If you add pimentos near the beginning, they will get pulverized by the blade and change the color of the spread to a redder orange color. This won’t change the flavor much, but I like to see bits of red in the pimento cheese to show you what it is, so I add the pimentos at the very last minute so that they retain some of their visibility. The pimentos do have their own liquid in the jars, which does help the cheese spread to better move around the food processor and become creamy, so if things look too dry, you can drain off some of the pimento liquid into the food processor to loosen things up a bit without compromising the spread with all the red peppers.

Mom's pimento cheese
Recipe Card
Mom's pimento cheese
20 minutes
Mom's pimento cheese

Pimento cheese is an awesome addition to a sausage biscuit sandwich. Growing up, I enjoyed a lot of pimento cheese sandwiches, with just the spread and sliced bread. This recipe also works great as a snack with crackers or pretzels.

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Ham

I bought honey ham that was sliced at the deli at my local grocery store. It’s sweet and hammy, and you can probably imagine exactly what it tastes like. In the case of this sandwich, it does seem to tie together the sweetness in the pimento cheese and the apple cider dressing.

Even if you’re not making this Summer Meats Fall sandwich, the combination of ham and pimento cheese goes hard in the paint. I suggest you try it and find out if I’m correct.

I used 2 or 3 slices of honey ham in this Summer Meats Fall sandwich.

Proscuitto

I thought about just making this sandwich with ham, but when I was at the store and selected honey ham, I wanted to bring a bit more salt and savoriness, so I added some sliced prosciutto to the shopping list.

Prosciutto is very salty, but when paired with ham, especially honey-sweetened ham, it brings some balance to the meat portion of this sandwich. You can leave out the prosciutto if you want, or you could even pivot a little and add bacon if you’re feeling extra American. Choose your own sandwich adventure.

Make sure to fold and pile the prosciutto over itself a bit when adding it to the sandwich. Fluff it up.

Apple cider vinaigrette tossed greens

I’m just going to be real here and let you know that I can never spell vinaigrette correctly on the first try.

This is the Fall Y’all portion of the sandwich, and since everyone’s always going apple picking and eating apple cider doughnuts in Autumn, I figured I could celebrate that part of the year with a dressing made from apple butter and apple cider vinegar. It’s a simple dressing with those two ingredients, plus Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, and black pepper that are tossed with some arugula and other green, fancy lettuce and used as the base beneath the meats.

I found this apple butter at my local Mariano’s (Kroger-owned), but there were also several national brands of apple jam as well.

If you can’t find apple butter, I suggest buying apple jam, or you can also use something like apricot jam in the same recipe with very similar results. If you’re really invested, you can also make your own apple butter.

Below is a great apple butter recipe that I shared back in 2023 from a superb Midwest-focused cookbook written by Chef Paul Fehribach from Big Jones in Chicago. I did not have the time last week to make this recipe again, but I really should, as I said, it’s a great recipe, and my parents, who were visiting when I originally tested the apple butter, enjoyed it thoroughly.

Apple butter
7 hours and 20 minutes
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I did not create a standalone recipe page for this apple-focused dressing, but I did add it to the full Summer Meats Fall sandwich recipe below. I also have just pasted it here in case you want to whip it up for your next salad or sandwich adventure.

Apple cider vinaigrette-dressed greens

  • 3 tablespoons apple butter or apple jam (can use apricot)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1⁄4 cup olive oil
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Add all these ingredients to a small jar and shake. If you don’t have a jar, you can whisk it all together in a bowl. If the apple butter or jam is really thick, you might need to whisk a bit harder, but if a small chunk of jam gets mixed into the greens and ends up in the sandwich, that will just make for a fun bite of greens.

Toss a tablespoon or a couple of teaspoons of the dressing over arugula or salad greens and add to your sandwich.

Summer Meats Fall sandwich photos, and recipe

Here are a whole bunch (maybe too many) photos of the finished sandwiches that I made and ate during the testing process for this recipe.

Keep scrolling past the photos for the final recipe. But don’t forget to read all the captions under the photos. I spend like 20 seconds on each one trying to think of something to type…

I painted a second piece of art for this Summer Meats Fall sandwich. I’m still having fun putting my ADD hyperfocus to work on some digital artwork.
Here’s a handful of Summer Meats Fall.
Pimento cheese makes a lot of sandwiches better, but it really works well with ham, prosciutto, and apple-focused dressing.
Pimento cheese, in two ways, makes for a really good sandwich.
Sandwich, just like a mullet, Summer in front and Fall is a party? I don’t know what any of this means.
Maybe next I’ll start working on my Winter Meats Spring sandwich. Post up in the comments with ideas.
This sandwich gives a pretty nice cross-section with very visible striations between layers.
Did you read this far? I bet you didn’t.
You made it to the bottom. The recipe is just below, but you can look at the Summer Meats Fall sandwich one more time (two if you count the photo just below).
Summer Meats Fall sandwich
Recipe
Summer Meats Fall sandwich
Summer Meats Fall sandwich view printable page for this recipe

This fantastic bi-seasonal sandwich incorporates Summer's favorite snack spread, pimento cheese, and an apple cider vinaigrette into one sandwich, bringing some of the best of Summer and Fall into one bite.

Ingredients:

Pimento cheese spread
  • 1 pound cheddar cheese (mixture of sharp cheddar and medium cheddar)
  • 4 ounces chopped pimento
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3⁄4 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
  • salt and black pepper to taste
Apple cider vinaigrette dressed greens
  • 3 tablespoons apple butter or apple jam (can use apricot)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1⁄4 cup olive oil
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • small handful of arugula or mixed salad greens
Sandwich assembly
  • 1 sandwich sized piece of focaccia (or other bread), sliced
  • apple cider vinaigrette dressed greens (from above)
  • 2 to 3 slices of deli ham
  • 2 to 3 slices of prosciutto
  • pimento cheese spread (from above)

Directions:

Pimento cheese: grate cheddar in a food processor or on a hand grater. 

Add cheese to a large bowl with sugar, Miracle Whip, or mayonnaise and stir to combine. 

Add everything back to the food processor with the blade attachment instead of the grating attachment. 

Pulse the processor until you get your desired consistency. 

Add half of the pimentos and some of the liquid from the jar. This will loosen the cheese mixture in the food processor a little and should allow it to become a bit smoother. 

When the cheese mixture looks like it would be spreadable, taste it and add any salt and pepper that it might need. 

Add the remaining pimentos and all the liquid from the jar and pulse one or two more times. This will allow your pimento cheese to have visible pimentos in it. If you add the pimento all at the beginning, you will blitz it until it's all too small to see. 

Package up the pimento cheese and store the cheese spread in the fridge for a week or so. 

Apple cider vinaigrette-dressed greens: add apple butter or jam, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper to a small jar or bowl and mix or shake to combine well. 

Toss a small (sandwich-sized) handful of salad greens with a tablespoon or a couple of teaspoons worth of dressing, as if you're making a small salad. 

Sandwich assembly: slice a sandwich-sized piece of focaccia in half. Toast the two halves if desired.

Add the apple cider vinaigrette-dressed greens to the bottom slice of bread. Top with slices of ham and then slices of prosciutto. 

Spread some pimento cheese on the inside of the top piece of focaccia and then close the sandwich. Serve and enjoy. 

Check back next week

Next week, we’ll be making one of my favorite burger styles ever. Yes, all burgers have the potential to be good, but this style brings back a lot of cheeseburger memories from my youth when I was just a small sandwich enthusiast.