Ellington

Some things just go together: peanut butter and jelly, bagels and lox, mushrooms and wine, chicken and rosemary, Scotch and ice ... you get the point. But if there was a museum of great food pairings, the prime spot in the center of those hallowed halls would be dedicated to the BLT.

This simple dish sums up what is great about food in a single bite. The fatty, salty bacon and its interplay with the acidity of a ripe tomato works in perfect harmony with the contrasting textures of the crunchy lettuce and the soft bread. The creaminess of the mayo lives in accord with the punch of cracked black pepper. This sandwich, when done right, can transform a simple lunch into a gastronomic journey into the heart of summer itself.

A good BLT is food Nirvana.

Just like the state of ultimate Buddhist peace, achieving this level of food perfection cannot be done with shortcuts. You have to start with fresh, real ingredients and treat them with reverence as you assemble them correctly.

As with any sandwich, the right bread makes all the difference. For the BLT, I suggest using either a fresh-baked farmhouse loaf or a large loaf of French bread (or gros pain as they call it). Don't toast the bread, just smear a healthy dollop of mayonnaise on each piece and sprinkle one side with black pepper and the other with finely chopped fresh basil (my secret BLT weapon). Use thick-cut bacon, preferably one from a local farm that is not filled with nitrates and other chemical garbage. Stan's Country Meats in Batesville makes bacon from the best-treated and best-fed pigs I've ever seen.

Go to a farmer's market and buy ripe, locally grown tomatoes and romaine lettuce. The difference will be so great that you'll never go back to buying factory meats and "truck ripened" produce again. Lesser ingredients will simply make a lesser sandwich ... a far lesser sandwich. The difference will be as noticeable as comparing a 99-cent value meal burger to one made at Majestic or Stamps.

If you've got the skills and the time, make your own mayo. If not, buy Duke's. It is made in the South and contains no sugar like so many other dressings posing as mayo. Assemble these precious ingredients in the following order from bottom to top: bread (with mayo and a bit of basil), bacon, tomato, lettuce, bread (with mayo and a bit of cracked black pepper).

Although the flavor of this creation rises to great culinary heights, resist the temptation to eat this on your fine china. Just get a paper plate and lots of napkins, roll up your sleeves and tuck in. With each bite, just close your eyes and let your mind go blank as all the beauty of a Mississippi summer rushes in like an afternoon thunderstorm in July.