BLT & Iced Tea (for breakfast!)

The epitomy of every summer is somewhere in the middle of a perfect BLT. It may or may not be the first bite, and it could be all of them. Ingredients include: a fresh white bread with a somewhat chewy but soft crumb (don't toast it!), the highest quality bacon you can buy (oh my, our butcher sells a flavorful and minimally-preserved smoked bacon that cooks to a soft crisp, just short of chewy), iceberg lettuce (washed, excess water towel-sponged off, torn in large pieces), mayonnaise (we are addicted to Best Foods light), a little salt and freshly ground pepper and, the star of the show: one vine-ripe, warm, red tomato (sliced 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick). Assemble, and, for fun, compress the sandwich with your hand, against the plate, just a little. Feel the tomato juice start to ooze into the bread, down the crust and onto the dish. This is going to be your breakfast. In the middle of summer, it does not get any better than this. My roots are in the South, and avocados do not belong on this perfect sandwich, period. But what does go with this very special treat is Iced Tea. For breakfast, this is summer.