peanut butter and honey in a cast iron skillet

i haven’t made a peanut butter and honey sandwich in forever, but i tend to go through periods when i’m very in the mood for this beautiful combination of ingredients. i can think of once when i was working as a secretary at a dermatology office and i brought them to work as a #saddesklunch nearly every day. and i ate them a lot when i was training for triathlons this past year. something about either swimming, cycling, or running, or perhaps the combination of the three… makes me want peanut butter and honey sandwiches!

char and i went on a 5-mile walk around lake merritt after work yesterday, and when we returned home, i was feeling it. i had some sliced wheat sandwich bread stored in the freezer, so i de-thawed it in my toaster (a microwave would have worked just fine too). i then assembled the sandwich with peanut butter, sliced banana, and honey! i took a bite… and my god i was underwhelmed. i thought… it needs more flavor than this. and then my brain did the math: why not brown the sandwich in butter?

and so, i heated up the ole cast iron (which i’ve been very good at taking care of lately!) on medium heat, added a few tablespoons of butter onto the skillet, and then “grilled” the sandwich for a few minutes on either side, but honestly could have gone longer. the results? were divine. the banana tasted as though it had begun to caramelize a bit, the peanut butter became gooier, and the both heated together with the honey to create a synergistic experience.

it’s safe to say, you won’t find me eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich that’s not hot off the cast iron for a little while.

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dear readers, do you have any hacks for making a simple set of ingredients taste transcendent?