Somebody Pass Me a Wet Nap

In true Southern barbecue fashion, my Memphis-Style BBQ Tofu Mushroom Sandwich left as much sauce on my hands as it did in my mouth:


I've been working on perfecting the BBQ sandwich recipe for my cookbook for awhile now, and after tweaking the sauce and experimenting with different faux meats, I've finally settled on this version. Crumbled tofu and minced mushrooms come together in my tangy Memphis-style sauce. Memphis style means heavy on the vinegar, by the way.

The texture of crumbled tofu and toothsome bite of the mushrooms make this sandwich similar to the pulled pork sandwiches folks eat around these parts. Memphis, home to the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Neely's barbecue family of Food Network fame, claims the title of "barbecue capital." Honestly, I've never eaten a Memphis barbecue sandwich (unless you count the barbecue tofu sandwich at R.P. Tracks), but I know a good Southern sauce when I taste one. And I'm pretty darn proud of mine.

I also developed a recipe for Creamy Poppyseed Coleslaw to dress the sandwich. No barbecue sandwich is complete without slaw.

And on the side, I created No-Tell Ro-tel Cheese Dip (also going in the cookbook):


In the South, it's almost guaranteed that someone will bring Ro-tel Cheese Dip to any non-vegan potluck. It's basically a combination of Velveeta cheese (gross, I know, but I used to love it) and canned diced tomatoes with green chilis. Some people also add meat, and as a young vegetarian, that always pissed me off. Why add meat to the cheese dip?!

My vegan version has neither meat nor cheese, but it definitely hit the spot with my Guiltless Gourmet Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.