After I came out as the author of 300 Sandwiches in the New York Post last week, it seemed anyone with a computer had an opinion about the site. Who knew sandwiches could kick off an international discourse about gender and love?

While some just didn’t understand why I would make 300 sandwiches for a man before he proposed, others understood its tongue-in-cheek humor, and appreciated my small expression of love to my attentive boyfriend, E. I’ve also gotten a lot of Facebook posts, Tweets and e-mails from readers about how sandwiches have emotionally bonded them with their loved ones.

One letter from Mary Beth in Walnut Creek, CA, made me smile:

Bully for you! Much congrats on your recognition.

I am 65% done reading your blog and recipes (I started this morning). I am sure you are inundated with emails, texts, twitters, etc since your blog went viral. That is fantastic!

Here’s a recipe you can try…it was one that my ex-husband (we are still friends) would make on weekend mornings prior to our marriage ending. It was sumptuous. It consisted of pears, honey mustard, a white cheese (brie, cheddar…), white or black pepper and then it was broiled under the oven. There were always variations of bread, ciabatta or such, and he would sometimes add crisp ham or bacon. YUM!

Mary Beth’s letter was so touching, it inspired me to try my own version for E. I used a loaf of fresh olive bread, Manchego and Comté cheeses and pear with a bit of sea salt and pepper, and popped it in our panini press for 5 minutes. I brought it to E while he was at work on his computer. It was warm, comforting and sweet—just like Mary Beth’s letter.

E wolfed down the entire thing. “Thank you, baby,” he said before giving me a hug, and promising to take me out for dinner.

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