It had been a while since I’d enjoyed the simple pleasures of a croque monsieur—a gussied up ham and swiss sandwich that wears a smear of broiled béchamel. The sandwiches are filling, fun and French, of course, and they’re perfect for weeknight belly filling.

With so few ingredients, quality is a must. Buy the best bread, cheese and ham you can. And use whole milk for the sauce—it’s not like you eat these every day!

Here’s the gist of the epicurious.com recipe I used: Make a creamy, peppery béchamel. Set aside. Slip ham and cheese between two slices of sturdy sandwich bread. Brush bread with melted butter, and cook each side in a frying pan until golden. Top the bread with a heaping glop of béchamel, and sprinkle with grated swiss. Broil sandwiches until cheese is golden. Done.

My only change to the recipe was subbing tarragon for chives—you’ll want to add some type of herb to this otherwise veggie-barren sandwich. We served baked fries on the side, but a lightly-dressed salad would make a more nutritious partner.

Whatever you do, be sure to use a knife and fork, lest your fingers fall into the peril of sloppy béchamel. Or skip the silverware and lick your digits clean.

Banh mi wars rage in New York City. The media has largely declared Baoguette the best Vietnamese sandwich in the five boroughs. But for ambiance, flavor and value, Banh Mi Saigon in the back of a Chinatown jewelry shop is our family favorite. To compensate for the sad state of banh mi in South Florida, I made a home cooked version from epicurious.com at the behest of my boss and fellow food lover, Gretchen.

A classic banh mi consists of layers, pork paté or liver, roasted pork, lots of cilantro, hot peppers, pickled vegetables and a bit of mayo on a baguette. There are lots of variations, but this rich, salty-sweet combination is a classic for a reason.

The epicurious.com recipe yields a batch of herbal, sweet, and slightly funky pork meatballs made with accessible ingredients like sriracha, fish sauce, and sesame oil. There’s no paté in this version but also no lack of porky goodness. Starting with a fresh baguette (though Cuban bread work work just fine), you plop meatballs atop a thick slather of sriracha-onion-spiked mayo and cilantro, then pack on sweet carrots and radishes that have marinated in rice vinegar and sugar.

I made just a few substitutions: I used garlic chives instead of scallions and sliced breakfast radishes rather than julienned daikon. I also added drops of sesame oil to the meatballs rather than frying the pork in the unstable oil, and accidentally left out the jalapenos (which must have fallen through the cart at the grocery store, oops).

All the familiar flavors were present in the sandwiches that William and I scarfed down for dinner (and then lunch). And while our kitchen concoction won’t dislodge a Baoguette from its reign, it certainly quelled our cravings until we can get back to a banh mi town.

I fell in love with tartines, or open-faced sandwiches, at a small lunchtime spot on rue du Dragon in Paris. The topping possibilities for tartines are endless—cheese, vegetables, meats, pate—but for this version I smeared ricotta on slices of no knead bread in a hurry. Next went a layer of sea salt with herbs de Provence, sweet red onion jam and rosemary for garnish.

I served this modified epicurious.com recipe with a simple salad for a light dinner. This jam-ricotta (or maybe chevre … mmmm) combination would work well atop cracker for an appetizer, as well.

Red Onion Jam
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon raw or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary, plus a few sprigs for garnish
Black pepper

Instructions
Heat olive oil in a heavy frying pan on medium heat. Add onions, sugar, and salt and cook until onions are soft and deep brown, about 20 minutes. Remove onions from heat, stir in balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes and rosemary. Add pepper and additional salt, as needed.

Cool completely, or serve warm. The jam will store in the refrigerator for several days.

Makes 4 to 5 sandwiches

Sandwich Preparation
Brush 4 to 5 bread slices with olive oil, and heat just until crisp in the oven. Top with 2 to 3 tablespoons of ricotta, a sprinkle of  sea salt, jam to coat and rosemary.

]]> http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/2009/12/13/tartine-with-ricotta-and-red-onion-jam/feed/ 1 http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/2009/06/30/goat-cheese-and-jelly-sandwiches/ http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/2009/06/30/goat-cheese-and-jelly-sandwiches/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:18:50 +0000 Caroline http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/?p=466

Bread layered with cheese and basil

Pressed and dressed sandwich

This was a playful dinner that made use of homemade bread and fresh basil from my herb garden. For my first try, I used fig jam to accompany the goat cheese and pressed the buttered sandwich between two nonstick pans. For lunch the next day, I assembled a strawberry version and warmed it in a toaster oven at work. (I had to share a bite or two with coworkers, as well.)

I preferred the strawberry sandwich—the fruity jam is a natural partner to basil. And the toaster oven made the cheese adequately oozy, without dirtying two pans.  

Goat Cheese and Jelly Sandwiches
4 slices of crusty peasant bread
3 ounces soft goat cheese
Sea salt
Pepper
1/4 cup roughly torn basil 
2 tablespoons fig or strawberry  jam
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions
Divide goat cheese in half, and place onto two slice of bread. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top the cheese with torn basil. Spread 1 tablespoon of jam on each remaining slice of bread. Assemble sandwiches and heat (you can use a toaster or a skillet with melted butter.

Serves 2

We celebrated William’s first final with a crazy, fatty, delicious “cornbread sandwich.” Paula Deen could only dream of eating a Southern supper this beautiful. For me, this is last-meal quality, dripping with pork fat, fried vegetation, cheese, buttermilk and mayonnaise.

The cornbread recipe is our favorite from The New York Times. And after the sandwiches, you’ll have a few slices left over to do as you please. (I tend to eat remnants for breakfast with fried eggs on top.) 

For the sake of serving vegetables, I “stewed” (this is a Southern term for cooked to death) onion, squash and zucchini until there was neither fiber nor nutrient to be found. I generally don’t enjoy limp vegetables, but with a touch of sugar, pepper and butter these could have been nobly served on any meat-and-three buffet (i.e., they suited us just fine last tonight.)

Cornbread sandwich with fried green tomatoes, bacon and cheddar
1 recipe Brown Butter Cornbread with Farmer Cheese and Thyme
8 bacon slices
Fried green tomatoes (see ingredients below)
1 1/3 cups shredded, sharp cheddar
Mayonnaise
Aluminum foil

Fried green tomatoes
Vegetable oil
2 medium green tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
3/4 cup fine cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk

Sandwich instructions
Prepare corn bread and set aside (it’s easier to slice the cornbread once it has cooled a bit). Leave oven turned on to 375°.

In a large, heavy skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Place bacon strips onto paper towels to drain, reserving bacon fat in skillet. Set  bacon aside.

Add enough vegetable oil to the bacon grease so it rises 1/2 inch up the skillet, and heat over medium high heat. (If you’re watching your cholesterol, you probably shouldn’t be eating this anyway, but feel free to ditch the bacon grease.) Meanwhile, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a shallow bowl or on a wide plate. In a medium bowl, whisk egg and buttermilk, and add tomato slices to coat. 

When the oil is hot (test with a sprinkle of flour), move tomato slices to flour mixture one at a time, coating evenly. Carefully drop tomatoes into the oil and repeat with half of the slices. Cook the tomatoes until golden, turning once. Drain slices on paper towels. Repeat with second batch.

Divide cornbread into 6 triangles. Remove 4 from the skillet and reserve 2 for another use (you’ll be happy to have extra!). Place each triangle on a square sheet of aluminum foil, large enough to encase the sandwich. Gingerly split the triangle in half, as you would for a sandwich. Top the bottom of the cornbread with 3 to 4 fried tomato slices, 2 strips of bacon, and 1/3 cup cheddar; spread mayonnaise on the interior of the top half of the triangle and sandwich in all the fried goodness. 

Wrap the sandwiches in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. 

Serves 4 of the happiest people in the world