Doll Face Délicatesse du Jour: sandwich

Roasted Garlic, Avocado, and Brie Baguette

So again I was slacking, (actually I was so busy trying to make dinner for guests, take care of the baby, and look fabulous) that I did not manage to take pictures of the rest of the process. It is very simple though really. No need for pictures.

Ingredients
1 clove garlic
2 or 3 ripe avocado
1 package of good brie cheese
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
lime

Break apart one whole clove of garlic
(I forgot to break mine apart)
Leave the skin on the cloves. Cover with about 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a oven safe dish. Cover with tin foil and roast in the oven on 400 F for 30 minutes.

While the garlic is roasting cut your avocado into cubes and toss with a little lime juice and salt and pepper to your taste.

When the garlic is finished remove from stove and let cool.
Once cooled, slice open each cloves skin and pop out the garlic into the olive oil you cooked with. Once you have all the skin removed start to smash up the cloves until you have a consistent paste. Spread this onto your baguette.
Place the baguette back in the oven to toast slightly, until the edges start to brown.

Once they edges are brown remove bread from oven. Spread your avocado mixture over the garlic. Slice your brie however thick you like, and top the garlic avocado toasted baguette with cheese. Place back into oven until cheese just starts to melt. You don't want the cheese to melt completely and run off the sides of the bread.

I don't really have much to say about this other than that it was super delicious and if you enjoy Asian flavors at all, you have to try it. It's very health, full of veggies, and soooo good. I mean anything with fresh basil and cilantro is good in my book. It's very spicy if you add the jalapeños so if your sensitive definitely leave them out. I think that this dish is traditionally a meat dish. I have never had it authentically but am now in search of the real deal in order to see how this recipe compares. I will let you know.

SANDWICH

2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh cilantro with stems
1/2 medium cucumber, sliced into thin strips
4 sprigs fresh Thai basil
2 (7 inch) French bread baguettes, split lengthwise

RELISH

2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 carrot, sliced into sticks
1 daikon (white) radish, sliced into sticks
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup cold water

SAUCE

1/2 cup chilled lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 400 F (230 degrees C). Slice the mushrooms into strips then place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Cool slightly.

While the mushrooms are roasting, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Plunge the carrot and radish sticks into the boiling water and after a few seconds, remove them and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. In a separate bowl, stir together the rice vinegar, 1/2 cup of lime juice and 1/2 cup cold water. Transfer the carrot and radish to the vinegar and lime marinade and let them soak for at least 15 minutes, longer if it's convenient.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. This is the sandwich sauce.

To prep, slice a half a cucumber thinly, and a whole jalapeño thinly. If you end up with a mild jap, the whole thing will be fine on the sandwich, but test it first because we ended up with a pretty hot one, and had to take a lot of them off the sandwich. Of course if you don't like spicy, forget them.