French Ham and Cheese Baguette- 2 Ways
French Ham and Cheese Baguette 2 Ways- A warm and cold version of a classic sandwich, jazzed up with French influences to make lunchtime extra special.
July 23, 2021 by Nicole Collins
Happy accidents...
We've talked about them here before.
I'm doing this new thing where I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. I'm generally a pretty positive person, but this past year has been hard. And, it's sometimes difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
So, when I got home last weekend after being out of the house for only one hour and discovered that my dogs had ripped off, shredded, and destroyed the carpet on my basement stairs; I decided to make lemonade out of lemons.
What actually was an absolute disaster suddenly became a DIY project. In the moment I discovered the damage, I think I was too stunned to be mad. So, I skipped angry and went straight into “what am I going to do to fix this” mode. Next thing you know, I'm voluntarily ripping up the rest of the carpet and deciding that I'm going to paint the stairs with fun colors.
The dogs destroying my carpet was not the kind of “happy accident” that I'd ever expect or wish for. But, today's recipe of two delicious sammies that were accidentally born during a fridge clean out. That's the kind of happy accident that I'll take all day every day.
So today, we're making French Ham and Cheese Baguette- 2 Ways!
This is one of those 2 for the price of 1 recipes today, and that just means double the goodness. The humble ham and cheese sandwich is getting delicious upgrade thanks to some French baguette and some delicious condiments. And bonus, we're making one cold and one warm sandwich, so there's basically a sandwich for every mood!
Let's start with the cold sandwich. There's a very popular sandwich in France call jambon-beurre which is simply a ham and butter sandwich. There are some variations of this sandwich that will add gruyere cheese and/or cornichons, so we're loosely taking inspiration from this sandwich while making ours!
To start, we need some delicious French baguette. We're going to cut the baguette down into personal sandwich sized portions. Then, we'll slice the baguette in half to give us a nice foundation for our sandwich.
To fill our sandwich, we'll use simple deli ham and creamy sliced brie cheese. Just like the jambon-beurre, we're going to schmear good, softened, salted butter all over one half of our sandwich. Then, our sandwich takes a Monte Cristo-esque turn, and we'll schmear the other half of our sandwich with sweet strawberry preserves. And, that's it! Sandwich version number one is done!
For our warm sandwiches, we're going to use that same French baguette, deli ham, and sliced brie. However, we're going to give the baguette a light drizzle of olive oil, and toast it until it's just golden on the outside but still nice and chewy on the inside.
The glue for our warm sandwich is a delicious mustard aioli. So, we'll take some mayonnaise, some stone ground mustard, and sprinkle of garlic powder. Mix it together, schmear it all over the toasted bread, pile in that ham and brie, and sammie number two is ready to go!
Both of these sandwiches use simple, humble ingredients. But, they pack so much elegant flavor. It truly will be hard to decide which one of these is your favorite, because they are both extremely incredible in different ways.
Our cold sandwich is cool and refreshing. It's the perfect mix of savory and sweet. The salted butter adds a beautiful richness to this sandwich, while the strawberry preserves add an unexpected pop of sweetness. Then, you have that savory ham and that creamy brie, and the combination of all of it together is out of this world.
Then on the other hand, our warm sandwich is comforting and all the best parts of ooey gooey. The toasted bread is light and crisp. The brie becomes extra creamy and melty against the warm bread. And, the mustard aioli adds a nice touch of tang to help balance out an otherwise rich and luxurious sandwich.
I could eat both of these sandwiches all day every day. And in fact, I kind of have! And you can't deny how perfect these sandwiches are for basically any occasion. Picnics, parties, showers, or just your average every day lunch at work...there's never a wrong time or place for these sandwiches.
Okie dokes, everyone! That's all we've got for today.
Have a fantastic weekend, and let's eat!
French Ham and Cheese Baguette- 2 Ways
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
1 French baguette, cut into 4 pieces (about 5 inch each)
12 oz deli ham
8 oz brie, sliced
1 tbsp salted butter, softened
1 tbsp strawberry preserves
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 ¼ tsp stone ground mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder
pepper, to taste
Directions:
Make the Cold Sandwiches: Take 2 pieces of baguette, and slice each in half lengthwise. On the top half of the bread, spread softened butter. On the bottom half of the bread, spread strawberry preserves. Layer 2 oz brie and 3 oz ham on top of the strawberry preserves on each sandwich. Top with the buttered half of the bread.
Make the Warm Sandwiches: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take 2 pieces of baguette, and slice each in half lengthwise. Drizzle each slice with olive oil. Bake for 6-8 minutes until lightly golden.
Meanwhile, add mayonnaise, mustard, garlic powder, and a pinch of pepper to a mixing bowl. Mix well to combine.
As soon as the baguette comes out of the oven, layer 2 oz brie and 3 oz ham on the bottom half of each sandwich. Spread the mayonnaise mix over the top half of each, and place on top of the ham to close the sandwich. ENJOY!
Recipe notes:
*Each of the spreads for these sandwiches can be easily doubled to make either all warm or all cold sandwiches.
*The cold sandwiches can be made a few hours in advance. The warm sandwiches are best served fresh.
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