4.23.2011

the saturday sandwich - one worth crossing the street for

 






happy weekend y'all
happy very near to the start of may.






____ 

i'm big on sandwiches
super keen on
the flake of a croissant
and the texture of bread.
smitten about proper cheese
and well-grilled meat.


truth be told
i could just about fill 
the pages of a book
with the the merits
of the little bready gems.






garden tomatoes
and crisp greens.
and stacks of things
layered just so.
and thus, via special request
my first ever attempt at 
a steak and egg.









for me,
it's one last kick at that wintery can.
it's a farewell to cold
and a bright hello to spring.
and for all intents and purposes
it's super easy.







it has a fried egg, 
sunny side up
the yellow of yolk oozing still.
it has tarragon and lemon
and good lot of crème fraîche.



it has avocado
and butter and pan-fried bread.
it's got bali pepper (!!) and sel gris,
and perfect pieces of strip loin.





it's the kinda sandwich 
you'd cross the street for,
i can all but promise.









talk soon
xox, n




plus,
a tentative plan for the coming week: 

a story about juice
a whole lot of cake
hooray to all of it.








__________










prop and food styling: me
props from: martine blackhurst


_____













a steak sandwich worth crossing the street for



the process

make the tarragon and lemon crème fraîche, refrigerate
wash and dry the greens, set aside
slice and butter the bread, set aside
season and grill or pan fry the steak
allow it to rest for at least 5 minutes
pan fry both sides of 4 slices of bread that has been buttered on both side
fry two eggs, season with sel gris and bali pepper
slice the steak 
mash the avocado with the back of a spoon
get ready to assemble


ingredients

1/4 loaf of country white bread, sliced
unsalted butter, room temperature
1 strip loin steak, seared or grilled
2 eggs, seasoned and fried sunny side up
1/2 a ripe avocado, roughly mashed
a couple handfuls of fresh arugula
a few dollops of tarragon and lemon crème fraîche
a small bit of cloth bound cheddar, shaved*
long bali peppercorns, cracked
fleur de sel 

tarragon and lemon crème fraîche

1/4 cup crème fraîche
the juice of half a lemon, strained 
1/4 of a small shallot, finely diced
a large handful of fresh tarragon leaves, lightly chopped
a couple pinches bali long peppercorns, freshly cracked
a couple pinches sel gris

wash and dry the tarragon, remove the leaves, discard the stems, chop and set aside
with a mortar and pestle grind a couple long bali peppercorns, set aside
juice and strain half a lemon and chop the shallots
in a small bowl mix the
crème fraîche and lemon juice
add the mustard and shallots and mix in the tarragon 
season to taste, cover and refrigerate





to assemble

spread the avocado on the bottom slice of each sandwich
arrange the arugula atop the avocado
divide the steak between the two sandwiches
add a couple dollops of the tarragon and lemon crème fraiche
season with fleur de sel and bali pepper
gingerly place the sunny side up egg atop there
shave a liberal portion of cloth bound cheddar on each
place the remaining pieces of bread
squish down a little and that's it, you're all done.
yum!







*i like cloth bound cheddar in this sandwich but any white cheddar will do just fine









34 comments:

tara said...

last night i put up a pot of crème fraîche. i take that as a sign.

the kick at the can is a good one, N.

nikole said...

thanks, T. i take that as a sign as well.

xo

Char said...

yum!!! i love a good steak sandwich

Sewon said...

Oh my, this looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I'm looking forward to your other saturday sandwich recipes!

Cassandra Marie said...

I looovvvveee a good sandwich! Yum!

gbf said...

wow fabulous! the pics are so wonderful. hope you had a great easter. dayle

nikole said...

thanks!

christelle is flabbergasting said...

It's time to make a sandwich!

t does wool said...

drooling here

Sasha said...

and this is a sandwich i would cross the street for (and i am very picky about sandwiches)! thanks for sharing.

La Roquette said...

Just came across your blog, simple yet so beautiful, gorgeous photography too :)

Eva / Sycamore Street Press said...

This looks ans sounds absolutely divine. Mmmm... thanks for the recipe. Beautiful styling and photography, as well.

m said...

These pictures make me smile..... love

red ticking said...

oh you and i are going to be really good friends... xx

nyx said...

i shall go make a sandwich, now. beautiful photographs, as usual.

seesaw said...

i too love a delicious steak sandwich!

Fee said...

Wow - aside from crossing the street, I might even cross the globe for this steak sandwich. mmmmm! Thanks for keeping me culinarilary inspired.

C. Tvillingmamma said...

Amazing!

aene gespinst said...

I am a vegetarian. Should I change my mind?

Claire M. said...

Thanks for sharing the recipe :)

Claire M.

Agata Melnyk said...

awesome, this blog is awesome!

clarity enhanced diamonds said...

I love steak sandwiches...just wonderful!

Claire M. said...

I love it steak sandwich for the win :)

Claire M.

Kate said...

Nikole, I love love love love your blog. It's fabulous. A happy place to escape to.

Thank you for your passion for food!

kompromisslostoll said...

Oh wow Nikole!!! Found you via decor8/twitter and am sooo happy about that! Love your photos, love your style of blogging... You're on top of my blogs-to-read list :)

madera y zinc said...

Great proposition and great pictures too!!!

Elisa @ Globetrotting in Heels said...

Holy deliciousness!

I'd love to use the second photo to link to your blog from mine, for next week's "Loving It" post... would that be ok?

You can contact me at elisa.bieg@gmail.com

Love your blog!

Aaron Fung said...

Sandwich! Sandwich most divine!
It best is paired with beer or wine
Dreams of beef on rye and kaiser
Read this post and become wiser.

:-)

I like your photography Nikole, your compositions make the food look very beautiful.

And I like the way you write about the food.

If only one could pass food through fiber optic cable.

But that is to be in a yet unborn future.

Jaclyn said...

Looks incredible and your photos are truly beautiful. So glad I found your blog, I love it.

Hannah said...

Sounds delicious. The first picture makes me hungry!

Thanks for sharing!
xoxo Hannah
Heaps of Dreams

nikole said...

Thanks everyone! ;)

Annika said...

What an amazing blog. Love the design and the photographs. And all the yummy, yummy food!

Cindy. Lo. said...

I love these pictures,
Such a great and unique style you have there!

Farideh said...

oh my god! I totally love your darkish photos!!