Ruth Kalinka Designs

This is a classic combination with limitless possibilities. My version embraces the blend of salty/savory (turkey, mushrooms), sweet (swiss cheese, honey, basil), and spicy (black and cayenne pepper), and uses savory/bitter herbs to accent the flavors.

I rarely measure, so the following is a list of estimates for what I used to make one sandwich. These are simply guidelines for enjoying your own unique creation, so experiment!

Sorry there aren’t photos, I was hungry and the sandwich was hot and tasty!

Ingredients

• baguette (about 6 inches)
• pepper turkey (small handful of chipped deli turkey)
• portobello mushroom (1/2, washed & sliced)
• swiss cheese (1 large deli slice, ~1 oz)
• herbes de Provence (~1/4 dried – my blend contains thyme, rosemary, savory, marjoram, & basil)
• fresh basil (~5-6 medium leaves)
• butter (~1 tsp)
• white wine (~1 Tbsp Sauvignon Blanc)
• honey (~1 tsp)
• cayenne pepper (dash)
• nutmeg (dash)

How I made this delicious sandwich

1. Warm a pan with butter on medium heat.
2. As the butter melts and begins to bubble, add dried herbes de provence.
3. Add mushroom slices. Let cook until the bottoms start looking wet and then flip.
4. Add nutmeg & cayenne pepper. Continue cooking, stirring periodically.
5. Add pepper turkey and mix gently into mushroom mixture. Place swiss cheese on top.
6. Add white wine and honey.
7. Allow cheese to melt and liquids to bubble. The liquids in the pan will help prevent the cheese from sticking to the pan and browning, but it is fine if the cheese browns. Explore this flavor!
8. Cut baguette into sandwich size and slice lengthwise, but not quite all the way through to create a hinge.
9. Open hinged bread over hot ingredients in pan and use a spatula to help get contents into bread as you flip bread under. (If you’ve ever seen a proper Philly cheesesteak being made, it’s very much the same technique! )
10. I found it easier to pour the rest of the contents of the pan (both solid and liquid) into my sandwich. Be sure to balance the amount of moisture vs. bread so that you don’t end up with a soggy mess. (I actually squeezed my sandwich out a little immediately and then served it on a fresh dry plate!)
11. Tear basil into small pieces (or snip with kitchen sheers) onto the sandwich.
12. Close sandwich and enjoy!

My sandwich was very moist, but not soggy. I served it with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc because that’s what I had open, but I’m very curious about your suggestions. Because of the swiss cheese/honey and the heat from the black pepper/cayenne, I think this sandwich might work well with a Reisling or Gewurztraminer. You?