I got tired of the usual BLTs so I invented an upscale one.
(I really should add where I got the ingredients:
Frantoia Extra Virgin Olive Oil (what do you do to a virgin to make them extra, I wonder): Douceurs du Marché, Atwater Market
Aceto Balsamico 5 yr. balsamic vinegar: Douceurs du Marché, Atwater Market
Italian ham (prosciutto): Exo Fruits
Cherry tomatoes, Gruyère slices and baby lettuces: Exo Fruits
Country bread: Au Pain Doré
Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie) from Japan, but available at Miyamoto and the Korean Grocer
Amora Dijon mustard: Métro
Beer: Cuivrée by Boréale)
Wow, that looks like a killa sandwich! But did it take you like five hours to make it?
ReplyDeleteHeh . . . actually, goddamnit if I'm going to go to all the effort and then not enjoy it, was my thinking. I can't think of food as a prop. It took five hours to do the whole shoot but the actual making was in real time and I cut it, sat down and started eating it about thirty seconds after I say "Yum yum."
ReplyDeleteAnd it was good! No, I mean, weirdly, amazingly good! There were unexpected taste explosions everywhere. It was the balsamic vinegar dressing for the mixed greens that really made it, but the prosciutto provided a fantastic, salty counterpoint to the tiny sugar bombs of the gherkins, and the crunch of the grilled country bread with infused olive oil was a definite departure from the usual sandwich fare.
I don't know if I'd go to all the trouble again just for myself, but I would do it again for company.
And if I make such a film again, I'll eat that, too.
I like your trick of tossing the lettuce in the balsamic vinegar. I love putting balsamic on my sandwiches (ok, well on many, many things), but I usually just drizzle it on whatever toppings I've added. And then, it usually runs out the side.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, you have to try the 15 year old balsamic from Douceurs du Marche. Amazing. So sweet & syrupy. Really, really, really good.
I have to admit I'm a balsamic virgin. This was pretty much the first time I've consciously put balsamic vinegar in any recipe, ever. I didn't expect the sweetness, but that's what ended up making the sandwich. I'm going to mess around with it in other stuff.
ReplyDelete15 year? God . . . the 5-year cost a fortune and I took a peek at the 10-year price and blanched. I'll have to be talking to my accountant before I consider the 15-year, sorry =+)
I noticed the vinegar toss too. I occasionally put balsamic vinegar on a sandwich, but I've had the same problem as The Milliner -- it runs off.
ReplyDeleteThe thing to keep in mind with balsamic vinegar -- especially the old and expensive stuff -- is that one uses it sparingly. So that $40 bottle of vinegar might seem outrageous, but if you use it properly (which is to say, sparingly), you'll still be enjoying it a year after you bought it.
Yeah, it's the same thing as Aveda shampoo. Seems expensive, but it lasts forever.
ReplyDeleteAs to the (I don't even dare think of the price) 15-year-old balsamic vinegar, I view it as the holy grail. It's there in the cupboard, but I'm afraid something bad will happen to me if I touch it. So I don't.
God, that photo makes me nervous. Rocks are for putting in the gas grill to heat. Rocks are not for climbing on.
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ReplyDeletewow! nick! i saw the movie just now!!! wow!!!! very impressive!!!! i think i'll have to get up at 5 in the morning if i want to make a similar sandwich and bring to office for lunch!!! and yes the movie is as delicious as the sandwich!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think the Cuivré would complement the ingredients perfectly. Unfortunately, drinking as many glasses as you did during the making of this video would give me the runs like nobody's business.
ReplyDeleteWe should look into using an oven stone. Is it really worth it?
If you look closely I used the same beer pour over and over ^_-
ReplyDeleteBut I did consume at least four. None was hurt during the filming.
If you look closely (again) you will see that I have in my oven a Hearthkit. It's basically a ceramic insert that is supposed to level out the temperature and provide more even baking. I've had it for five years now but I can't yet say as how it works . . . after I bake this here salad I'll tell you.
i have to admit that the 15 year old balsamic purchase was not an ordinary splurge. shakylegs & i were cooking xmas dinner and i wanted something extra special.
ReplyDeletewhen i went to Douceurs du Marche, they first showed me the 25 year old vinegar! yikes. i had to back away from that slowly. it would have been a little too much on top of all the xmas shopping that had already taken place.
so hey, i figured i was 'compromising' (ha!) getting the 15 year old vingegar.
but as blork says, it could last a year as you use it so sparingly. um. well. ours should last at least 6 months....
Maybe it's just me, but I put balsamic vinegar in the same category as truffle oil. I wouldn't know a good one if it bit me, and I'm afraid to actually get interested . . . hmm, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever in my lfe eaten a truffle, let alone bought truffle oil. Might be an interesting video in there somewhere.
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