TIme: 1 hour
Feeds: 2 people
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, thinly sliced into half rounds
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 3 tbsp dry vermouth
- 1 cup beef stock
- 4 slices of big slightly crusty french bread (we like the Seattle Sourdough brand)
- 8 oz thinly sliced roast beef
- 4 oz white cheddar cheese
- 4 oz Monterey Jack cheese
- Butter or mayo, for the outside of the bread
Directions: Start with prepping the onions for the sandwich. I like to take my time with these and make sure that they’re really soft and caramelized. Put a large pan on the stove and heat on medium. Melt the butter and heat the olive oil together and then add the thinly sliced onions. Stir frequently and once the onions are starting to soften and have gotten some color, add the garlic and dried thyme. Sautée for another minute or so until nicely fragrant. Add the vermouth to deglaze the pan and continue cooking until the vermouth has almost completely reduced. Add the beef stock and simmer. Once most of the liquid has reduced again, move the pan off the heat and set aside until you’re ready to assemble the sandwiches.
Prepare the rest of the elements of the sandwich. Freshly grate the white cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese and butter or add mayo to the outsides of the slices of bread. Using either a pan or an electric griddle, place the buttered or mayoed bread on the cooktop and then turn it on or start to heat. We are going to build this sandwich open faced and then will put them together once the cheese starts to melt well. Add the white cheddar to one half of the sandwich and Monterey Jack to the other. Next place your slices of roast beef on one side and some of the sautéed onions on the other. At this point, the cheese should be melty and you can put the sandwich together. Continue to cook until the bread is crisped and browned to your liking. Remove from the heat and let sit for a couple of minutes before cutting in half. Serve with fruit or chips on the side if desired.