Pastrami french dip- the best sandwich EVER

Lately its been pretty cloudy here in Baltimore with the occasional shower here and there. Now, I love the sun, ice cream, swimming and basically all things summer related just as much as the other person. But lately I've found it terribly comforting after a long wet day at work to run inside a nice warm home and snuggle in front of the TV in cozy wooly p.j's. It also helps being kept company with notably the best sandwich ever known to man.

Theres something primal about eating with your hands- you grab onto your food and with great dexterity and skill, shove it into your mouth. Not too different than the average caveman back in the day-- have to say average 'cos those guys on the Geico commercials seem way too refined to fall into this category. Anyways, back to the food...ahh yes the humble sandwich- in all its simple, versatile and portable glory theres nothing quite as satisfying as a warm toasty, oh-so-slightly-spiced, cheesy sandwich dunked in a pool of herby oniony soupy goodness. The latter of course being the "au-jus" or dip part of the creation. Its just the perfect companion to a weekday blockbuster treat, in this case, it was Will Smith's "Seven Pounds". Its a good thing that sandwich was wiped out waaay before the serious part began, the only thing I wanted near me at that point was a box of tissues. Seriously, as if finding that perfect someone that you got along with and loved wasnt hard enough, you have to complicate things by seeing and feeling the presence of that person knowing full well that the mistakes you made would keep you apart forever because it was the right thing to do! SAD, so depressingly sad, I was bawling like no one's business during and after the movie. It was a great movie though, not the kind I would ever want to see again but nice.

Sorry, sorry didnt mean to depress you after that movie review, but maybe I can cheer you up with the recipe for an amazing sandwich and a beautiful, hilarious (look at the 60 yr old guy fake a muscle pull while dancing with a much younger woman) Telugu remixed song.



Here's the recipe:

For dip
1 red onion sliced
1/2 can of beef broth
A stem of fresh thyme

Fry onions and thyme in a little bit of vegetable oil for about 10 minutes on medium heat till soft and light brown. Take out half of the cooked onions and reserve for sandwich. Add beef broth and bring to a boil. Adjust salt and serve hot with sandwich.


For 1 Sandwich
2 slices pumpernickle bread
4 deli slices of pastrami (beef/turkey, your choice)
a handful of arugula
A slice of swiss cheese (I used grated Gruyere, my current fave)
A handful of caramelized onions
1/2 tbsp of horseradish sauce
1/2 tbsp of butter for toasting on pan.

Spread horseradish sauce on both slices of bread, layer on meat, arugula, onion and cheese. Spread butter on the slice of sandwich that faces up, invert that side onto a pan thats on medium high heat. Let it sizzle for about 20 seconds, in the meanwhile butter the other side of the sandwich that should be facing upwards on the pan. Flip sandwich, toast for another 20 seconds and serve with dip.