Oregon Transplant: Salmon, Gouda, & Fried Egg Sandwiches

Happy Tuesday morning y'all!

I'm here posting again on Tuesday (after I posted on Monday) because I don't think I'm going to be back to the blog until Friday. The hubby and I have a super-busy week.

Isn't it always like that around the holidays?

As I mentioned previously (actually, quite a while ago), the hubby and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year. Which means a lot more work than usual. Haha. Usually we are just grabbing a couple of things and heading out the hubby's sister's house. Not this year. So, the hubby and I will be cleaning house today, with tomorrow being a prep day for the holiday. We also have to babysit our niece and our nephews tomorrow before doing the prep work, which will add a extra kick of pressure tomorrow. I figure, as long as the turkey is defrosted, the Clam Dip is made, and the Pecan Pie is done, I should feel ready for the holiday.

Should being the key word there :-)

With all the running around the hubby and I have been doing, with the holidays upon us, I've been looking for easy dinners. Fast dinners. Dinners without a lot of prep work, and even without a lot of active cooking. These sandwiches fit that bill. They utilize ingredients that are easy to have on hand, and the most work you'll do making them is frying the egg (which takes 1 and 1/2 minutes, seriously) and melting the cheese onto the salmon. It doesn't get any easier.

The egg really takes the sandwich over-the-top and makes it feel dinner-esque.

I kicked my mayo up a tad by adding a little garlic. Garlic. Really, that's all. All I did was add 1/2 tsp of minced garlic to some regular mayo, and WOW! It's like you have a whole other condiment. Try it, you'll love it.

Oh, and dressed up mayo is apparently called "aioli". So I'll call this Garlic Aioli from now on :-)

Smoked salmon also makes this sandwich very convenient. Pull some out of the fridge, put it on the sammie, and you're done! No muss, no fuss, no cooking... You get it. Easy.

I added tomato and some arugula from the garden to my sandwich, but by any means, replace the arugula with your favorite green if desired. Spinach would work. Lettuce would work. Kale might work, maybe if you massaged it first...

Did you think that was a typo? Massaging kale? No, no it was not a typo. I'm so serious. Apparently, you can eat raw kale if you massage it first. It's supposed to eliminate some of the bitterness and toughness of the leaf. Google it, you'll find plenty of info on massaging kale. I'll be nice and share this link on how to massage kale for a salad-

How to Make a Massaged Kale Salad

One of these days, I'm going to have to try the massage...

Melted gouda on that smoky salmon. Soooooooo good.

The hubby loves this sandwich. This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've made it for him, and I get rave reviews every time. In fact, I usually get asked the next day if there's any more salmon. Or gouda. Or that aioli.

I will say this, I taught the hubby the secret to aioli. I know, regardless if anything happens to me, that the hubby can now go forth in his life and prepare garlic aioli for his own sandwiches. He's actually been making it for all his sandwiches this week, which makes me smile.

So, yeah. If you are looking for something easy and quick to make this week for dinner, while you are mental preparing for Thanksgiving, this is the ticket! Enjoy!

Have a great holiday everyone! Gobble till you wobble :-)

Ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches):

2 croissant rolls
2 large eggs
2 tbsp mayo
1 garlic clove, finely minced
6 oz smoked salmon
2 sliced Gouda cheese
2 tomato slices
1 cup arugula leaves

Directions:

1. Turn oven to broil.
2. Slice croissant rolls in half. Place halves on a cookie sheet, place in the oven, and toast until golden brown. Remove from oven. Remove "top" of rolls, place on a cooling rack, and set aside.
3. Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, crack egg into pan. Cook for 60 seconds. Carefully, flip egg over. Cook another 30 seconds, then remove from pan. Repeat with second egg. Set eggs aside.
4. Place mayo and garlic in a small bowl. Vigorously mix together.
5. With the "bottom" half of the rolls, spread 1/2 tbsp of garlic mayo. Place 3 oz of salmon and 1 slice of cheese on each half. Place cookie sheet back under broiler and toast until cheese is melted (2-3 minutes). Remove from oven.
6. Top melted cheese with 1 tomato slice, 2-3 arugula leaves, and a fried egg. Divide remaining garlic mayo between the "top" halves of rolls. Sandwich with top half of roll, and serve!

Printable Recipe