Wednesday, December 29, 2010

French Dip Sandwich



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a wonderful sandwich and a great way to finish leftover beef. The sauce in this recipe, developed by Rachael Ray , is unusually flavorful and while the original sandwich is made with deli-sliced beef, it translates well to the use of leftover meat, especially if rare beef is used. The main component of this sauce is condensed beef consomme. I know this will be off-putting to many of you, but I'm going to ask you to trust me. A bit of sherry or vinegar will change the nature of the consomme and make it a truly delicious base for a sauce. Most cooks shy away from condensed consomme because of its salty and very sweet taste. It's important to know, that when properly used, it can make an ordinary dish special. I use it quite often in competition recipes where the number and strength of ingredients can determine the success or failure of an entry. As a bit of an aside, in an amateur competition your fate is often determined by a single bite, so it is necessary that contest recipes be strongly flavored and that that first bite explode on the judges tongues. There is a downside to this. Many things become cloying or too rich for the palate with repeated bites. The judges will never know that. I'm not complaining mind you. I've won some wonderful prizes with recipes designed for judges rather than you. I just don't publish them here. I digress. I made two changes/additions to this recipe. I toasted the buns and spread them with a blue cheese butter which you can find here. Other than that, the recipe belongs to Rachael Ray. Here's how the sandwiches are made.

French Dip Sandwiches
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Rachael Ray

Ingredients
:
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons dry sherry
2 cans beef consomme, undiluted
1-1/2 pounds thinly sliced rare beef
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 sandwich rolls, split and toasted
Optional: Blue cheese butter

Directions:
1) In a large, shallow skillet over moderate heat, melt butter. Add shallots to butter and saute 2 minutes. Add flour to butter and shallot and cook a minute longer. Whisk in sherry and cook liquid out. Whisk in consomme in a slow stream. Bring sauce to a bubble and allow to simmer over low heat until ready to serve sandwiches.
2) Pile meat loosely across your cutting board or a large work surface. Season meat with salt and black pepper. Set out 4 ramekins or small soup cups for dipping sauce, 4 dinner plates and 4 split and toasted sandwich rolls that have been spread with blue cheese butter.. To assemble, using a pair of kitchen tongs, dip meat into loose au jus sauce and pile into rolls. Set ramekins or cups with extra dipping sauce along side the sandwiches. Serve hot. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Superb Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich - In the Kitchen with Kath
Andolouse Beef Sandwich - The Housewife Diary
Crock Pot Hoagies - Dinners for a Year and Beyond
Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches - Jane Deere
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork - Never Enough Thyme
Blue Cheese Steak Sandwich - One Perfect Bite
Hanger Steak Sandwich - Guilty Kitchen

51 comments :

Christo Gonzales said...

this sure caught my eye.....

ann said...

I love French Dip sandwiches. You're right it would be a great way to use up leftover beef. This is the week of leftovers around here. Thanks, Mary. Take care.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I LOVE french dip sandwiches!!

Monet said...

Your french dip sandwich sounds amazing...especially with that blue cheese butter. I haven't had a french dip in years...and I'm seriously craving one now. I hope you are having a lovely week. Thank you for always sharing such great eats with me.

Priya Suresh said...

Woww absolutely delicious sandwich, makes me hungry..

Lucie said...

Sounds very tasty and different! Your insight on competitions is very interesting!

Cherine said...

A luscious sandwich!!!

Unknown said...

Hey,

Nice and yummy sandwich..:)

Dr.Sameena@

http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

looks delicious! :)

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

Mary , this is sooo goooddd, im totally hungry jus looking at the Sandwich and the french dip in Oh so good!

Joanne said...

I didn't realize that you competed in competitions! how fun! Thanks for the tip!

These sandwiches sound delicious. You're making me wish I took those beef leftovers from my parents!

Big Dude said...

Great shot of a delicious sandwich.

Rita said...

One of our favourite meals when my kids come to visit.

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

That is one inviting sandwich - and with blue cheese butter, no less!

penny aka jeroxie said...

wish I saw this earlier... I had leftover beef slices.

Khadija El Mary said...

Sounds very tasty and delicious! Wish you a very Happy New Year Mary!
Mamatkamal

Blog is the New Black said...

LOVE french dip sandwiches. Made them for the first time this year and they were a hit!

What's next said...

I love french dip sandwiches, can't wait to try this with the blue cheese butter!!!
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Unknown said...

One wonderful sandwich Mary. I love French Dip sandwiches. I am so hungry now. :)
Have a great day.

Cathy said...

French dips are on my menu this weekend. We never seems to have enough au jus to go around so I'm very happy to have your recipe, Mary.

I hope you and Bob have a very happy New Year.

Carol said...

Great looking sandwich, love French Dips and especially blue cheese butter!

The Food Hound said...

The Booze Hound LOVES French Dip sandwiches! I have yet to make one, but I do have Rachael Ray's recipe stashed away somewhere!! I think it's worth roasting fresh beef just for the purposes of the sandwich, too :)

Haden News said...

This is one of my favorite sandwiches!! Hope you had a Merry Christmas...Happy New Year!!

Jeannie said...

That is one huge sandwich, am sure it's very tasty with that wonderful dip!

Allie said...

Great idea for leftovers! I love French Dip Sandwiches!!

Kim said...

I really like these sandwiches plus with the blue cheese butter, it sounds really good!

StephenC said...

This is something I would love to try, and one of Denver's main markets, King Soopers, has excellent roast beef in the deli. I'm fascinated by your reference to contests. Would you do a blog sometime about them, what, when, where?

Pondside said...

French Dip is always something I'm interested in on a menu - but will the bun be crispy enough, the sauce beefy enough? Will it be too salty or too thin? I may try this with leftover roast beef tomorrow night.

June said...

Yum. One of our very favorite sandwiches and this version sounds delicious! Love the addition of the blue cheese butter. I often use canned consomme to boost the flavor in soups and stews if I'm not using homemade stock, but agree one must be careful.

My Little Space said...

I love your sandwich dipping too! Btw, the pepper I used in my recipe is commonly used white pepper. Probably, the word 'pepper powder' confused a little bit! Hope you will like it. Wishing you a Happy New Year. May all the good things coming to you in year 2011.
Blessings, Kristy

PeggyR said...

Oh yum, we love French Dip sandwiches!

Kath said...

I'm one who likes to use fresh ingredients, but I agree that there's a place for canned broths now and then.

I bet the blue cheese butter takes a classic French Dip Sandwich to a whole new level. Sounds wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing it.

Cooking Gallery said...

The sandwich looks very tasty...! Thanks for the recipe, Mary :)!

From the Kitchen said...

I trust you, Mary! And, I've been using canned beef consomme for several decades!! I laboriously prepared it from scratch many years ago. Since I wasn't preparing for a career as a renowned chef, I felt it was too labor intensive. I would love to just reach in an have a bite of that luscious looking sandwich!

See you next year.

Best,
Bonnie

Glennis said...

I'll cook dinner anytime using one of your recipes, Mary, but for a French dip for lunch I'll go to Phillippes!

http://www.philippes.com/

Chiara said...

yummy sandwich Mary!makes me hungry...have a wonderful day...

Emily Malloy said...

I AM DROOOOOOOOOOOOLING

speedy70 said...

Ma questo è un super e succulento panino!!!! MOlto ghiotto e una meraviglia! Un abbraccio cara, alla prossima ricetta. . .

Mary Bergfeld said...

Cik Ayu, I am not able to comment on your blog but I wanted you to know that Your chicken sounds delicious. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

Karen said...

The bleu cheese butter sounds great... going to look at that one. I haven't had a french dip sandwich in sooo long and this sure makes me want one. Happy New Year, Mary!

teresa said...

oh i adore french dip with all of it's beefy, drippy flavor. this looks just wonderful, and i love the idea of the blue cheese butter.

Kate said...

This sounds delicious, thank you for sharing!

j3ss kitch3n said...

perfect sandwich in my opinion! thanks mary for dropping by my blog! Happy New Year! have a great day!

Elsa said...

This looks beautiful and delicious. This is actually one of my father's favorite dishes. Next time they visit, I will have to make this for them. :)

Julie said...

My meat loving husband would love this! I haven't had a French Dip in years.

A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...

Oh, Mary. French Dip might be the perfect food! Meaty, carb-y, dripping...YUM!

Linda Starr said...

I haven't had a French dip sandwich since I worked as a waitress in college and that was, well too long to mention, ago.

scrambledhenfruit said...

Hubby love French Dip Sandwiches- the blue cheese sounds so delicious! Best wishes for a fabulous new year!

Unknown said...

Chris and I were just talking about the best french dip sandwiches we'd ever eaten.... YUM! Now I just might have to make my own!!

That Girl said...

Who doesn't like beef consome? It's do good and salty.

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