Toasted Turkey, Brie and Caramelized Onion Sandwich

A few years ago I took a food writing course and one of the exercises was to think about a meal or a food item attached to a memory and then write about that memory, using the meal as a way to share the experience. It was a fun and unusual exercise and so interesting to listen to the stories that bubbled up from the participants around the table. 

One person talked about their grandmother’s cherry pie, another a meal at a favorite restaurant with her husband. One guy wrote about the bologna and cheese sandwiches his father used to make for them after school. Each story ripe with tender memories and delicious details as we all sifted through memories, trying to put words to the feelings.

I wrote about caramelizing an onion. I remember feeling sheepish because I talked about my old green plastic cutting board that’s been a trusty sidekick in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. I couldn’t help but mention the toddlers complaining at my feet to be held. I wrote about the sizzle of the pan and the fragrant smell of onion in the air while I juggled and bounced babies, trying to put a meal on the table, that frazzled feeling every parent knows comes with the dinner hour. Cooking and working, creativity, words and memories all tied together with the string of motherhood. To this day caramelizing an onion still has the unique power to somehow soothe the rough corners of long days.

When I think of it, I cook a couple onions at the beginning of the week. I store them in a tubberware and add them to salads, sandwiches, wraps and tacos all week long. Caramelizing an onion takes a little bit of patience, but the reward of a sweet almost jammy onion as a compliment to just about anything you want to eat is worth the few minutes of effort. A splash of balsamic vinegar just adds to the rich flavor and a little brightness to the onions. We’ll revisit these onions as we inch towards Thanksgiving but for this week, I thought we would keep it simple with a hearty and over the top delicious toasted sandwich. Perfect for lunch or dinner, this sandwich has all the fall flavors I love. Sweet fig spread, creamy brie cheese and peppery arugula with turkey and of course the caramelized onions, I can promise you’ll make this recipe again and again.

Balsamic Caramelized Onions

• 2 large yellow or sweet onions thinly sliced

• 2 generous tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 black pepper

Start by thinly slicing the onions. I like to peel the onion and chop it in half. Then thinly slice the onion in a half-moon shape. Turn a large sauté pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan along with the onions. Give everything a good stir. Continue to stir the onions every couple minutes until the onions begin to have a little golden brown color. Reduce heat to low and add the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Keep stirring until the onions are a rich deep brown and have an almost jammy texture, about 20-30 minutes total. 

Toasted Turkey, Brie and Fig Sandwich

• Ciabatta rolls

• Fig spread

• Brie cheese

• Balsamic caramelized onions

• Turkey deli meat

• Arugula

• Digon aioli*

Preheat oven to a broil. Split the ciabatta roll in half and spread the dijon aioli on one side of the bread and the fig spread on the other. Layer the brie cheese over the fig spread and the turkey on the dijon aioli. Top the turkey with a generous spoonful of the balsamic onions. Toast the open-faced sandwich on a baking sheet in the oven under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes or until the cheese melts and the bread begins to toast along the edges. Remove from oven and immediately add the arugula to one side of the sandwich before carefully putting the two halves together. Cut the sandwich in half and serve immediately.

Dijon Aioli

• 2 tablespoons olive oil mayonnaise

• 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard

• Pinch of kosher salt

In a small bowl whisk together the three ingredients. Keep in an air tight container in the refrigerator.