Saturday, February 9, 2019

Food and Wine of Uruguay; Chivito Sandwiches paired with Garzon Cab Franc #WinePW

OH MY YUM!!!  This sandwich may be the best thing I have made this month!!

Crisp bacon, thinly sliced ham, tender filet mignon cutlets seared to perfection, piled high on ciabatta bread, dressed with lettuce and tomato and topped with a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg.......


This sandwich called the Chivito paired wonderfully with a Cab Franc from the same Country.  Join us over at the Wine Pairing Weekend group as we visit Uruguay.....



Jill of L'Occasion invited us all to explore the wines of Uruguay and then join her for twitter chat at 11 AM ET today.  You are welcome to join in as well.  Just follow #WinePW.  We would be happy to have you.  Here is Jill's invitation post


I went onto wine.com and chatted with one of the representatives.  I explained that we prefer dry wines and asked for some suggestions and he recommended a Cabernet Franc Reserve from Bodega Garzon.

Then we had a cold (read freezing) snap and the wines were delayed.  I didn't think I was going to get it in time to join in the fun but the weather broke for a few days and the wine arrived on Wednesday.


A Google search asking about the foods of Uruguay popped up this article and recipe from The Spruce Eats.  This article written by Marian Blazes states in the first two paragraphs.....
"The chivito is the national sandwich of Uruguay. Its importance in the country is on a par with hamburgers in the United States, fish and chips in the U.K., the Cuban sandwich in Cuba, and steaks in Argentina. This sandwich is not for the faint of heart or appetite, either.
 The chivito (which translates as "little goat") is a serious sandwich filled with meat. The star ingredient is a slice of churrasco, which is thinly sliced grilled beef. This is topped with slices of ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, melted mozzarella cheese, and a fried egg."
Who could resist?  Certainly not I.  I knew that this was exactly the dish I wanted to serve with my wine.


I took a few liberties but stayed pretty close to the recipe as written.  I bought a loaf of Ciabatta bread and cut it into 4 sections.  Then I cut each individual section in half to make buns.  Instead of mixing together the mayo and ketchup, I smeared on some Thousand Island Dressing that I had.



I cooked the bacon until it was nice and crisp, set it aside to cool and removed all but a couple of Tablespoons of bacon grease from the skillet.  I pounded the steaks thin and then seared them for just a minute or two per side in the grease.


Now it is time to build the sandwiches.  I made four so that I could feed the guys who are working on our bathroom as well as Frank and I.  Yep, this was a lunchtime wine pairing.



I didn't have any Mozzarella slices so I used some shredded Mozzarella I had on hand.  Pop it under the broiler just long enough to melt the cheese.


And then the crowning touch....a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg.  I poured the wine for Frank and I.  The contractor and plumber passed on the wine but they sure did love this sandwich!!!


Now, lets talk about the pairing.  The wine is a deep red, nearly black.  I was surprised when I got some tartness on the tongue with my first sip followed by a licorice note.  I took a bite of my sandwich and then another sip of wine.  This wine was smoother with the food and paired nicely with the sandwich.  My husband liked the wine very much.  I thought it was better with food but that didn't stop me from enjoying another glass in the evening while I was curled up with my book.



#international, #uruguay. #southamerica, #sandwiches, #beeftenderloin, #ham, #bacon, #eggs,
Entrees, Sandwiches,
South American, Uruguay
Yield: 4 sandwichesPin it

Chivito Sandwich

prep time: 10 minscook time: 20 minstotal time: 30 mins
Crisp bacon, thinly sliced ham, tender filet mignon cutlets seared to perfection, piled high on ciabatta bread, dressed with lettuce and tomato and topped with a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg.......

ingredients:

  • 8 slices bacon
  • 2 beef filet steaks
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 T. butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 loaf Ciabatta Bread
  • 4 T. thousand island dressing
  • 4 lettuce leaves
  • 4 thin slices, deli ham
  • 4 slices tomato
  • 1/2 c. shredded Mozzarella or 4 slices Mozzarella cheese

instructions:

  1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over med heat until crisp.  Remove to a plate lined with paper towel to cool.
  2. Remove all but 1 T. of bacon drippings from the skillet.  Cut each filet in half crosswise and then use a meat mallet to pound to a thin cutlet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place the skillet with the bacon drippings onto a burner over medium high heat.  When hot, sear the steaks for about a minute per side or until desired temperature.  Remove to a platter and let rest.
  3. Cut the bread into 4 equal sections.  Slice each section in half, crosswise.  Place the bottoms onto a broiler pan. Spread a 1/2 Tablespoon of dressing onto each bottom half of bread.  Place a lettuce leaf on each dressed sliced.  Top with 2 slices bacon, one seared filet, a slice of ham and tomato.  Divide the cheese between each and place under the broiler for just a minute or so,  until the cheese melts.  Remove from the broiler and place onto plates.  
  4. Melt the butter in a clean skillet over medium high heat.  Fry the eggs, sunny side up, to your desired preference.  Top each sandwich with an egg.  Smear the remaining dressing over the remaining pieces of bread and press down onto the sandwich allowing the yolk to run over all.

NOTES:

Recipe adapted from one found on The Spruce.
Created using The Recipes Generator



Stop by and see what the others thought of the wines they tried from Uruguay and then join us in Twitter chat.  Remember, it is a 11 AM ET and you will follow #WinePW.




21 comments:

  1. “Sandwich” is such an inadequate word to describe this dish. It looks incredible! I’m familiar with Bodega Garzon but haven’t yet tried their Cab Franc. On the hunt for it now!

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    1. Enjoy Lauren and if you get a chance to pair it with this sandwich all the better.

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  2. I read about that sandwich, but didn't get around to making it. Yum!

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  3. You and I were very much on the same wave lengths this month. I also loved this sandwich! So good! I think it might be showing up in the rotation at our house more often now. Nice to know it worked with the Cab France as well.

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    Replies
    1. I can't wait to make it again...I'm drooling just thinking of it.

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  4. Wow, that looks like a sandwich!!! I think Garzón Cab Franc is next on my list to taste along with that sandwich!

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  5. what a delicious pairing! This sandwich would really hit the spot on a cold day.

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  6. It was delicious David and that sandwich....I can see it all year round using sliced grilled steak in place of the tenderloin.

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  7. Oh, we do love chivito! What a great pairing! Now I really want one!

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    Replies
    1. I can't believe I have never even heard of this delicious sandwich until now.

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  8. In researching recipes, I also came across the Chivito sandwich. It sounds great and yours look delicious. I'm glad your wines arrived in time!

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  9. OMG that Chivito looks amazing. I have to try this! Thanks for sharing Wendy!

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  10. Hi Wendy, I have checked several posts under Uruguay #winepw and realized that guys mostly picked Tannat - not you though ) But it looks like this CabFranc was a bit unusual - I mean tartness is not CabFranc feature... So it looks like food added to wine in this case - made the wine more interesting...
    Cheers

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I was very surprised by that initial tart taste. Very unusual for a Cab Franc but it had the deep earthy undertones that I expected and it paired beautifully with the food.

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  11. Hi Wendy, I was making weekly food and wine blog roundup, included your post as part of #winepw project. And our exchange about CabFranc tasting as well) the review is here https://www.winester.org/feb17-blogs-to-read
    Cheers

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Walter. The site does not show up when I paste it into the search menu. I will play with it a bit and see what I can find out.

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    2. I found it. Thanks so much for including me in the roundup.

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