"baguette" news and stories

At a Super Bowl Party filled with Velveeta-laden spreads and greasy potato chips, crostini can be a welcome alternative. This recipe is one of my favorites: it pairs creamy goat cheese, tart red peppers and a toasty baguette for a refreshing break from the norm.

I have heard many, many trick for keeping fresh bread fresh. By fresh bread, I mean the baguette or boule or sourdough loaf that you can buy at a good bakery. These loaves should have a crisp crust, a moist and soft interior and a flavor that is unrivaled by anything that comes packed in plastic at the supermarket. The fresh breads tend to go stale in a day if not properly stored. One bakery recommended to me that I store the bread in a paper bag and reheat it in the oven for a few minutes to refresh the crispness of the crust. This has been a fairly reliable method, but if you eat a lot of bread, you'll go through a lot of paper bags.

Recently, I came across these reusable bread bags that are designed to do the same job and keep bread fresh. The bags are made of cotton and can be used in one of three ways, making them more versatile than a plain paper bag. They can be unfolded to support tall loaves, folded down to form a basket for rolls or muffins and the can also be sealed with the magnets hidden inside the lip of the bag, which keeps in heat if you are serving and generally keeps the bread fresher. The bags come in black, white/sand and red.

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We're still getting prepped for Sandwich Day on September 21st and it's never too early to pick up some inspiring tips from fellow food bloggers. Ivonne, from Creampuffs in Venice, put together this gorgeous panini that reminds us that sandwiches don't have to be savory - they can be sweet, too. Her Nutella Supreme Panini have nutella, peanut butter, strawberries and sliced almonds on buttered and toasted baguettes. The bread is grilled in the panini maker before the filling is added (so you could simply toast bread to make this sandwich at home), so the soft fillings don't run out of the sandwich before you have a chance to get it into your mouth.

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This sandwich is a great, tasty way to use up leftover steak and it's very simple to make, mostly because I rely on prepared barbecue sauce. All you need to do is chop up some onion and mushrooms (white or portobello) into small pieces and saute in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper until they are tender. I use a few tablespoons of onion and about 1 cup of the mushrooms, sometimes a bit more, per sandwich, but the amount is completely flexible. Vary the amounts depending on the size of your rolls. While the mushrooms are cooking, shred up some leftover beef and add it to the mushrooms once they're tender. Stir in enough of your favorite barbecue sauce to moisten everything, cook until the mixture is heated through, and serve on a fresh roll or baguette. This sandwich can also be made with all mushrooms for a vegetarian alternative.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]