17 Portabella French Dip

The rough, crusty dough crackled in my hand as I gently pressed the sandwich together to fit into the little ramekin of dark, savory broth.  It dripped as I hunched forward to take that first bite.  The rush of the au jus, crunch of the bread, earthy taste of mushroom and the the final pull of the cheese, all in that perfect bite.  The French Dip is by far my favorite sandwich in the whole wide world.  If it's on the menu I'm ordering it.

I'm not sure why I decided to make it with mushrooms...but it worked out great!  My guy doesn't even like mushrooms and he ate this...(major points) he liked that the onions and au jus helped mask the mushroom taste haha.  Hey, I can't win them all.  You could also use some thin-sliced deli roast beef in place of mushrooms, note to self.  I'm going to keep this short because there's a lot going on in this post today.

A huge thank you to Julia @ The Roasted Root and Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out  for giving me the Very Inspirational Blogger award!! It's like getting a big hug from you guys :) and I wish I could give it right back to you both, I love your blogs!

I'm going to be a good blogger and follow the rules and they are...

Link back to the person who nominated you.

Post the award image to your page.

Share 7 facts about yourself.

Nominate 15 other bloggers and let them know they’ve been nominated.

Post the rules in your blog post.

Seven things about me...hmm...

1.  I have two tattoos *gasp*

2.  I'm a massage therapist and I got to work on the Dew Tour one year.  I also founded seated massage for the Veterans Hospital in Baltimore in 2008, to give back to returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets.  (I'm in the light blue hoodie) hard to believe this was taken almost 5 years ago...

3.  Right now I'm at Starbucks and two men just sat down in my corner nook to do things on their phones, and I really wish both of them would just leave.  Sigh.  Now one of them is even talking on his phone, I mean really?  Just go already.   I'm such a joy to be around today :)

4.  I need a pedicure.  Bad.  What color should I do?

5.  I say just about everything that is on "Sh*t girls say" and my husband thinks it's hilarious and I can never say "does this smell funny to you" without him laughing really really hard.

6.  I'm listening to Mumford & Sons on repeat.

7.  Pepper Parmesan is my favorite salad dressing.  random...

I want to give this award to...

Home Skillet
Bakeaholic Mama
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Food Fork Good
Knead to Cook
Amuse Your Bouche
Wilde in the Kitchen

just to name a few.  I'm inspired by so many bloggers whether it's their stunning photos, strong writing voice, creative recipes, etc.  I'm always learning from this great community.

Whew, well I don't know about you but I'm glad tomorrow is Friday.

Have a great weekend!


Portabella French Dip

*Not vegetarian, the soup uses beef broth*

Ingredients:

1 10 oz can Campbell's french onion soup
1 package pre-sliced portabella mushrooms or 2-3 whole mushrooms sliced
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 Tablespoon butter
4-5 shakes worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Sherry cooking wine
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 slices smoked provolone cheese, per sandwich
Hoagie Rolls

1.  About an hour or two before serving mix together the mushrooms, soup, worcestershire, sherry, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a sealable container and marinate.

2.  When you're ready to cook, dump all of the ingredients of the marinade into a large saucepan and simmer for 5-7 minutes.  During this time in a skillet saute the onions over medium-high heat in butter until they begin to caramelize or turn brown.  Then spoon the mushrooms out of the marinade liquid and add to the pan of onions, *warning* it will sizzle, stand back!  Turn the fire out under the marinade and reserve for your au jus dipping sauce.

3.  Cook the onions and mushrooms together for a few more minutes (2-3 minutes), stirring occasionally.  Then remove from heat.

4.  Butter the top of your roll and spoon some of the au jus/marinade onto the bottom of the roll.  Add the onions and mushrooms to the bottom, top with provolone cheese and toast open-faced until the cheese is melted and bun is light brown.

5.  Serve with the side of au jus for dipping and enjoy!