June 9-11 Cream Cheese, Apple and Almond Croissant

June 9      Haddock with cornmeal crust, rice and green beans with salad
June 10    Cream cheese, green apple and toasted almonds on a croissant and salad
June 11    Went out and truly ate all the sushi we could eat


Friday night I was on my own for dinner because Shack was working and Little Shack had a previous engagement so could make anything I wanted. Normally, my thoughts turn to things with olives and rapini and hot chilis or really spicy indian but for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about this sandwich that I used to make when I first moved to Toronto at 20 and was just learning about food. For me, this sandwich was the height of fancy pants food snobbery and I always felt very smug and proud when I would make it for someone using an fresh croissant from a french bakery and cream cheese not from the grocery store but from the cheese shop in the market. It made me feel very continental and sophisticated and it was unlike anything I had ever eaten growing up. Of course, by the end of that year, I was actually living in Paris, eating real, mind blowing croissants and endless wheels of brie and other exotic, stinky cheeses and this sandwich faded from memory.



For some reason I thought about it all morning and realized that it would be a perfect little meal to enjoy all by myself with a nice, cold glass of wine and a fresh salad with a fig vinaigrette. It was exactly as I remembered it. The creaminess of the cheese is balanced perfectly with the tart, crispiness of the green apple and then that crunch of the toasted almonds all wrapped up in a buttery, flaky package.
Plus, Dianne and I did a two hour training walk this morning so if that doesn't buy me a croissant and some cream cheese, what's the point of all this walking?

Cream Cheese, Apple and Almond Croissant

1 croissant
creamy cream cheese - I am not about to dictate to you how much cream cheese you should spread on your croissant
a tart, green apple
about a tbls of finely sliced, toasted almonds

Cut your croissant in half length wise. Spread as cream cheese as you like on the bottom half. I mean, you are making a sandwich from a croissant so now is not the time to worry about calories, right?
I slice my apple on my mandolin so that I can get the slices paper thin. If you do them by hand, try to get them as thin as possible. Layer the apple slices over the cream cheese, sprinkle with the toasted almonds and cover with the top of the croissant.

Salad with Fig Vinaigrette

1 tbls fig balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbls honey
1 tbls of good mustard ( I used a riesling tarragon dijon)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
juice from half of a large orange

mixed greens
grape tomatoes
orange slices from the other  half of the orange
dried cranberries


whisk the vinegar, honey and mustard together. Drizzle in the oil, whisking the whole time. Squeeze in the orange juice and whisk one last time. I find it never needs salt but that's up to you.

Toss the greens, tomatoes, orange slices and dried cranberries in with the dressing in a large bowl.
Eat.