Cooking For One or Two - A Guide to Budget Meals and Stretching Your Money

I don't know what it's like in other countries, but in Canada, we love our donuts. Now while fresh is preferred, day-olds don't usually taste all that bad, and they cost less. Most bakeries, or the bakery section of your supermarket, offer day-old specials on other baked goods as well. Items such as day-old croissants aren't half bad with a dab of mayo or pesto mayo. Here's a simple recipe I threw together the other day with day old croissants. I used mini-croissants, but it's up to you. Caution: this sandwich is quite rich, so if you're watching your diet, you may want to drop a few items such as the mayo and marinated artichokes.

Ingredients

• Croissant. I used day-olds to save a bit of money.
• Mayo or pesto mayo [optional, since most croissants are pretty moist from the butter content] Pesto mayo can be made by combining about 1/2 or 1 tsp of pesto for every 1 tbsp of mayo. [I'll post a recipe for pesto soon, as basil is in abundance at the Farmers' Markets right now.]
• Boston lettuce. If you don't eat a lot of lettuce, buy a small head so you don't end up wasting it. You can also substitute other leafy greens such as spinach or arugula.
• Roasted red pepper. Make your own or buy it. I only eat a small quantity at a time. So instead of buying a large jar or can, I just get a small plastic container's worth at the deli counter. It's a bit more expensive, but it's less than wasting most of a large bottle. Slice one pepper lengthwise into whatever size will fit on your croissant.
• Artichokes, marinated [optional]. Break up the pieces so that they'll lie flat on your croissant. I've found small jars at 99 cents at my local Farmer's Market (at a cheese vendor), compared to the same size for $2.49 at supermarkets. Of course, as I've mentioned previously, artichokes are a love or hate kind of food item.
• Sliced meat - I like something like turkey or chicken for this sandwich, because they enhance the rich flavours of pesto, roasted red pepper, and marinated artichokes, all of which have a large oil content - so non-oily meat gives a nice contrast.

Preparation

• Slice a croissant in half, lengthwise.
• Spread a small quantity of mayo or pesto mayo on one side.
• Lay down the lettuce on top of the mayo, followed by roasted red pepper strips and artichokes [if using].
• Fold each slice of meat loosely in half and layer on a few slices.
• Close up the sandwich, cut on a bias, and voila.

Presentation
Serve with a few homemade potato chips and/or a bowl of soup.

(c) Copyright 2005-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://cookingforone-or-two.blogspot.com