Our Roast Beef Sandwich with Roasted Garlic and Horseradish Mayonnaise is sure to warm you up. One of the original sandwiches available at the ACE Bakery Café in Toronto, it continues to be a bestseller 15 years later. The addition of horseradish gives this protein-packed meal unexpected zing, while also providing you with the zest to go out and finish that shoveling. Best of all, this recipe, like most of ACE's sandwich creations, is fast and easy to make, so you and your family can enjoy gourmet taste without the effort.

If you're looking for the culinary equivalent of a warm hug, then look no further than the ACE Grilled Cheese Sandwich. The ultimate comfort food, its familiar taste and chewy texture make this a cold weather staple. Choose our Olive Bread to add an extra savoury touch, or our Country Bread for the true traditionalist.

Up for something a little more unique but equally as satisfying? With our Wrapped Bocconcini Spiedini, morsels of grilled bread punctuate individual bites of warm cheese wrapped in prosciutto. With just one bite of this Italian version of the kebab, memories of the snow will melt away.

With help from ACE Bakery, conquering the cold has never been so tasty.

One of North America's leading artisan bakeries, ACE Bakery's Baguettes and artisan breads are available at hundreds of restaurants, hotels, caterers, grocery, and gourmet food shops across Canada, the Midwest and East coast of the U.S.A., and as far away as the Bahamas. ACE Bakery opened in 1993 as an artisan bakery creating hand-made, European-style rustic breads. The gentle shaping of each loaf, long fermentation periods, and a stone-deck oven all work to create exceptionally flavourful products with a light, airy texture and crisp golden crust.

Community involvement is an essential part of ACE's philosophy. The company donates a percentage of pre-tax profits to charitable organizations in the principal centres where ACE bakery products are sold. ACE's focus is on food and nutrition programs that assist low-income members of the community, financing culinary scholarships, and supporting organic farming initiatives.

ACE Bakery is recognized as one of 26 top Canadian brands of all time in Ikonica: A Field Guide to Canadas Brandscape (2008).

Roast Beef Sandwich with Roasted Garlic and Horseradish Mayonnaise
Makes 4 sandwiches

The horseradish and roasted garlic, great accompaniments to beef, raise it above the ordinary. If you prefer to roast your own beef, slice the meat 1 inch (.6 cm) thick and build an open-faced sandwich. Grilling the bread would be good too. Try any leftover mayonnaise with cold roast pork or smoked trout.

1/4 cup (60 mL) good store-bought mayonnaise
1/8 cup (30 mL) well-drained horseradish
1/2 tsp. (2.5 mL) Dijon mustard
1 to 2 cloves roasted garlic (see Cook's Tip)
8 slices ACE Sourdough bread
8 to 12 thin slices medium-rare roast beef
baby spinach leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, horseradish, mustard, and peeled, mashed, roasted garlic.

Spread a thin layer of the mayonnaise mixture on 4 slices of bread. Add 2 or 3 slices of roast beef to each. Top with baby spinach and season with salt and pepper. Top with another slice of bread. The garlic-horseradish mayonnaise will keep, refrigerated, for up to 5 days.

COOK'S TIP
To roast garlic: preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Slice 1/4 inch (.6 cm) off the top of a garlic bulb, just cutting off the tops of the cloves. Sprinkle with a little olive oil, if you like. Wrap in foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour or until soft. The roasted garlic can then be squeezed out of its skin. The unused cloves of garlic will keep, refrigerated, for 1 week. Try adding them to mashed potatoes or a vinaigrette.
© Adapted from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes.

ACE Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Makes 2 sandwiches

4 slices ACE Olive bread or 4 slices ACE Country bread with 10 pitted and sliced kalamata olives
1 1/2 Tbsp. (22.5 mL) store-bought pesto
4 to 5 Tbsp. (60 to 75 mL) creamy chèvre, depending on size of bread slices
1 to 2 ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil

Spread two pieces of olive or country bread with 1 Tbsp. (12 mL) of pesto. Next spread a generous amount of chèvre over the dip. If using country bread, sprinkle the sliced olives over the cheese.

Layer on the thickly sliced tomatoes and some black pepper. Top with the other two pieces of bread. Brush with olive oil and grill in a grill pan or fry in a cast iron skillet.

Cut each sandwich in half and serve.
© Adapted from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes.

Wrapped Bocconcini Spiedini
Makes 6 spiedini (kebabs)

12 bocconcini, cut in half
12 to 18 slices prosciutto
30 1 1/2-inch (3.8-cm) cubes of ACE Calabrese, Focaccia, Country, or white bread
olive oil for brushing kebabs
1/2 cup (120 mL) olive oil
5 anchovy fillets (tinned), minced
generous squeeze of lemon juice

You will need 2 whole bocconcini, 2 to 3 slices of prosciutto, depending on their size, and 5 cubes of bread for each kebab. You'll also need 6 bamboo skewers soaked in water, or metal skewers.

Wrap each bocconcino half tightly in prosciutto. Starting and finishing with a cube of bread, thread the bread and the wrapped cheese alternately on the skewers. Lightly brush olive oil on all sides of the kebab. You may need 4 to 5 Tbsp. (60 to 75 mL) of oil.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil and minced anchovy until the oil is very warm and the fillets have almost disintegrated. Just before serving, squeeze the lemon juice into the warm sauce. Pour the sauce into a small bowl.

Heat a barbecue, grill pan, or frying pan until very hot. Place the kebabs in the hot pan. Using tongs, turn the kebabs about every 45 seconds so that the prosciutto crisps up, the cheese starts to melt, and the bread toasts. Serve one kebab per person and let them dribble the sauce over it.
© Adapted from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes.

For more information, contact Philippe Gaudet, 416/241-3600, pgaudet@acebakery.com.


  Send this article to a friend.

  previous article   |   next article