Toasty Deli Hoagie

There are two things that make this sandwich a bit different from the others I make.  One is that it has a nice crunch from the toasted bread and the other is that it has fresh guacamole on it.  I think the guacamole completes this sandwich and makes it special, but two of my guys disagree and choose to omit it.  Their loss!

I found this recipe in my April/May 2011 issue of Taste of Home.  This sandwich gets 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

The original recipe called for French bread, but we all decided that was far too much bread, so I started building this sandwich on a long, thin baguette.  I cut the bread in half horizontally, then into individual serving sizes.  I find that cutting the baguette this way ensures all of the sandwich pieces fit on my baking sheet.

 

The baking sheet gets put into a preheated oven at 350° for 5 minutes to toast the bread a bit.  Do not expect the bread to brown like regular bread when toasting.  If the bread was in the oven long enough to get brown, it would probably be too hard to bite into!  I took this picture to show the pieces don't look much different from the one above, but when touched, I could tell they were toasted.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, I combined the mayonnaise and lemon juice.

To that, I added the minced garlic.

Once the bread was toasted, using a brush, I applied the mayonnaise/garlic mixture to the bottom half of each sandwich.  If you look closely at the picture above, you can see it on three of the pieces of bread.

Then the layering begins.  The first layer is smoked turkey.

That is followed by a layer of ham.

The next layer is Italian dry salami.

This is followed by yellow bell pepper rings.

Next is red onion rings.

The last layer is mozzarella cheese.  The baking sheet gets put back into the oven for 5 minutes to let the cheese melt.

While that's in the oven, I make a quick guacamole by mashing an avocado and adding some lime juice, garlic salt and a little prepared salsa.

When the sandwiches come out of the oven, the cheese is melted and the lids are a little more toasty.

I add the guacamole to the lid and place it on top of the sandwich.

The garlicy mayonnaise on the bottom piece of bread gives an added flavor to this sandwich, but I still think that the guacamole is what really makes this sandwich special.  Enjoy!

Toasty Deli Hoagies

1 loaf baguette bread

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 pound thinly sliced deli smoked turkey

1/2 pound thinky sliced deli ham

12 slices Italian dry salami

1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into rings

1 small red onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings

1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups guacamole

Cut bread in half lengthwise; place cut side up on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted.  In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic, spread over bread bottom.  Layer with turkey, ham, salami, pepper, onion and cheese.  Bake for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.  Spread guacamole over bread top; place over cheese.