Stuffed Baguette

Description:
With the beautiful spring weather we have had in the few weeks or so it's got my taste buds looking forward to balmy evenings, a nice glass of wine & platters of nibbles. (preferably served by some hot young Dan Carter look-alike, on the deck of my private yacht.....:-p)

So cruising around a few of my favourite recipe sites I came across a recipe I posted back in 2003! and I don't believe I've made it since.
This makes a great pre dinner appetiser, picnic food or as a side dish at a BBQ. You can make these in advance as long as you keep them in the fridge.

A hollowed baguette makes a perfect shell for any filling you are in the mood for. And once stuffed and properly chilled, it becomes a neat appetiser.
This particular one is filled with all my best friend's favourite things: goat cheese/cream cheese, sun dried tomatoes, olives, spicy salami, crunchy bell pepper, and fresh herbs.

Me, I was not so much a fan of the ingredients she liked so I used to make a filling of cream cheese, spinach, red onion & herbs.

You can use any combination of fillings you like, although I would only use seafood on the day I was planning to eat them.


Ingredients:
Baguette about 14-inch long
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
4 oz fresh goat cheese
1 large garlic clove, minced
½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
½ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped Kalamata olives
2 oz finely chopped spicy salami
About 2 tbsp minced Italian parsley
About 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste (very unlikely since there’re plenty of salty ingredients)

*Whatever you use needs to be finely chopped, there is nothing worse than biting into a slice of this and getting a mouthful of nothing but olive, or sun dried tomato...

Directions:
Slice off both ends of the baguette. Using a long thin knife and working from the both ends, hollow the baguette out leaving about ½-inch thick crust all around.
Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth and lump-free. Beat in the goat cheese and garlic. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Stand the baguette on one end (you will probably have to hold it there with one hand) on a piece of cling wrap.
Then fill the baguette with the cheese mixture. Pack the filling tight. I like to use a slender tequila shot glass for pressing the filling in. Wrap the stuffed baguette very well in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to two days. Right before serving, slice the baguette into ½-inch thick slices and serve. For the most neat looking slices, treat it as a cheesecake – each time slice it with a hot dry knife.

Notes:
It doesn’t become soggy after refrigerating. But the crust does lose its crunch. Which is not a bad thing here, since it is not just a bread now, it is a casing for a really good filling.

It is easier to stuff shorter pieces.

Once the baguette is filled, it’s easier to give it a rounded shape - just press and roll.