A MONTH OF BREAKFAST SANDWICHES: GRIDDLED CROISSANT WITH CHIVE CREAM CHEESE, SMOKED SALMON, & PICKLED ONIONS

tBreakfast is my favorite meal of the day, but rarely do I ever eat it in the actual morning.  I wake up and make myself a smoothie, or if I'm especially lazy I'll just have a cup of drip until lunch time. The truth is, I'm not ready for a stomach bomb first thing in the morning, but by 11…bring it on!

The breakfast sandwich is the perfect 11 am (or elevensies, if you're a Hobbit) meal.  Kind of lunch, kind of breakfast, definitely not brunch, it's a meal Chimera, a the best bits of everything, sandwiched between two pieces of toast.  This month, I'm celebrating the 11 am eaters, the gooey egg lovers, the crunchy toast devourers.  Breakfast sandwich lovers, raise your forks, our time has come!

A griddled croissant is a beauteous thing.  It's not a toasted croissant, it's better.  Griddled means you sear the halves, with a little butter spread on them of course, to get a perfectly crunchy, golden brown, flakey and buttery surface on which to build your sandwich.  The searing gives it such an amazing texture, you'll never want to eat croissants another way.

For this breakfast sandwich, I topped my griddled croissant with fresh chive cream cheese, a little smoked salmon, and homemade pickled onions that take only minutes to make.  The flavors are bright, rich, and such a unique way to enjoy a breakfast sandwich.  Enjoy!

Griddled Croissant with Chive Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon, and Pickled Onions

Note: This is a great use for day old croissants, as searing them gives them a bit of life.

For 2

2 croissants, split in half

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup cream cheese

1 tablespoon chives

4 pieces smoked salmon

1/4 cup pickled onions

Slice your croissants in half lengthwise and spread each side with butter.  Heat a pan over medium heat and add the croissants, butter side down.  With a spatula, press the croissants until brown and crisp, about a minute. Meanwhile, mix together the cream cheese and chives.  Spread the cream cheese onto the bottom half of the croissants, top with salmon, and finish with some pickled onions. Pop the top half of the croissant on top and enjoy!

For pickled onions:

3/4 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
1 dried chili pepper
1 large red onion, peeled, and thinly sliced into rings

In a small, non-reactive saucepan, heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, seasonings and chile until boiling. Add the onion slices and lower heat, then simmer gently for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Transfer the onions and the liquid into a jar then refrigerate until ready to use.