My Triumphant Return to Swans Eat Everything (Vietnamese Breakfast Banh Mi)

It's been months... MONTHS... since I posted, and today I happen to be home with a sick little girl so I thought "What better time than now, on an unexpected day off, to write some blog posts about some of the lovely things I've eaten lately".  There hasn't been a huge amount of nothing going on in Casa de la Swan, just living the dream while getting ready for a summer of camping and fun.  We have a new tent (a Kelty Air Pitch) which I anticipate will make our camping experience 500% faster and less stressful *fingers crossed*  Our first trip happens to be Elora's last day of school, so we are going to hit the camping season hard and fast, with some good friends by our side.

So back to the food!  A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting my good friend Matt for brunch, and since I knew he would appreciate something a little out of the ordinary so I decided to take a culinary trip to Vietnam.  Another good friend of mine (Adriennit, holla!) introduced me to banh mi sandwiches a couple years ago, and they are so fantastically good it's difficult to believe, but they do require a little work (and a good crusty baguette) so I don't make them very often.  But this is what a real banh mi should look like:

The breakfast banh mi is very similar, but with less pate and more eggs and bacon.  I used this Serious Eats recipe and used some jalapeno bacon we got out at Project Meats in Huntley Project, MT (buy local, folks).  I nixed extra jalapenos, as the bacon was spicy enough for all our palates.  The finished project looked like this little slice of fried gold:

We ate the shit out of this sandwich, it was very filling and exotic on a Sunday morning, especially with a spicy Absolut Peppar Bloody Mary as accompaniment.  If you are looking for something new to try I would definitely recommend doing some research into banh mi and trying one out for yourself.  Or just have Adrienne make you one!