Savory Stuffed Sourdough Baguette

Last night's TGIF Jazz in the Park set a new record for summer cold!  Brrr... I think the high here in Cloudy Carlsbad hit 69º in the late afternoon and brought a light, yet chilly breeze to our usually bright, hot and sunny Friday Jazz in the Park.  The sun teased us with a short visit a couple of days ago, but quickly returned to hiding.  My mom recently told me that this summer has been listed as the coldest and grayest since 1933!  Not a record that I'm happy to be participating in.  While I'm feeling very sorry for myself, it is the people who have traveled to San Diego for a sunny beach vacation that I really feel bad for.  Imagine leaving your sunny, hot, home and looking forward to warm days on a San Diego beach only to be met with endless fog and chilly waters. 

Cabernet was the wine of choice for our Jazz in the Park evening, and between all of us we put out quite a spread.  Our Savory Stuffed Sourdough Baguette blended perfectly with the Cab and other tasty treats as we sat back, wrapped our jackets a bit tighter and enjoyed a local blues band.  The filled bread created a good amount of interest from the ladies all wondering just how I got the filling inside and an equal amount of interest in the men as our good friend Evan commented that this was better than a "high class twinkie"!  I wasn't quite sure how to take the comment, but as he reached for another slice, he assured me that it was meant to be taken as one of the highest of compliments.

Hollowing out the bread was actually easier than I had expected with the help of my long, serrated bread knife, although filling the bread did take a bit of time (but was most definitely worth the effort).  The cheesy ingredients mixed together easily, and by using low fat cream cheese I didn't feel so guilty indulging in a couple of pieces.

 

Savory Stuffed Sourdough Baguette

½ sourdough baguette

8 oz. low fat tub cream cheese

generous ¼ cup crumbled feta (I used a Mediterranean Herb blend from Trader Joe's)

3 Tbs grated Parmesan Cheese

1 - 2 cloves garlic

scant ¼ cup finely chopped roasted red pepper

¼ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained

scant ½ tsp dried Italian Seasoning

freshly ground pepper

Slice the baguette in half.  Using a serrated bread knife, cut out the center of one of the halves of bread.  I cut in a circle and then pulled the bread piece out, then repeated on the other end.  I then used the bread knife to scrape a bit extra from the sides.  Save the other half for another use.

Place the cream cheese (whipped or spreadable works well for easier mixing!) and other cheese in a bowl and blend until there are no large lumps (alternatively, you could use an electric mixer).  Add the rest of the ingredients and continue blending until combined.  

Fill the bread with the cream cheese filling.  I worked from both ends of the hollowed out bread and use a long iced tea spoon to spoon the filling inside, packing it in as I went.  

Wrap the filled bread with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  When ready to serve, remove the bread from the wrap and slice on the diagonal arranging slices on a serving plate.  Enjoy!