Kick butt chicken sammich!
I have been reading a blog lately by Pioneer Woman. She is a mother, wife, chef, housekeeper, nurse, calf nut purveyor (trust me, you don't want to know) and all around do-it-all. She isn't afraid of butter and I liked her immediately. I am sure in some historical log from centruries ago we were close kin, we even have the same maiden name! She is sweetly sarcastic, fabulously frank, passionate about her cowboy, and loves her kids enough to call them punks. Because we all have punks, but are just to skeered to say so. And so, except to insert geek for cowboy, we are kindred spirits. It is because of her I have picked up my blogging pen and am inspired to try to be just 1/16 as articulate and creative as she is. I was perusing her recipes and found Marlboro Man's Second Favorite Sandwich and knew I would like it with my own little permutations. So I set forth to my local mega-lo-mart, and being I live in a small town it is the ONLY mega-lo-mart, and purchase some chicken cutlets. I could have bought regular boneless skinless chicken breast and cut then pounded them myself, but it was late afternoon and I knew with kids in tow I would be lucky to get it purchased, home and made before I was too exhausted to eat it. I also picked up some bakery kaiser rolls, an avocado and a tomato. I had aspirations baby! I finally made it to the homestead and after getting the kids settled in with their dinner and a recording of spongebob (ugh!) I set forth to create my version of this sandwich. And boy howdy was it good! Here is my variation on her already well-loved recipe.
Here we have avodaco, tomato, proscuitto, cheese, kaiser rolls, 1 lg chicken breast, and salt and pepper to taste.
I cut a very large chicken breast in half lengthwise and wrapped each slice with the proscuitto. Then I placed them in a oiled cast iron pan set on medium heat.
While they cooked for 4 minutes on one side I pitted, sliced and peeled the avocado. Also, I sliced the tomato and the rolls.
When the 4 minutes were up, I flipped them and added 1 slice of cheddar and provolone to each chicken breast.
Then I topped them with half an avocado each and because cheese never likes to be lonely,..........
.............I put another slice of cheddar on top. Of course, I have purely culinary reasons for doing that, it helps keep the avocado from sliding off the chicken. See, I'm all about the culinary science of things. Not just for my creamy dairy satisfaction, but for the love of all things good and whole in the universe.
Then I slapped a lid on top and let the cheese melt. When the cheese is gooey the chicken should be done too. So I placed a slice of tomato on the bottom bun peppered and lightly salted it then added the chicken and top bun. And here is the end result. Look at all the deliciousness. Look at the juice dripping down on the bottom bun and the cheese dripping off the avocado. Someone help me! I mean come on people, that is flavor you can't buy! Well, you could fly me to your house (first class, of course) where I would lock myself in your kitchen and not come out till I had prepared this beautiful piece of juicy goodness. You would take one bite then offer me your first born. And while you wallow in the dripping loveliness of cheese you beg me to move in and cook for you everyday. Alas, I couldn't. Unfortunately, I have children that require daily sustance too. But you can make this yourself. Seriously, it is so simple.
So go get your pan, kick the kids outside and turn up the tunes. Cause you are gonna be busy.
And just in case you needed another reason to lock your family out of the house, here it is. Look at that! Somone even thought kindly enough of me to put some chips on there. I must be loved. Now, excuse me while I, purely for culinary testing purposes only, devour this sucker!
Avocado and Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken Sandwich
2 chicken breasts
4 thin slices of proscuitto
4 slices aged cheddar, (sara lee pre-packaged)
2 slices provolone, cut in half
1 avocado, pitted, sliced 1/8 in thick
1 tomato, sliced
2 kaiser rolls, split
pepper to taste
Season chicken breast with pepper and wrap each one on the diagonal with 2 slices of proscuitto. Put 2 Tbls of oil in a cast iron pan set to medium heat and add chicken. Cook for approximately 4 min till chicken starts to turn opaque and the proscuitto is crispy. Flip the breast and put on the two slices of cheddar then layer the avocado slices down the breast and cover with the provolone. Cover the pan and cook for an additional 2-3 min till the cheese is melting down the sides. Place on bun and enjoy!