'Wich of the Week: Sunny Chicken Sandwich

YumSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:00:04 -0700

Sandwiches stand out for different reasons, and it often has nothing to do with gourmet ingredients or fancy sandwich shops. Sometimes, a sandwich tastes good because of the memories it evokes - hence, the proverbial PB&J like mom used to make. Other times, it's more about the sandwich experience than the sammie itself, as is the case with this week's 'wich.I recently organized a goodbye get-together for some friends who are moving cross country. Taking advantage of a sunny evening, we headed to the Alpine Inn in Portola Valley, CA, south of San Francisco. This 150-year-old roadhouse has an enormous beer garden, cheap suds, and totally no-frills food that's perfect for picnic tables.

The divey joint is mostly known for greasy burgers served on flattened French rolls. The chicken sandwich was prepared pretty much the same way, except with chicken. While the soft, toasted roll was a nice touch, the most notable thing about this sandwich was the warm Summer evening and good friends surrounding it.

What sentimental sandwich experiences have you had lately? Share them and find out how to make my sunny chicken sandwich when you read more.

Sunny Chicken Sandwich
Inspired by the chicken sandwich at the Alpine Inn

Ingredients

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, butterflied and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 soft French roll
3 slices of tomato
3 slices of butter lettuce
Yellow mustard, to taste

Directions

Heat an outdoor grill or skillet to medium-hot. Grill chicken breast, turning once, until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes.
Slice the French roll in half horizontally, and spread yellow mustard on both sides.
Lay the grilled chicken on the bottom half of the roll, followed by the tomato slices and lettuce.
Reduce heat to low, and place the roll on the grill or skillet. Heat, turning once and flattening the sandwich with a spatula, for two minutes or until roll is lightly browned.
Cut in half and serve warm.

Makes 1 sandwich.

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Come Party With Me: Spring Picnic - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:28:11 -0700

The past couple of days have been gloriously sunny here in San Francisco, inspiring me to plan a Spring picnic. The menu will consist of classic picnic foods best enjoyed under the bright blue sky. Homemade fried chicken will be placed in a big basket with delicious dipping sauces on the side. The recipe includes a spicy ancho honey, but if you prefer to serve fried chicken with blue cheese or ranch dip, offer those instead.

Coleslaw cups are a wonderful accompaniment to the fried chicken. Egg salad sandwiches on hearty wheat bread round out the homemade picnic spread. Supplement the menu with your favorite store bought picnic foods: potato chips, celery sticks, or hummus dip are excellent ideas.

To take a look at these recipes please, read more.

Fried Chicken with Ancho Honey
From Bobby Flay

Ingredients

1 quart buttermilk, plus 2 cups
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili de arbol powder, or 2 tablespoons hot sauce
2 chickens (3 to 4 pounds each), cut up into 8 pieces each
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
Peanut oil, for deep-frying
Ancho honey, recipe follows

Directions

Whisk together 1 quart of the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt, and the chili de arbol in a large bowl or large baking dish. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Place the remaining 2 cups of buttermilk in a bowl.
Stir together the flour, garlic and onion powders, paprika and cayenne in a large bowl and divide among 2 shallow platters and season generously with salt and pepper.
Drain the chicken in a colander and pat it dry. Dredge the pieces a few at a time in the flour mixture and pat off excess, then dip in the buttermilk and allow excess to drain off. Dredge in the second plate of flour and pat off the excess.
Put the chicken pieces on a baking rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.
Pour about 3 inches of oil into a deep cast iron skillet; the oil should not come more than halfway up the sides of the pot. Put the pot over medium-high heat and heat the oil to 375 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer.
Working in batches, add the chicken pieces to the hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time and fry, turning the pieces occasionally, until evenly golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a rack to drain; repeat to cook the remaining pieces. Serve hot, drizzled with the ancho honey.

Serves 4-6.

Ancho Honey:

1 cup honey
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
Salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt, to taste.

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Coleslaw Cups
From Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine

Ingredients

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
1 head napa cabbage, 20 leaves left whole and the rest shredded (about 5 cups)
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded (about 5 cups)
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons celery seeds

Directions

In a jar with a lid, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Shake vigorously and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the shredded Napa, red and green cabbages with the parsley and celery seeds. Shake the dressing again and pour over the cabbage; toss to coat.
Trim the ends of the reserved cabbage leaves and place a large spoonful of marinated slaw in the center of each leaf; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 10.

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Egg-Salad Sandwiches
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

8 large eggs
3 tablespoons part-skim ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups watercress, thick stems removed
8 thin slices (1 ounce each) whole-grain bread

Directions

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.
Cover eggs with 1 inch of cold water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cover, and let stand 11 to 12 minutes. Transfer eggs to ice-water bath; let stand 2 minutes.
Peel eggs; cut in half, and remove yolks. Crumble 2 yolks, and set aside; discard remaining yolks.
Finely chop egg whites, and transfer to a medium bowl. Add crumbled egg yolks.
Whisk together ricotta, yogurt, mustard, chives, and salt in a small bowl; season with pepper.
Add to egg mixture, and gently stir to combine.
Arrange egg salad, then watercress, over 4 slices of bread, dividing evenly. Top with remaining slices of bread.

Serves 4.

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