Recipe: Toasted Chicken Sandwiches with Caramelized Apples and Smoked Gouda
Dear Friends,
Caramelized onion, sautéed apples,
melting cheese, honey mustard and chicken put
that on a plate and you've got supper, but put it
between two slices of bread and you
have a brilliant sandwich.
The recipe comes from chef and suburban
homesteader Janice Cole, who is raising a trio of
hens in a chicken coop wired for sound. When the three divas get bored or
testy, a Mozart concerto soothes them. When
they're hungry, chopped Parmigiano-Reggiano rind,
al dente pasta, sushi rice, nori or Gorgonzola
crumbles top off their bird feed.
We're assured that this quick work night
sandwich brought no harm to the "girls."
Toasted Chicken Sandwiches with Caramelized Apples and Smoked Gouda
Reprinted with permission from Chicken and Egg: A
Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes
by Janice Cole (Chronicle Books LLC, 2011) Copyright © 2011 by Janice Cole.
Serves 4
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 unpeeled apples, such as Honeycrisp or Gala, sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 cup honey mustard
8 sliced country French bread, cut 1/2-inch thick from an oval loaf
1 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese (4 ounces)
2 cooked chicken breasts, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1. Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in
a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add
the onions and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for 8 to
10 minutes or until they are wilted and golden brown. Transfer to a plate.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter in
the same skillet over medium heat and add the
apples. Combine the sugar and allspice and
sprinkle over the apples, stirring to coat them.
Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the
apples for 5 to 8 minutes, or until brown but
still slightly crisp, increasing the heat to high if necessary.
3. Spread the mustard over one side of each slice
of bread and lightly spread the remaining 2
tablespoons of butter over the other sides.
Arrange the cheese over the mustard side of half
of the bread slices. Layer with the caramelized
onions, chicken, and apples. Top with the remaining bread, mustard-side down.
4. Grill the sandwiches in a skillet or on a
griddle, lightly coated with butter or olive oil,
over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until the
bread is toasted golden brown and the cheese is melted, turning as needed.
Serve immediately.
Note: The onions and apples can be cooked
(separately) up to 8 hours ahead of time and
refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.
TIPS
When we were testing this recipe we made one with
some thin wedges of Brie cheese in place of the smoked Gouda. So good.
For non-meat eaters, skip the chicken and use 4
halved hard-cooked eggs. Sear the halved eggs,
cut side down, in some butter until they are
flecked with brown, sprinkling them with salt and
pepper. Then make the sandwich as directed.
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