Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Grilled Tomato, Basil, Chicken and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Tapping my feet, pacing, contemplating, thinking of what to do for dinner. My mind goes haywire with endless possibilities yet I am restrained with the reality of my culinary skills, or should I say lack there of. So I flip open my lap top and turn to my trusty Epicurious for the answer, and then I find it.

Grilled Tomato, Basil, and Goat Cheese Sandwiches. Perfect!

Due to the rain, I had to alter the recipe's call for the grill and pan fry the sandwich instead. I also added a few slices of chicken to vamp it up a bit.

Though it's simple, it was out of this world. A crunchy, buttery, cheesy concoction with a slight salty cut of the olives gave way to the ultimate satisfaction for my initial yearning.

Without further adieu....

Grilled Tomato, Basil, Chicken and Goat Cheese Sandwiches 

Ingredients: 

1 16 oz French-bread baguette
1/2 cup olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoon chipped mixed fresh herbs (I used tarragon, thyme, and rosemary)
3/4 cup soft fresh goat cheese (plain, peppered, or herbed)
2 large plum tomatoes, thinly sliced into rounds
1 cup coarsely chopped pitted Mediterranean olives
2 lbs. chicken breast, fillet them  to about a 1/4-1/2 inch so they cook evenly



Preparation: 

1. On medium heat, slowly fry the chick breasts with a touch of the olive oil mixture. Cover to keep the juices in
2. Cut baguette crosswise in half. Cut each half lengthwise in half to form 4 pieces total
3. Combine oil, garlic, and herbs in a small bowl.
4. Brush all cut sides of bread with half of oil mixture.
5. Fry toast, cut sides down until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Remove from pan
6. Quickly spread cut sides of toast with goat cheese. Top with tomatoes and olives, dividing equally
7. Drizzle remaining oil mixture on top.
8. Return open-faced sandwiches to pan. Cook until bottom sides are toasted, cheese melts, and tomatoes begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
9. Cut each sandwich diagonally in half and serve.


Serve with a chilled beer and your favorite potato chips.



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