Chicken Caesar Club

Besides grilled cheese, my favorite sandwich is a BLT. So, when I discovered this recipe, which I have deemed a "BLT On Steroids," I had to have it...and soon!

* Because this recipe had familiar ingredients and I knew what to expect in terms of flavor, I made lots of changes. See note by each ingredient.

Chicken Caesar Club (Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts; bone in, skin on (Although I originally planned on making the chicken breasts, I opted for Sara Lee's Roasted Chicken Breast in the deli section. About 1/2 pound was perfect.)

4 oz thinly sliced pancetta (My grocery store did not carry pancetta, so I opted for 3 slices of thick peppercorn bacon, which I crumbled)

Homemade Caesar dressing (The hassle isn't worth it, but if you want the recipe, leave a comment. I really like Ken's Steakhouse Lite Caesar)

1 large ciabatta loaf

2 oz baby arugala, washed and spun dry (Again, not available at my store, so I substituted romaine lettuce)

12 sun-dried tomatoes in oil (Since we had lots of tomatoes on hand, I went with fresh)

2 to 3 oz Parmesan, shaved

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan skin side up. Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes until cooked through. Cool slightly, discard the skin and bones, and slice the meat thickly. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the pancetta on another sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for 10-15 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Slice the ciabatta in half horizontally and separate the top from the bottom. Toast the bread in the oven, cut side up, for 5-7 minutes; cool slightly. Spread the cut sides of each piece with the Caesar dressing. Place half the arugala on the bottom piece of bread and then layer in order: the sun-dried tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, crispy pancetta, and sliced chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and finish with another layer of arugala. Place the top slice of ciabatta on top and cut in thirds (or fourths) crosswise. Serve at room temperature.

Observations/Suggestions: Besides my ingredient swaps noted above, my main recommendation would be to not toast the ciabatta loaf. By nature, the crust is already very hard and by toasting it, it made the bread very difficult to chew, not to mention noisy. Also, I think you could easily substitute a focaccia loaf and it would be delicious. Lastly, I only did one layer of all the ingredients to make the sandwich thinner, which I appreciated.

Recommended? A definite yes. This sandwich was delicious, simple, and light. My ingredient switches also made it a lot less expensive. A great summer lunch/dinner!