... Chicken and Prosciutto Club

Now this is what I call a sandwich!  Ciabatta bread, chicken, cheese, prosciutto, two different spreads, a few fresh veggies, almost more than you can get your mouth around... almost.

First up, season the chicken with a little s&p and cook it in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Once you get that started, spread the proscuitto out on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven until it gets nice and crispy.  When you take that out, trade the proscuitto for the ciabbata on the baking sheet and put that in the oven to get warm and toasty.

It sounds like a juggling act, but you can do it!  While you've got all that going, go ahead and mix up one of your two spreads.  Sure, sure, you could buy olive tapenade, but when you can make it so easily for so little, why would you?  Just take a can of black olives (I used most of a 6 oz can), a clove or two of garlic (depending on who you're dining with), the juice of half of a lemon and some olive oil.  This is another one of those 'make it how you like it' recipes.  Put it all in a food processor - or chop the olives and garlic pretty finely with a knife and mix in the olive oil and lemon juice.  Adjust it to taste and texture and there you have it!

Now comes the fun part.  Spread the olive tapenade on one side of the toasty ciabatta.  Put a piece of chicken on top of that... did I mention that we put a piece of provolone cheese on the chicken for about the last minute of cooking... until it's ooey and gooey?  Top that with a piece of crispy proscuitto and layer on some arugula and sliced tomato.  Sprinkle on a little s&p and cover it with the other piece of bread that you've added a schmear of mayo to.  We found a great garlic & herb mayo, but anything you like will do the trick.

Now tell me that doesn't look like one delicious sammie.  We mixed up the easiest and tasty fruit salad ever - frozen strawberries (thawed) and sliced bananas - and poured a glass of wine.

Speaking of wine, have you fallen in love with the new boxed wine like we have?  If not, you should.  4 bottles of wine in one little box for the price of 2 bottles and it keeps for weeks... or it's supposed to at least, we haven't quite gotten that far with any of ours.  This 'Wine 4 Grillin' box is from World Market, but several of our faves come in cardboard.  (I'm still a sucker for labels, though, so I'm excited to try this bottle out soon.)  

Chicken and Prosciutto Club
serves 4

Bake 8 slices prosciutto on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

Season 4 chicken cutlets with salt and pepper.  Cook in olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until golden.

Form sandwiches with rolls, mayonnaise, olive oil, olive tapenade, arugula, sliced tomato, the chicken, and the prosciutto.

Taylor's Notes:
Interesting recipe layout, no?  This is just how it was printed in Real Simple.  Interesting as it may be, it's a really simple recipe (no pun intended) and it's quick, too.


If you're not a fan of olives, as I know a few friends who aren't, I think that you could easily replace the tapenade with pesto - or even just another layer of the mayo.  Sometimes arugula is a little hard to find, so you could always use spinach or even your favorite type of lettuce.  You know the drill, use what you like and make it your own.  And, as always...


Enjoy!