You know that section of the magazine Us Weekly called “Stars…They’re Just Like Us” ? This is the food blogger edition of that.
If you are like me and have adult kids moving in and out of the house, it can be really fun on the food front to have someone to cook for other than just me and Cute Hubby, who would himself admit that his food tastes run less than adventurous.
But —it also isn’t always fun, especially on the food front 😂 Because of the whole coming up with what to eat for dinner conundrum. For those not paying attention, this is the “…just like us” reference.
When “too tired to figure out dinner” hits, Cute Hubby and I are good with a big bowl of popcorn. Adult kids? Not so much.
One day, the dinner inspo just wasn’t there for me. My daughter knew I had plans to photograph my breaded chicken cutlet recipe that day so she suggested turning some of them into a sandwich smothered with my 20 minute vodka sauce.
Kids…they’re just like us.
Make it tonight —I think you’re really going to like your dinner.
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An Italian fried chicken sandwich (from 2 meals!)
If you’re a fan of a good meal plan, do this:
- Make some rigatoni topped with vodka sauce and a platter of chicken cutlets.
- On the next day, make this sandwich.
Here’s what you’ll need:
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Assemble the sandwich
Pro tip
Scoop out some of the excess bread in the top of the roll before adding the vodka sauce. This keeps the sandwich a little thinner and lets you taste more of the chicken and crunchy texture.
Serving and storage tips
Serving
Add more vodka sauce on top of chicken sandwich and sprinkle over some Parmesan cheese.
Layer arugula on top and drizzle with olive oil and even a squeeze of lemon for some acidity like in this lemony arugula salad .
Store
Wrap leftover sandwiches in parchment and then place in a plastic resealable bag. The parchment helps things stay crispier than just plastic alone.
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Crispy Chicken Cutlet Sandwich with Vodka Sauce
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Equipment
- longer set of tongs
Ingredients
For the sandwich
- 4 chicken cutlets, fresh made or leftover; from my chicken cutlet recipe – see below
- 4 ciabatta or brioche sandwich rolls , *see note below
- 8 slices fontina cheese, 2 for each sandwich or more as needed; can also use Taleggio cheese
- 1 cup fresh arugula, or spinach, kale or your favorite greens
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- pinch of kosher salt
- ground black pepper
Making chicken cutlets from scratch (recipe attached)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 2 teaspoons roasted garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 24 oz canola or avocado oil, or half a 48 oz bottle
For the vodka sauce
- 1 cup homemade vodka sauce, from my spicy vodka sauce recipe; or favorite jarred sauce
Instructions
FROM SCRATCH CHICKEN INSTRUCTIONS
- Pat the chicken dry.Use a flat meat mallet or tenderizer and flatten the chicken thin between two sheets of parchment. You’re looking for the chicken to be about 1/4 – 1/8″ thick.
- Make your breading station by gathering three pie plates or wide plates/bowls with edges or sides. In the first dish , mix the flour with the salt and pepper.
- Crack and whip the egg in the 2nd dish.
- Blend the breadcrumbs, cheese, both salts, cayenne and pepper in the 3rd dish
- Add the chicken to the flour blend and turn to coat. Be sure to coat all sides of the chicken – don't miss any nooks and crannies!
- Lay the chicken in the beaten egg and use a fork to turn and make sure egg is all over the chicken.
- Finally, place the chicken in the breading and firmly pat to bread the chicken. Turn and repeat on the other side. Pat more on as needed.
- Remove the chicken to a rack and refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes to allow the breading to dry a bit. (You can do this the morning of the day you plan to serve it).
- To a large wide stainless steel fry pan with higher sides, pour in the oil to halfway up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil up to about 350˚ . The temperature will drop a bit once the chicken is added so watch your heat and adjust as needed to maintain 350˚.
- Use tongs to add the chicken to the hot oil, taking care to gently lay it in so you don’t splash the hot oil and burn yourself.
- After 2 minutes, flip the chicken to the other side. Repeat this 4 times for a total of 10 minutes.
- The cutlets are done when the chicken is golden brown and reaches a temperature of 166˚ when the thermometer is inserted in the middle or thickest part of the chicken breast.Remove to the rack and salt as needed. Serve immediately. Also great chilled!
ASSEMBLE THE SANDWICH
- Preheat the broiler to 500˚ if that's an option. Or consult your broiler setting/instructions per your owner's manual.
- Place open faced rolls on a heavy duty piece of foil or a sheet pan lined with foil. Drizzle both the top and bottom with olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt and ground black pepper.Place sliced cheese on the top of the scooped out ciabatta roll. Transfer to the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them as once they start to brown, they'll brown very quickly.
- Spread ¼ cup of hot or warm vodka sauce at the bottom of each sandwich roll.
- Top with a chicken cutlet, some more vodka sauce and a healthy sprinkling of arugula or your favorite greens. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and another drizzle of olive oil.Cover with toasted cheese top and serve.
Notes
- Need to know more about making the perfect chicken cutlet? Consult my recipe 😊
- Roll/bread tip: Scoop out the excess bread inside the top of the ciabatta roll for a thinner sandwich and better texture.
