Broccoli & Chicken Open Faced Sandwiches

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Kidd grew up eating open faced subs that his dad would cook and has fond memories particularly of a chicken and broccoli sandwich. We spent time in the kitchen trying to recreate the nostalgia, and have landed on this open faced broccoli and chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and balsamic glaze. The sandwich is packed with sneaky flavor from the spices in the sautéed broccoli. The balsamic glaze adds a tangy sweetness that ties all of the ingredients together. The result is the perfect lunch or dinner for the entire family. You can even recreate this on a baguette for a delicious appetizer.

Broccoli & Chicken Open Faced Sandwiches

  • Servings: 2 entrée servings
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An open faced sandwich recipe that reminds Kidd of his dad’s cooking growing up!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 4 tbs olive oil, divided
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups broccoli rabe
  • 1 tbs onion powder
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 1 ciabatta or hogey style sandwich roll
  • 2 slices of swiss cheese
  • 2 tbs balsamic glaze

Directions

  1. Cook the chicken. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the chicken strips. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tbs of olive oil. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes on one side. Add the balsamic vinegar and flip the chicken. Cook until the chicken is cooked completely through. Set aside to cool.
  2. Using the same pan (no need to clean it out) add the remaining olive oil (2 tbs). Once heated, add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes so the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the broccoli rabe and lower the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes until the broccoli wilts and becomes tender. Add the onion powder and chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
  3. Slice the sandwich roll or bread of choice in half lengthwise. You want to have the bread sliced thick so that it will hold up the weight of the ingredients. Toast the bread in a toaster or oven until it is lightly toasted on each side.
  4. Add a slice of swiss cheese to the bottom of each piece of bread. Melt in the oven or microwave until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the cheese. Top the sandwich with the chicken and broccoli. Serve immediately.

Bouchon Bakery Inspired Brie.L.T. Sandwiches

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This recipe inspiration comes from our trip to Napa last October. Bouchon Bakery, from famous chef Thomas Keller, was at the top of our list of places to visit when we were in Yountville. We made an adventure of our day by riding bikes from Napa to Yountville and were pleasantly starving and ready for treats once we got there. To make sure we got the full Bouchon experience, we ordered everything from croissants to cookies and cupcakes – we weren’t going to miss out! To offset all of the sweets, we also got a sandwich called the Brie.L.T. Holy moly was it good! The sandwich was so flavorful and filling that is was perfect to split amongst the four of us and we have talked about it so much since our trip, that we knew we needed to make our version of it for Tuck & Tate.

What we loved about the Brie.L.T. at Bouchon is the rich and decadent spin they took from a traditional BLT. We have combined some of their elements with a few of our own to make the recipe below. We chose to incorporate sun dried tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes; a great spin for winter that also gives the sandwich an umami punch of flavor. Arugula breaks up the rich sandwich and also gives it peppery punch, while and the prosciutto adds some salt that we find addicting. Bottom line – makes these stat. You will not be disappointed.

Brie.L.T. Sandwiches

  • Servings: 4
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A rich and decadent sandwich, inspired by our trip to Bouchon Bakery in Yountville.

Ingredients

  • 1 baguette, cut into 4, 6-inch pieces
  • 2/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 oz prosciutto (8 slices)
  • 1 wedge of brie
  • 2-3 cups of arugula

Directions

  1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sun dried tomatoes with their oil and the garlic to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the garlic starts to become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes from the pan and toast all eight pieces of the bread in the oil. You want the bread to soak up the sundried tomato oil and may need to do this in batches so that each piece of bread comes in contact with the pan and gets toasty. Remove each piece of bread and set aside until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.
  2. Assemble the sandwiches by spreading the sun dried tomatoes on the top piece of bread in each sandwich. Thinly slice the brie and add a full layer to each sandwich on the bottom piece of bread. Top the brie with two slices of prosciutto and the prosciutto with arugula. Slice each sandwich in half and serve.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

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The great sandwich debate is open in our homes recently. Some of us love sandwiches and others, not so much. The one thing we can agree upon is that everyone in our homes loves some sort of buffalo chicken. We set to find a happy medium with this buffalo fried chicken sandwich. We have infused this sandwich with spice, it’s everywhere from the buffalo infused egg wash to the breading of the chicken to the jalapeno ranch dressing. The result is a finger licking good sandwich that is everyone in the family can enjoy.

Buffalo Fried Chicken Sandwich

  • Servings: 4 sandwiches
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A spicy buffalo chicken sandwich perfect for a summer time dinner or game day entrée.

Spicy Ranch Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbs ranch dressing seasoning
  • 1/2 jalapeno, diced (if you prefer less spicy, ditch the seeds – more spicy? do a full jalapeno)
  • 1/2 English cucumber, diced

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1 inch tenders
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cups buffalo sauce (we used Blonde Beard’s Chicken and Waffles)
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 4 brioche buns
  • 1/4 red onion, sliced
  • iceberg lettuce, cleaned and cut into large pieces

Directions

  1. Make the spicy ranch dressing. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients (yogurt, seasoning, jalapeno and cucumber). Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Set aside in the refrigerator.
  2. Prepare your breading workstation. Use three separate shallow bowls and fill them with the flour, eggs and bread crumbs – separately. Scramble the eggs with 2 tbs buffalo sauce. Season each of the three bowls with salt and pepper.
  3. Use one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for wet ingredients and place one chicken tender in flour, egg mixture and bread crumbs in that order. Make sure the tender is fully covered in each ingredient before moving it on to the next step. Once the chicken tender is coated with bread crumbs, set aside. Repeat until all chicken tenders are breaded.
  4. In a 2″ pan, heat the canola oil until it is very hot. You will know it is ready if you put a splash of water from your hand it immediate sizzles. Once hot, add the chicken tenders and fry for 4 minutes on each side. The chicken tenders should become crispy and golden. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to allow the grease to drain.
  5. When all chicken tenders have been cooked, place the chicken tenders in a bowl and toss with the remaining buffalo sauce until the chicken tenders are thoroughly coated with sauce.
  6. Assemble the sandwiches. Spread a generous amount of the spicy ranch dressing on the top bun. Layer a few pieces of the chicken, lettuce and onion on the bottom bun. Add additional hot sauce as desired. Serve immediately.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

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Our dad was born and raised in Chicago, and one of our favorite traditions when we visit our family is to go to Portillo’s for their famous Italian beef sandwiches. We have great memories of doing this often with our grandpa and grandma – scrambling for a table, getting everyone’s order, our grandpa saying he only wanted half (but he wanted a whole sandwich), and the joy we all had scarfing down these delicious, messy sandwiches. When we have a hankering for an Italian beef sandwich, and haven’t thought enough in advance to order them frozen from Portillo’s, we make this and feel all the same nostalgia and joy as though we are in Chicago.

These sandwiches are a great football day main dish, and the star of our 2021 Super Bowl Menu. You can prepare the peppers and beef ahead of time and assemble the sandwiches last minute to serve. The best part of this recipe is that you can add and update the condiments however you like. We like our sandwiches served with provolone, giardiniera and a little extra jus for dipping. We can’t wait to hear how you like yours!

Italian Beef Sandwiches

  • Servings: 8-10 sandwiches
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An interpretation of our favorite Chicago subs!

Ingredients

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 2 white onions, sliced
  • 2 red peppers, sliced
  • 2 green peppers, sliced
  • 8 cups beef broth
  • 2 tbs salt
  • 1 tbs onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp red chili flakes
  • 3 lbs sliced roast beef
  • 8 french bread rolls
  • 8 slices provolone cheese
  • giardiniera (optional)

Directions

  1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, red pepper and green pepper and sauté for 5 minutes until the vegetables are fragrant.
  2. Add the beef broth, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and red chili flakes. Stir everything to combine and bring the broth to boil. Lower to simmer and simmer for 30 minutes so the vegetables are completely soft. **
  3. Separate the beef into individual slices and add the beef to the broth. Let the beef absorb the broth and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Prepare the sandwiches. Toast the french bread rolls and melt half a slice of provolone cheese on each side of the bread. Add beef, peppers and onions to the sandwich. Top with giardiniera or any of your favorite condiments. Serve with the cooking broth for dipping the sandwiches.

    5. ** At this point, you can turn off the heat until you are ready to serve the sandwiches. You can refrigerate the broth and reheat when you are ready to serve.


Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Sandwiches

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We love Thanksgiving leftovers as much as the next person, but we find that half the fun of eating all the leftovers is creating new recipes to “reinvent” what we have in the refrigerator. Last year, we cured our Thanksgiving hangovers with an epic leftover breakfast. Knowing that this year is going to be more low key than other years, we decided to go a more traditional route with these leftover turkey sandwiches. We love the mix of the cranberry sauce and barbecue- a combination that might sound a little funky but is the perfect blend of tangy and sweet. We added lots of arugula for a nice peppery freshness and onion for a little zip. The result is the perfect turkey sandwich, and a great way to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers!

Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Sandwiches

  • Servings: 4
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One of our favorite way to reinvent and use up all of those Thanksgiving leftovers!

Ingredients

  • 8 slices sourdough bread, toasted
  • 1 lb leftover turkey, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup leftover gravy
  • 1/4 cup bbq sauce
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup leftover cranberry sauce
  • 4 thick sliced sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 heaping cup arugula
  • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

  1. Heat the gravy, turkey, and 2 tbs water in a skillet over low heat, just until the turkey is heated through.
  2. Mix the bbq sauce and mayonnaise together in a small bowl.
  3. Assemble each sandwich by spreading the bbq mayo on one piece of sourdough and cranberry sauce on the other. Layer 1/4 lb turkey, a slice of cheddar, arugula, and red onion onto each sandwich. Serve immediately.

Tuna & Avocado Melt

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Tuna salad is one of those things that can be easily made but if you spend just a little extra time to make it well, it is SO darn delicious. In an effort to cut down on some calories this summer, we have been making tuna salad with avocado, lots of lemon, and just a touch of mayo as a base. The result is a refreshing spin on a classic tuna melt, still made decadent with melted sharp cheddar, but trimmed way down on the calories.

Tuna Avocado Melt 
Makes: 2 servings 
Prep Time: 15 minutes     Total Time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of your favorite bread 
  • 2 large slices of sharp cheddar or Swiss cheese 
  • 2 handfuls of arugula 
  • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 
  • 2 cans of white tuna in water, drained 
  • 1 ripe avocado 
  • 2 tbs mayo 
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon 
  • salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
  2. Lay the four slices of bread on a cookie sheet and give them a light spray with cooking spray. Cook until they are toasted, about 6 minutes. 
  3. While the bread is toasting, make the tuna. Use a fork to mash the avocado with the mayo and the zest of the full lemon and the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. You want to mash thoroughly so this is a mostly smooth texture. Add the drained tuna and toss to coat. Depending on how you prefer tuna, you can break it down to be as smooth or chunky as you prefer. Season the tuna to taste with salt and pepper. 
  4. When the bread is toasted in the oven, remove two of the slices from the cookie sheet and put the cheese on top of the remaining two slices. Turn the broiler on in the oven and cook the cheese until it is melted- just a few minutes. 
  5. Make the sandwiches by layering a slice of cheesy toast, 1/2 of the tuna, a few slices of red onion, a handful of arugula, and the remaining slice of toast. Serve immediately. 

Italian Sandwiches

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Making almost 21 meals a week for four adults has its upsides, like lots of blogging content, but can get exhausting day after day. We often find that we are craving our favorite restaurants, but due to proximity and restaurant closures a lot of places aren’t feasible during the workweek for lunch. To keep ourselves inspired (and full!) we have started creating our favorite takeout recipes at home. Tate’s dad loves himself a good Italian sub, so we recreated our version at home one day for lunch last week. The homemade vinaigrette is a great addition to pre-made ingredients and the spinach adds a necessary dose of vegetables to balance out all of that meaty decadence. 

Italian Sandwiches
Makes: 4 sandwiches 
Prep Time: 10 minutes   Total Time: 20 minutes

Vinaigrette Ingredients: 

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1 tbs oregano
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste 

Sandwich Ingredients:

  • 1 Italian or French baguette or 4 brioche buns (as pictured) 
  • 1 lb pepperoni, sandwich slices
  • 1 lb salami, sandwich slices
  • 1 lb turkey, sandwich slices
  • 1 lb provolone cheese
  • 1/2 cup giardeniera
  • 1 package of spinach (6 oz) 

Directions: 

  1. Heat your oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Make the vinaigrette. Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. We pour this into a pan and cook it for a few minutes so that the shallot can break down and the oil can absorb all of those great flavors. 
  3. Assemble the sandwich. Cut the baguette or rolls in half and place both halves on a piece of tin foil. Using a brush, generously brush the vinaigrette on both sides of the bread. Continue until you use all of the vinaigrette. Layer all of the sandwich ingredients, except spinach, evenly across the bottom half of the baguette or each of the rolls. You can go in pretty much any order, but we assembled ours according to the ingredient list with pepperoni on the bottom. 
  4. Put the top on the sandwich and wrap the entire sandwich in tin foil. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes so the cheese gets melted and sandwich is toasty. Take the sandwich out of the oven, add the spinach and slice into quarters. Serve warm.

Thanksgiving Hangover Leftover Breakfast Sandwiches

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If your family is like ours, when you are serving dinner for 15 people, you cook for 25 in fear that you won’t have enough food. Because of this anxiety we end up with a ridiculous amount of leftovers. Thanksgiving is no exception to this rule, leaving us with an abundance of biscuits and leftover gravy. If your family is also like ours, you may have had an extra glass of wine at dinner or post-feast night cap. If you are feeling the burn this morning, we have you covered. By adding just a few additional ingredients to what you already have leftover, you can let the Thanksgiving feast (hangover) roll straight into breakfast with this finger-licking good breakfast sandwich. 

Thanksgiving Hangover Breakfast Sandwiches
Makes: 4 servings 
Prep Time: 5 minutes                Total Time:  15 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 2 cups leftover buttermilk gravy
  • 4 leftover buttermilk biscuits 
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 lb breakfast or Italian sausage 

Directions:  

  1. Remove the sausage from the casing (if needed) and cook over the stove top until cooked through.
  2. Add the leftover gravy to the sausage and heat until bubbling. If the gravy has thickened overnight, this is okay. The heat from the pan will help to thin it out, or use a tablespoon of water if necessary.  
  3. While the gravy is heating, heat another pan to medium heat. Cook the eggs over-easy one at a time. If you prefer scrambled or another type of cook, let your creative juices flow. 
  4. Heat the biscuits by placing a damp paper towel over them.Microwave for 30 – 60 seconds. 
  5. Serve by placing half the biscuit on the plate. Add 1/2 cup of the sausage and gravy mixture and top with the egg and other half of the biscuit. Serve immediately.