In my experience, an Italian Chicken Cutlet Sandwich can either be wonderful or horrible, there isn’t much room for mediocre.  The flavors are always similar; the spices in the bread crumbs and flour, the bite of the sharp provolone, and the bitterness of the broccoli rabe are always present. The difference between the wonderful and the horrible comes down to how much care is put into the timing and preparation of the ingredients.  It is quite easy to really mess up and dry out a beaten up, pan fried piece of chicken.  But when executed correctly, this can be one of the juiciest, most flavorful sandwiches you will ever have the pleasure of tasting.  I highly suggest trying this recipe, you’ll be happy you did!  Here’s what you need.

• 1 - 8oz. Chicken Breast
• 4 Oz. Broccoli Rabe
• 1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1/8 Cup Sharp Provolone Cheese
• 1 “Steak” Roll
• Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

As always, you want to begin with getting all of your ingredients prepared.  Mince your garlic, cut the stems off the broccoli rabe, trim all of the fat off the chicken.  In three separate shallow bowls, fill one with flour, one with a beaten egg and one with seasoned bread crumbs.  Mis en place.

The first step in the process is to wrap the chicken breast in saran wrap and flatten it out with a mallet.  Try your best to have an even thickness throughout, about 1/2 inch. Next, take the flattened chicken breast and dredge it in the flour, then the egg, and then in the seasoned bread crumbs.  

At this point you want to heat two pans to medium high.  This is when the timing comes into play.  Hit one pan with a big swirl of olive oil, enough to cover the pan well. Carefully place your chicken cutlet in the pan, don’t just drop it in, the hot oil will splash and it will hurt.  Be careful!  After 4 minutes, or when the cutlet is golden brown, flip it over.  At the same time, hit the second pan with another swirl of olive oil, when it’s hot drop in garlic and let it brown lightly. At this point, put in the broccoli rabe.  It only takes about 2 minutes to cook, so keep a close eye that it doesn’t burn. Now, slice your roll in half, place the chicken cutlet down and top that with the shaved provolone cheese.  Finally, put the hot broccoli rabe and the top half of the roll on, and you have yourself an Italian Chicken Cutlet sandwich.  Be careful, this one could be addictive!  Enjoy!!

If you’re going to make a grilled cheese sandwich, make it right!  And by ”make it right”, I mean put some effort into it.  Get creative, buy good bread and cheese.  You can really go wild with this sandwich, maybe throw some apple slices and walnuts with brie in between that bread.  Spinach and goat cheese go well together also.  The ideas are endless!  Today we put together a great grilled cheese with some fun ingredients that you can make at home.  Here’s what you need!

• 2 Thick Slices White Bread
• 2 Slices Sharp Cheddar
• 1 Slice Brie
• 1 Slice Havarti
• 1/2 Avocado
• 3 Slices Thick Cut Bacon
• Butter

Start off by cooking your bacon.  I like to get bacon pretty crispy for a grilled cheese, mostly for the texture that it adds to the gooey cheese.  Now, carefully   butter the outside of your of bread.  Slice up the avocado, get your cheese ready, and you can start to build your sandwich!  I like to put 1/2 the cheese down on the bread, then put down the avocado and bacon down, and cover that with the rest of the cheese.  This way the cheese melts and incorporates all the ingredients evenly.  Warm up your cast iron pan to medium-high heat and get that grilled cheese cooking!  You do not need to add any butter or oil to the pan now that your bread is buttered.  After the first side of your sandwich has a nice toasted look, flip it over and turn the heat down to medium and let that cheese melt.  It should only take about 3 minutes on each side.  Now you can remove it from the pan, cut it in half, and dig in!!