has anyone tried the June cover Chicken sandwich?

[alli]

The chicken sandwich on the June issue looks soooo good! Any reviews yet?

Thanks

[HUNGRY!]

I haven't tried it yet. It sounds a little complicated just for a sanwich!

[aggie94]

I haven't tried it yet, but my friend did and she said it was WONDERFUL. She also suggested not to follow the recipe exactly by putting the sandwiches completely together unless they were going to be completely eaten. In other words, if you're making the full recipe and going to have leftovers, keep everything separate and put it together when the sandwich is ready to be eaten. Anyway, she gave it a great review. (caveat: she despised the BBQ Chicken Potpie, which both DH and I love, so sometimes I take her reviews with a grain of salt -- this one I might trust, because it really does look fabulous)

[Wendy w]

I would like to get the June issue. The renewal bill made it to my mailbox just fine.

[ellielk]

I haven't tried this yet but it looked as though I could throw everything together (except the bread) and have a salad.

[funnybone]

I just received my issue and am looking at it as I read/type on the BB. When I first saw the cover (after I had to tear off the "book offer" flap) I though "YUMMY". I haven't gooten to the recipe part yet, but it looks like something I would make.

I agree with Aggie, I would not assemble it all at once.

[Darlin]

Would someone mind posting this recipe. I still haven't received my magazine and this sandwich sounds interesting...TIA

[Terrytx]

I plan on making it this weekend.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Chicken-and Brie Sandwich with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Chicken Sandwiches, Burgers, Wraps


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes, about 1 pound
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) French bread, cut in half horizontally
3 ounces Brie, sliced
3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1
pound)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups fresh spinach

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes; cook 4 minutes, stirring once. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Sprinkle tomatoes with thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Wrap handle of pan with foil; bake at 300 for 15 minutes. Keep warm.

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over top half of bread loaf. Spoon tomatoes evenly over bottom half of loaf. Arrange Brie over tomatoes; top with chicken. Combine 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add spinach, tossing gently to coat. Top chicken with spinach mixture; replace top half of bread. Cut loaf into 6 pieces.

Yield: 6 servings. 440 cal, 12.3g fat, 34.3g pro, 46.7g carb, 78mg chol, 826mg sod.

Source:
"Cooking Light-6/01"

[Jacque O]

Here's another second hand review - I also have a friend who has made it. She raved about it and has recommended it twice since then to me.

[Tiger]

I got my issue yesterday and this sandwich looks right up my alley! All my favorite things!
It probably is a lot of work for a sandwich but I'll serve it for dinner.
It calls for cooked chicken. How do you think the chicken should be cooked?

[JA]

I have some Goat cheese with basil and garlic, I was thinking of making almost the same sandwhich but with the goat cheese instead of brie...I think using really good balsamic is the point their trying to make, am I missing the point?
Julie

[Ralph]

DW made this for dinner tonight & we thought it was great. However, it was difficult to eat because everything fell out! Maybe that's because the bread was too hard - the store had no really fresh stuff today. So would recommend using soft or fresh bread.

[tobykitty]

I hate to be the only one, but I wasn't thrilled with this one. I had very high hopes for this sandwich. It went together very easy and looked great. There was too much balsamic and I thought it was missing something. I used fresh bread and it still fell apart. Not a very pleasant dining experience. I ended throwing most of it out and snacking on carrots for the rest of the night.

[KaliforniaKim]

I made this tonight, and the reviews are mixed.

DH and stepson #2 were pretty iffy on it (maybe a 5). I think they were disillusioned because DH hates brie (oops) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif and son #2 wasn't too keen on the balsemic. He is usually the eat-anything-guy, but the flavors were a tad heavy for him. It is VERY heavy on the balsemic, so if you aren't crazy about balsemic, you may want to cut down on it.

Stepson#1 and I gave it a 10. It was fantastic!! However, there are alot of flavors in it, so it is a little bit of sensory overdrive. I used Earthgrain buns--which are soft, and it did help immensely. Per Ralph, you probably don't want to use a hard bread.

I think you could definitely play with this one. Julie: Try the goat cheese. The point is definitely the chicken and the balsemic. I don't think trying different cheese would be a problem.

I used Louis Rich pre-grilled chicken. Wimpy, I know, but it sure made it easy and fast to make. And, it was great chicken. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[valchemist]

This recipe was just wonderful! I think this is as close to a "10" as it gets for me. The flavors were incredible and it was easy to put together. The roasted tomaotes were perfect in this dish, as was the tangy balsamic. I see a couple of so-so or not so good reviews above and I can't believe it. Well, keep in mind that on the recent cheese thread, I said brie was my favorite. I also adore spinach.

Here are some tips and/or changes I made:

- I used a loaf of Italian bread (instead of french)
- I used fresh baby spinach. I think that is important. since the spinach isn't cooked, you want it to be tender. I let the spinach sit in the balsamic vinegar/oil/salt for a couple of hours before assembling the sandwich and that worked out perfectly.
- I used grape tomatoes instead of cherry. Those grape tomatoes were SOOO much better than any cherry tomato I have ever had (I am not a fan of cherry tomatoes).
- I used 1 tsp of dried thyme instead of fresh.
- I used Perdue short cuts precooked chicken. I know that is cheating, but the chicken is VERY good (surprisingly) and it was on sale this week.
- I used imported brie and left the rind on, as suggested in the recipe. YUMMMY!

For all you vegetarians who feel left out on this...I think this sandwich would be absolutely wonderful with grilled or broiled portobellos.

Try this recipe!!!!

[HDgirl]

I haven't tried this yet, but does anyone think if I hollowed out the french bread a little that it wouldn't fall apart? As much?

Thanks,
Karen

[valchemist]

I don't think that would solve the problem, actually. Because once you slice the sandwich, the tomatoes and chicken (which are prone to fall out) are still exposed just as much as they would be if you didn't hollow it out.

Hope that makes sense.

It isn't all that messy. And even if it is too messy for some of you out there, the taste is well worth it!!!


editing here...
now that I think about it, my comments apply to my experience using a big Italian loaf of bread. perhaps with a loaf a French bread, the hollowing out trick would work. But I love bread, so I wouldn't want to scoop out too much of it!

[This message has been edited by valchemist (edited 05-29-2001).]

[Leslie w]

Try it with the Low Fat Italian Bread recipe in June's issue. I made it this weekend and it was very good. The bread is a cinch to make if you knead it in your KitchenAid mixer. Also I'd wrap the sandwich in parchment paper or plastic wrap so the stuff doesn't fall out while you're eating it. That always works for me. I always hollow out my bread when I make a sandwich too. Less carbohyrdrates and easier to fill.

[Tiger]

I made this tonight and agree that it's good, it's messy, and a lot of work for a sandwich.
When my DH saw the cover of my June issue with "the best chicken sandwich" he said it was over-rated.
I do have to say I was a little disappointed only because I thought I would feel like Val. I love all the ingre. that go into the sandwich. And I really don't know how quick I will be to make this again. Althought it would make a good salad with the bread on the side!

[laughsandlaughs]

I made this tonight with a portobello I marinated instead of the chicken and thought it was good...maybe not the best ever, but very good.

[comabri]

I think this was the best that I ever made. I just love that there's brie on this. I too love all the ingredients and was very happy with this. It's a 10 for me.

[RUSTYSMOM]

I made this tonight and based on your feedback modfied the recipe a bit. I used a tortilla and made it a wrap vs french bread (not as messy - few calories??). I also followed teh great suggesteing of allowign teh spinahc to sit in teh dressing prior to making teh sandwich. I think I would skip the brie next time - it did not add value IMHO. My husband rated it a 5 - but would want to repeat it w.out the brie.

[elnant]

I made it for myself for lunch last week. I thought it tasted great. I modified the recipe a little bit, since it's just me I only made one sandwich -- and I thought it was a little too much work for just one.
I would recommend it, if you're making it for a group of people for lunch or something. I also agree with the above posters..it was a little messy to eat. Everything started slipping out when I bit into it!!!

[mah]

i made this recipe for lunch this past saturday and modified the recipe somewhat..i too used baby spinach and tossed the spinach in the remnants left over from the roasted tomatoes..i used small club rolls which allowed the insides to stay in the roll better than two slices of bread..i would rate this one up there with the grape chicken salad recipe from a few years back...

[KathyLeary]

I made it a couple of weeks ago. My husband and I both loved it! However, it did seem like alot of work for a sandwich.

Kathy

[Grace]

I made this for dinner last night, and we LOVED it!! I gave my husband his, and walked away (he was on the computer), and cowered in the kitchen, waiting for a booming voice to complain about the mayo and the cheese......I heard nothing.....I tiptoed back in, and saw him hunched over his plate, devouring the sandwich. I peered over his shoulder thinking maybe that was his first bite, but he was almost finished! I asked him how it was, and his eyes lit up and said "great!". Whew...it could have been disastrous (he HATES mayo and cheese! Go figure). He gave it an 8, and wanted a second sandwich! I thought it was awesome also, I roasted grape tomatoes, I used baby spinach, and I poached my chicken in bouillion then shredded it, so it was very moist, not dry. This is a sandwich I would serve to company if we were doing a lunch or something. MMmmmm. And ours weren't very messy, either (i.e., didn't fall apart), so I don't know how ours were somehow different. I'm looking forward to the leftovers for lunch. My husband is coming home from work to have one!

[eDana]

I tried this sandwich as soon as I got the magazine: it looked so good and sounded so easy. Am afraid I would not make it again as I was disappointed in the results. It lacked "something." My husband loves everything that was listed in the recipe - spinach, balsamic, brie, tomatoes, etc. But he did not really care for the results. Nor did I. Sorry.

[RunnerKim]

I loved this sandwich!

Due to recommendations here (and lazyness) I used a softer Italian bread made in my bread machine instead of hand-crafted/stone-baked French bread. The softer bread did make it easier to eat but I'd prefer the better taste and texture of my French bread. (I'm a bread snob).

I haven't used brie before - mine was so soft it was impossible to slice - worked out eaiser to spread it on the bread. I didn't use the rind - I recalled reading about someone using it here, but I didn't care for the taste. This sandwich will go on our repeater list for sure (we're very picky about what we put on the list because generally only about 2 or 3 meals/week are old tried and trues).

We thought this might work great as a wrap or in a pita which would help contain some of the messiness.

Oh - one change we made, I'd somehow run out of breasts and had to use thighs (I prefer the taste of thighs but like to balance the higher nutrient thighs with the lower fat breasts for our meals).

Kim

[aggie94]

A little late, but we FINALLY got around to making this last week, and I think it IS the best chicken sandwich ever! This was really delicious, and the leftovers were even better.

Like everyone else, I also made some changes. I was worried that the balsamic vinegar would be too much for me, so instead of doing the spinach/vinegar mixture that the recipe called for, I mixed the vinegar/oil/salt with the shredded chicken (warmed them up in in a skillet) and then added plain baby spinach to the sandwich. I also subbed dried thyme for fresh, since I didn't have any on hand. Oh, and I cut the rind off the brie. It tastes powdery, IMO.

Next time, I'd use a softer bread. DH picked up a whole wheat baguette from the bakery, but it was a little too crusty for this sandwich. With every bite, roasted tomatoes and melted brie dribbled out the sides. I agree that it was very messy to assemble and eat. And for a sandwich, it was a LOT of work. But I'd make it again, so long as I had the time. It was SOOOOOO good!

[Searcher]

My husband and I tried this sandwich not long after we'd received the June issue. We've had it several times since. The first time I made it I had brie and cherry tomatoes but no spinach. My husband absolutely refused to try the brie so he got (yeck) American on his (To be fair, it did melt nicely and he enjoyed it). I was wondering what to do about the spinach when I spied my huge pot of basil on the back steps. It worked like a charm. I love basil, so this worked well for us. I've used cherry tomatoes, grape and even a large, ripe, peeled tomato and, while the tomato was juicier, all worked well.
We had them on either a homemade French-style roll or a homemade sandwich roll (one a little softer). This is one of our all time favorites.:D

[mightyh]

I want to bring this one back up to the top cause we had it tonight for the first time and wondered what we had been waiting so long for. It was fabulous!!! A perfect 10 for us!

I made it exactly as written (except I subbed Fontina for the Brie cause I'm pregnant) and wouldn't change a thing next time (except maybe to try Val's shortcut of the precooked chicken, though I surprisngly liked the shredded chicken pretty well).

DH proclaimed it one of the bext things he has EVER eaten and professed his love for roasted tomatoes (he hates raw tomatoes) over and over.

Yum! Yum! Yum!