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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Chicken Sandwiches with Mushrooms, Spinach and Cheese


When I was home over Thanksgiving, my mom made this for dinner one night and I knew I'd be making it again soon--not only because I wanted to eat it again, but because I wanted to post it so that you can make it! These taste like they belong in some little cafe, and it's a great meal to make ahead and then heat right before serving. I made this last Friday night when we hosted a group of friends for dinner before we all went to the Swell Season concert. I'll post a few other recipes from that night over the next couple of days. All in all it was an excellent meal :)

Chicken Sandwiches with Mushrooms, Spinach, and Cheese

Ingredients:
-4 ciabatta rolls, halved horizontally (both my mom and I used 1 loaf of ciabatta and filled that instead)
-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
-whole grain mustard (I omitted this time around)
-8 oz. Fontina cheese, shredded, divided (I couldn't find this at my grocery store, so I instead used a shredded Italian blend of cheese)
-12 oz sliced white mushrooms
-2 tbsp chopped shallots
-3 garlic cloves, pressed
-2 cups shredded roast chicken
-1 5 oz. bag baby spinach

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice ciabatta roll in half (horizontally) and pull some bread from the loaf to form a slightly hollow center.
3. Drizzle ciabatta bread with olive oil. Spread whole grain mustard on half the loaf. Sprinkle on half of the Fontina cheese.

4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in large skilled over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute for 4 minutes. Add chopped shallots and pressed garlic; saute for 3 minutes. Add chicken, saute minutes to heat through. Transfer to plate.
5. Add 1 tbsp oil to skillet. Add spinach, saute 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drain.
6. Spoon chicken mixture, then spinach over loaf. Top with remaining cheese. Put loaf back together.






(yes, that's my computer in the background. I like to catch up on shows while I cook :))

7. Wrap sandwich tightly in foil. Bake sandwich until cheese melts, 20-30 minutes.

**The sandwich can be made 1 day ahead (chill the chicken and spinach before assembling)