This week, high off our Reuben sandwich win from last week, we decided to do another toasted sandwich. We switched up every possible element with Benwich counterparts. The marble rye bread became sourdough. The thousand island was swapped for ranch. The pastrami made way for shredded chicken. The bacon appeared because, well, it’s bacon. The Swiss cheese became pepper jack. The sauerkraut was side-lined in favor of pickled red onions. Our resulting Toasted Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich was the bomb-diggity.
Here’s the thing. It was a super busy week, and we had to cut some corners. The plan had been to use shredded rotisserie chicken, but we were shopping during the height of the Super Bowl scramble, so there wasn’t a roasted bird to be found. Against my better judgement, we went with a pre-cooked, pre-shredded, over-priced tray of completely unseasoned chicken breasts. Though thrilled about the ease of preparation, we found the taste underwhelming and the price equally hard to swallow. Our solution was to stir in a little ranch dressing. When that failed to pep it up, we added some buffalo sauce. Good enough.
When Phil was a kid, he was a picky eater. Not only did he did eschew many items in the non- peanut butter and and jelly category, he apparently had particular ideas about how a PB & J sandwich should be cut. One evening, his parents came home to a standoff between Phil and a college student babysitter. The breaking point? She had had the audacity to cut his sandwich into rectangles instead of diagonally into two triangles. He refused to eat. Upon arriving home, Phil’s mom quickly assessed the situation and cut the rectangles into long triangles. Problem solved. Four-year old Phil ate his sandwich, developed a passion for the Pythagorean Theorem, and everyone lived happily ever after.
Toasted Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich
6 slices sourdough bread
2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces cooked, shredded chicken
2-4 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 tablespoon buffalo sauce (optional)
Six slices cooked bacon
3 slices pepper jack cheese
Pickled red onions
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat while you prep the sandwich. Spread the outside of the bread pieces with butter (melt it if you have to). Spread the inside of the bread pieces with ranch dressing. If your shredded chicken needs some pep, stir in some ranch dressing, and possibly, some buffalo sauce. Pile shredded chicken on three of the ranch-side pieces of bread. Next, add two slices of bacon on each sandwich, followed by cheese slices. Top with pickled red onions before closing sandwiches with upper pieces of bread. Place sandwiches into skillet and cover with lid. When bottom begins to toast and brown, flip and cook until both sides are toasted and the middle is warmed through. Remove to cutting board, slice artistically, and place halves at improbable angles on a plate. Serve with Buffalo Totchos.
Buffalo Totchos
1-2 pounds frozen tater tots
1 tablespoon buffalo sauce
1 stalk celery, diced
2 tablespoons bleu cheese, crumbled
Preheat oven and bake tater tots according to package directions. When crispy, remove and toss with buffalo sauce. Sprinkle the portion Ben won’t be eating with bleu cheese crumbles. Return to oven and cook another 5 minutes. Top with celery and serve.
If you are in a bind, and need to cut corners, we recommend pre-cooked, pre-shredded chicken. If you are a babysitter with a geometrically fussy charge, save yourself the grief and cut the sandwich diagonally.