Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwiches With Roaste

Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwiches With Roaste

Yield: 6 Servings

1 6 chicken breast halves

without skin -- boned &

skinned

5 TB olive oil

1 TB black pepper -- cracked

2 TB fresh thyme

red bell peppers

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/4 c Dijon mustard

1 ts Worcestershire sauce

1 ts red wine vinegar

1 ds salt

3 oz arugula leaves

red ripe tomatoes -- for

slicing

12 sl multi-grain bread

STEP ONE: For the Chicken-- Rub the chicken breasts with 3

tablespoons of the olive oil, the black pepper, and thyme leaves.

Cover and refrigerate a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove from refrigerator

hour before cooking.

STEP TWO: For the Peppers-- Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place 2

red bell peppers on the rack and roast. Turn the peppers occasionally

until the skins are completely charred (20 to 30 minutes). Place the

peppers in a paper bag and seal the top. This allows them to steam

and aids in peeling. Remove the peppers from the bag and remove the

skins with your fingers. Sometimes a little cold running water helps.

Remove the cores and seeds and slice into 1/4-inch strips. Toss the

peppers with 2 tablespoons olive oil and store in a glass container

until ready to use.

If a charcoal fire is available, you can roast the peppers directly

on the coals. This can be very tricky, so you need to watch them

constantly. As the peppers begin to char, turn them so they char

evenly. Once you have an even char, proceed as in oven roasting. The

charcoal roasting imparts a smoky flavor that enhances the sandwich.

STEP THREE: For the Sauce-- Mix mayonnaise, Dijon mustard,

Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and dash of salt together

well and refrigerate in a glass container until ready to use.

STEP FOUR: Assembling the Sandwiches-- The chicken, peppers, and

mustard sauce can be prepared to this point a day in advance. When

you are ready to serve the sandwiches, prepare a charcoal fire or

preheat the broiler for the chicken and bread. Grill or broil the

breasts 6 to 10 minutes per side, depending on the heat of your fire.

As they are cooking, brush a little butter or olive oil  on one side

of 12 slices of the bread. When the breasts are cooked, transfer to a

platter and allow to cool slightly, at which time you will need to

either grill or broil the bread until slightly toasted. Spread a

liberal amount of the mustard sauce on the oiled or buttered side of

the bread slices so that the dry sides will be on the outside of the

sandwich.

Slice the breasts on a diagonal and place each sliced breast on a

slice of toasted bread. Top with some of the roasted pepper strips, 2

slices of tomato, some of the arugula, and the top piece of bread.

Cut and serve as you would with any sandwich. Serve immediately.