I'm alive! And living the dream with the Ultimate Chicken Sarnie

It's been a good couple of weeks, maybe more, since I lasted posted - very unlike me. I've been a bit poorly with a kidney infection and feeling well and truly sorry for myself and, frankly, just not in the mood for food (shock, horror I hear fellow foodies exclaim!).

I'm still quite poorly but am missing my blog, so I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm actually fancying something to eat rather than eating to basically to survive, and writing about it.

I was quite dissapointed with myself to realise that what I really, really, really wanted was a simple chicken sandwich. Not only would I not be able to write something decent about a humble sarnie, but it wouldn't satiate my desire to ramble on about the food I dream up and cook. So I got creative. What if I make the ULTIMATE chicken sandwich?

With an idea forming, I reached for the yeast and made a basic sandwich dough, made to the adapted recipe of Michel Roux Jr. that can be found here, but instead of plonking it in a loaf tin once risen and knocked back, I made a large round... what!? Now this is where the arguments start.

Is it a Muffin? Bun? Cob? Barm Cake? For arguments sake, I'm going with bread roll, but do let me know your regions variation in the comments below.

This Ultimate Sandwich was made for Sunday tea time using left over roast chicken and served four, but the possibilities are endless. Imagine this - You’re hung over. The bread is fresh and stuffed with bacon, sausage, friend egg, tomatoes, mushrooms…. Mmmm… A perfect hangover cure.

This sandwich does mean you end up with a hunk of bread from the middle of the roll that could potentially go to waste. I either make breadcrumbs and freeze, bake it to make croutons, dunk it in soup or make Nigella’s bread salad.

I know you don’t need a recipe for a sandwich, but please, indulge me. Traditional, wholesome, fresh, English. What’s not to love? Read it and weep my friends. And could you ask for more when trying to get your appetite back?

Bea’s Best Bap – My Ultimate Sandwich

Ultimate Chicken Sarnie - perfect for a pick me up or a picnic

• Half of Michel Roux Jrs Bread recipe, shaped into a large roll, baked and cooled
• Half a bag of spinach, rocket and water cress salad
• 250 ml tub of crème fraiche
• Leftover roast chicken (Mine has lemon, garlic and herbs up its bum before being covered in butter and roasted at 180 for 1 hour 20 mins for a 1.5kg bird).
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• Avocado, sliced (only if you are serving immediately)
• 4 slices cooked smoked bacon

1. Cut the top off of the large bread roll off and dig the bread from the inside to leave you with a bowl.

2. In a food processor, whizz the salad with the crème fraiche (adding lemon juice to taste if you have some to hand). Spread a third of the mixture over the bottom of the bread.

3. Layer the chicken and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, spread another third of the crème fraiche mixture over the tomatoes and finish by layering the avocado and finally, the bacon.

4. Place the ‘lid’ back on the bread bowl and carve into wedges.

Enjoy!

Friday Night Chinese - Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce

Why is it that a four day week can feel longer than a five day week? Personally, I think it's because we expect it to be short, the days flying by and before you know it, it's Friday. But not for me and certainly not for hubs.

I stumbled through the door last Friday, heels kicked to one side, hair askew, ready for the weekend. Now, know this. I ALWAYS cook on a Friday night, stemming from the days when my husband would work Monday to Friday in London, coming home only at the weekends and I'd welcome him home with something with a nutritional value higher than zilch. And this weekend was no different, except for one little thing.

Hubs called at lunchtime, knowing I was knackered, and said, 'Let's get takeaway. Chinese? The Dragon do that one I love.' And yes, The Dragon does do good food, BUT I ALWAYS COOK ON A FRIDAY! Does he not realise he is breaking my moral code to feed my husband (and anyone else who passes over my threshold for that matter!)? Call me old fashioned, but I like a tradition.

So I got to scheming, what if I made him think he was getting a Chinese takeaway, that I picked it up just before he got home, only to have cooked it myself, feeding my obsession of knowing exactly what's going in our food and knowing that it's actually chicken we're eating, not re-constituted animal X.

So I made Chinese, knowing what he'd order and having most of the ingredients at home, just a quick stop off for chicken and veggies. I opened all the window so any cooking smells could be passed off as takeaway smells and set to it.

I even went so far as to put it in old takeaway tubs that I save for leftovers and dumping the food into a big bowl as I would normally do with a Chinese takeaway, spooning from bowl to mouth without removing my eyes from whatever rubbish happens to be on the TV.

But he knew.

The first comment was positive 'Oh God that smells good, I'm starving!'

But then, his second comment, upon spying the meal was 'oh, there are normally more onions than anything else, but this has peppers and mushrooms in it. Was it more expensive?'

And then 'The chicken's good. It's different. Not as stodgy. It tastes... less over the top Chinesey... you know what I mean?'

Busted.

But was it as good?

Yes, but rather than a takeaway, it tasted like it had come from a proper Chinese restaurant. It tasted like it was freshly-made from scratch with real ingredients with the love and attention food deserves. Funny that, because it was.

Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 300g chicken thighs cut into bit sized pieces
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, cut into strips
• Large handful mushrooms, chunkily sliced
• 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp maggi seasoning
• scant 1/2 tsp sugar

1. Marinate the chicken in 1 tbsp soy sauce for 10-20 minutes

2. Heat a wok and oil, and stir fry the onions for 3-4 minutes on a high heat.  Add the pepper and mushrooms, cooking for another 2 minutes before adding the black pepper, chicken and marinade.

3. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

4. Add the remaining soy sauce, maggi seasoning and sugar, cooking until the sugar begins to caramelise, just a minute or two.

Serve with rice or noodles

Enjoy!