The Junk Yard Special (My New Favorite Sandwich)

What could be bad about about turkey, provolone, fresh mozzarella, and roasted peppers? Nothing! Add in the other savory ingredients, and you have a sandwich that will satisfy the toughest sandwich critics.

This sandwich has a list of ingredients that I probably wouldn’t have ever gotten around to putting together, so I’m thrilled that someone else already did. Sure, I love every ingredient here on it’s own, but I’m not living in a deli. I have everything listed here in my kitchen in regular rotation, but not always at the same time.

It’s no secret that I love the Food Network show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” I mean--I love food, so in turn, I love hearing what other people are eating. I found these eggplant burgers from the show, and we just love those! We were watching a few weeks ago, and the episode was about delis. Adam Gertler was talking about the Junk Yard Special from Sarcone’s Deli in Philadelphia. You can see Adam’s show clip right on the front page of their site.

I knew that I had to have that sandwich. It was one of those things that reaches out and grabs you by the shirt and says “You. Want. Me.” I do, I do!

So! Couldn’t be any simpler. I bought some nice deli rolls and toasted them first. Did you hear Adam take that bite of his sandwich? It crackled. I needed to have that crackle, too. (By the way, as I write this, all I can think about is having one of these. Hungry!)

Junk Yard Special

Amounts are up to you. How many sandwiches are you making? You don't need a ton of each thing in one sandwich--a couple slices of meat and cheese per roll, etc. If you're making a lot, buy 2 bags of spinach since it really cooks down.

Sandwich rolls
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Sliced deli turkey
Thinly sliced Prosciutto
1 (7-8 oz) bag fresh baby spinach
Roasted Peppers with Garlic (jarred or fresh)
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
Provolone Cheese, sliced
Fresh basil leaves, stacked up, rolled, and sliced across to form ribbons or strips
Dried basil
Dried oregano

Start by lightly sautéing the spinach. Heat a skillet over medium low heat. Add the spinach and a small amount of water--a couple tablespoons or so, and a touch of salt and pepper. Keep moving the spinach around until it's wilted and softened. Remove from the pan and place it in a strainer to let any extra water drain. Set aside to cool.

Heat oven to 350 degrees to toast the rolls. If they're not sliced, slice them almost through, leaving them attached at the bottom, then place them in the oven for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

When your rolls are ready to go, you can make your sandwiches. Start by drizzling the inside of each roll with oil and vinegar. Layer the remaining ingredients in this order:

Sliced turkey
Prosciutto (I like to cut up the prosciutto, since it has a habit of coming out of a sandwich in one piece when you bite it.)
Sautéed spinach (Just give it a bit of a squeeze over a paper towel so it's not too wet.)
Roasted peppers
Fresh Mozzarella slices
Sliced Provolone
Fresh basil strips
Dried basil and oregano

That's it--dig in and pig out. Oink!

• These sandwiches have a wonderful balance of flavors. I can’t imagine them without the red wine vinegar, for instance. The peppers just belong in there. The cool, fresh mozzarella hits your tongue and is then followed by the sharpness of the provolone and the smokiness of the prosciutto. You can adjust these any way you like, but they’re perfect as is, I think.
• That said, they are versatile. Don’t like turkey? Try ham. I couldn’t find any roasted peppers at Trader Joe’s (weird), so I picked up a roasted pepper and eggplant garlic spread.
• Vegetarian? Leave the meat out. The rest of the ingredients are full of flavor so you won’t miss it.
• Want more of something or less of something? Up to  you--adjust to your liking.
• Hot summer evenings on the horizon? Don’t cook--make these sandwiches!

Breaded Chicken Topped with Ham, Roasted Peppers, and Provolone, or Lazy Girl's Cordon Bleu

I know, wordy recipe name. But I can't think of a catchy name for it. Can you? It is what it is. Breaded chicken breasts, partially cooked, then topped with roasted red peppers, provolone cheese, and ham, and then cooking finishes in a light pan sauce. Sort of like a lazy girl's cordon bleu. (Wait a minute...I think I just thought of a name! hahaha!) It's a quick, easy dinner to get on the table, and my husband just loves it. My oldest daughter will eat it if I leave the peppers off of her piece. sigh. If I must. Crazy kid.

It's also very versatile. You can change the cheese--sometimes I use mmmmuenster (I don't know why, but that's fun to say), but you could use any other one you like. Cheese is your friend, you know. What would pizza and cheeseburgers be without cheese? They'd be crust and burger. Boring, right? You also don't need to use the roasted peppers. Sliced mushrooms are a good substitute. You get the idea, use your imagination and what you've got on hand.

Roasted red peppers, provolone cheese, and ham, waiting their turn in this recipe.

Sorry if the finished photo isn't the greatest, I'm trying, lol! And yeah, I need to make a shopping trip for props. That'll be hard work. Not.

So here's the recipe.

Lazy Girl's Cordon Bleu

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

It may seem like a lot of bread crumbs and flour, but you know...I hate it when I'm breading chicken, getting messy, and I realize I need more to dredge the rest of the chicken in. By then, my hands are messy, and I have to call in reinforcements to measure out more stuff. So I overdo it now, and start with more.

1 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
3 boneless chicken breasts, filleted so you have 6 pieces
2 eggs, beaten
2 TB butter
2 TB olive oil
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup white wine
sliced ham
sliced provolone cheese
roasted red peppers, sliced (for 3 breasts, filleted, I use one whole small jar, about 6-8 oz)
2-3 tsp cornstarch

In a pie dish or plate, combine the bread crumbs and flour.
In a bowl, beat the eggs.
Combine the broth and wine, and dissolve the cornstarch in a small amount of the broth/wine mixture. Set both things aside.

Here's the bread crumbs and flour before mixing.
Here we see the broth and wine, along with the cornstarch mixed in with a bit of it. The Hot Wheels car is an optional ingredient.

Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper, then dip the pieces, one at a time, into the egg, completely coating them, then dredge each in the breadcrumb/flour mixture, set aside.
In a large nonstick pan, heat the butter and olive oil over med-med high heat.
Add the chicken and cook 3 minutes on one side, turn them and cook for 3 more minutes, or until mostly done. It's ok if it's *almost* done, because you'll be putting them back in the pan, anyway.
Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Add the broth/wine mixture to the pan, scraping the bottom to get up all of the good cooked bits of chicken. The bits of stuff in the bottom of the pan? Also your friend.

Add the cornstarch that you've dissolved in a bit of the broth and wine, and stir for a couple of minutes, until you see it start to thicken. Reduce the heat.

Add the chicken back to the skillet, and top each piece with some ham, sliced peppers, and then the cheese.
Cover and cook until the cheese is all melty, about 2 minutes.
Serve with some sauce drizzled over each piece of chicken.
If you find you want more sauce, increase the broth and wine to about 1 cup each, but you'll also need a bit more cornstarch.

And here's the finished dish. I know, it could have used a green veg, but the peppers are a vegetable, right? Oh, and see up there? We got the green from the Hot Wheels car.

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