October 31, 2008
Sandwiches are a Hoboken specialty. The city abounds with wonderful Italian delicatessens. Those Italians know how to make bread and cold cuts, and when they pile them into different combinations--heaven is not far away.
Not long ago I discovered a sandwich known here as the Chicken Frank Sinatra. It's made with some balsamic vinegar splashed onto good Italian white bread. A little arugula doused in vinagrette is added, then a layer of sliced grilled chicken, topped with a few marinated artichokes, slices of tomato, and some mozzarella. Half of one of these babies is plenty for lunch, and you can have the rest some other time.
How about this: When you get the sandwich home (particularly if you're on the Atkins diet or some version and you're not wild about balsamic vinegar), you take one half, remove the vinegar-soaked bread (and put it in the fridge for later), take all the insides and combine with about one cup of salad from those salad bags everybody keeps around these days. Put all on a chopping board and chop into bite size pieces. Now place this mixture in an eating bowl, toss with your favorite dressing, and eat.
My favorite dressing, by the way, is homemade vinagrette, and I almost always have it on hand. I make in by taking a teaspoon or so of dijon mustard, adding a generous pinch of salt, a splash of vinegar, a drop of honey, and beating like crazy for a few seconds until all is dissolved nicely. Then I slowly add Italian olive oil (extra virgin) until it is a nice amalgamation. Your favorite dressing may come out of a bottle, and that will work for this salad too.
The Chicken Frank Sinatra Salad doesn't need much dressing. There is already a little oil and vinegar here and there in the sandwich, after all. But to my way of thinking, it does need a couple of tablespoons. Save leftover dressing; you won't have it for long. And be grateful you live in Hoboken where you're never far from a Chicken Frank Sinatra. If you live somewhere else, you're on your own in finding the ingredients.
4 comments:
All those nice ingredients dispersed into a salad bowl becomes Chicken Frank Sinatra
unwrapped. Kind of a tame Halloween treat as is , but to throw in a few old blue eyes might spice it up for the tricksters.
OOOh gross, eh. How about some of those giant blue olives then.
My Halloween delicacy is home made double chocolate layer cake. And, not just any old cake either. I won it in a cake walk at Organic School's Halloween carnival, a tradition years old. I also won a special costume prize awarded by Nall, the artist, for my 'horny dude w/ dead chicken'. He said it was the most ridiculous thing he'd seen...still got the prize, Hagar horns and prop chicken from TH98rendition of 'Dancing at Lughnasa'. There was also burn your guts out chili, toss the ring on the Donny Devil's horn, and a silent auction. I am now going to stuff myself with the fruit (cake and milk) of our Halloween effort.
Halloween could be a lot worse.
Frank 's chicken or a prize for dead chicken , both are a real treat.
Jacque, are you drunk?
Not drunk, but being at the little event and seeing the goblins did kindle my spirit. And, there
is joy in finally winning a cake after four years of walking in circles. If my Helga wins the Tom Jones pottery piece in the silent auction, we may have to offer a toast as well...another slice of cake.
Sounds like another Halloween in old Fairhope to me.
Post a Comment