California Club Sandwich

Have you ever watched one of those cooking shows and the person is explaining how they were inspired to make this particular (complicated) dish based on something they ate recently and some restaurant in a far-off city that normal people like you and me will never visit?  Yeah, me too.  I hate it when they do that.  I feel like I have no creativity when they do that because I'm soooo dependent on recipes.

And now I'm about to do it to you.  Crud.  Forgive me?

I have to say though that I wasn't "inspired" by a dish I actually ate; I flat-out wanted to duplicate a sandwich I saw listed on the menu.... and based on the description, which was essentially the ingredient list, I thought I could do it.  And if not, hey, there's bacon involved so it can't be that bad, right?

Honestly, because I didn't order the sandwich I have no idea if I succeeded in my duplication efforts or not.  Quite frankly I don't really care.  What I came up with is SO GOOD, I'm just going to keep making it as is.  So there.

California Chicken Club Sandwich
Recipe inspired by Bar Louie menu item


4 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4" thick slices
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ripe avocados
Lemon juice
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 lb thick-cut bacon, cut in half and baked in the oven (baked bacon doesn't crinkle as much and is easier to eat in a sandwich)
4 slices pepperjack cheese
1/4 cup (ish) Ranch dressing
Multi-grain sandwich bread

1.  Preheat broiler.  Lay the chicken cutlets and onion slices on a broiler pan.  Drizzle both sides of everything with extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Broil about 6 minutes per side until onions are soft and chicken is cooked through.  NOTE: this step would be AWESOME on the grill!

I used a little Rosemary oil, just for an added flavor boost

2.  Because sliced avocado can be slippery (as are several other components to this sandwich), I decided to smash mine up with a little bit of lemon juice and salt.  I purposely left it pretty chunky though so it wouldn't feel like an "avocado spread."

I could've just had this for dinner and been deliriously happy

3.  Toast 8 slices of multi-grain bread.

4.  Rob and I each assembled our sandwiches a little differently.  I liked:

• Bottom toast, spread a little Ranch dressing
• A few pieces of onion
• Chicken cutlet
• 3-4 pieces of bacon
• Pepperjack cheese; toss under broiler for a few seconds to melt the cheese slightly
• 2 slices tomato
• Healthy dollops of avocado
• Top toast

Yes, I had to unhinge my jaw a little to eat this.  WORTH IT!!

The leftovers did not even last 24 hours.  Are we surprised by this?  Nope!