Monster Club

by Paula Deen

(printable recipe)

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 8oz. bottle Italian dressing

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp. white vinegar

1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp. lemon zest

16 slices white bread

12 slices bacon

8 slices tomato

1 pkg. deli ham

6 slices muenster cheese

6 sheets of foil (enough for each sandwich)

First pound the chicken breast to make it evenly flat and then cut each chicken breast into equal serving portions.

In a large re-sealable plastic bag, combine the chicken, salad dressing,

and rosemary sprigs.  Seal the bag and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.  Spray a grill rack with nonstick, nonflammable cooking spray.  Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

In a medium size bowl, combine mayonnaise, white vinegar, thyme and lemon zest;

Mix well, cover and refrigerate.

Drain the chicken, discarding marinade.  Grill the chicken for 5 minutes per side, or until done.

Evenly spread the mayonnaise mixture on 1 side of all the bread slices.

Lay each sandwich on a foil sheet as you start to put the sandwich together.  Top 6 bread slices with 2 slices tomato.  1 grilled chicken breast piece.  2 slices back and another bread slice.  2 slices ham.  and 2 cheese slice.  Top the sandwiches with the remaining bread slices, mayonnaise mixture side down.  This picture here is the Monster Club, it has the added slice in the middle, it the sandwich for the men in the family, including our son.

This one is a bit smaller (for us ladies) because it doesn't have the middle slice of bread.  So, I'll name it, the Mini-Monster Club  :)

Wrap each sandwich in the foil sheet sprayed with nonstick, (ooopsey, totally forgot this step) nonflammable cooking spray.  Place the sandwich on the grill rack.  Top each sandwich with a brick (or a heavy iron skillet like I did), and grill for 6 minutes per side or until toasted.

Unwrap sandwiches and serve immediately.

Oh mercy!  This was the most delicious, warm sandwich I've had in a long, long time.  I was very leary of the mayonnaise because I'm not a mayo person, I rarely, ever eat it.  I didn't even test taste it as I made it, I just never liked the taste of it.  Well.......I've been converted!!!....... but only with this recipe.  I guess it was all the flavors joined together that gave it a wonderful, delicious, savory flavor.  It wasn't overwhelming but just the perfect compliment for this club sandwich.  Please note, the only thyme I had was Lemon Thyme, so I'm sure that helped the taste along with the lemon zest, white vinegar and the mayo.  I'm certain this mayo spread will taste good on any other kind of sandwich, so it will definitely be a keeper in my books.  As you can see, I made a Monster Club for the men in the family and a Mini- Monster Club for us ladies.  This sandwich definitely lives up to it's name.  I was kinda shocked that my mother-in-law finished hers along with some other side food items.  I was plenty satisfied with mine too and hubby loved his very much, same with my son.  The only complaint hubby and I had was that the bread could have been toasted some more, possibly a little thicker.  The bread slices were kinda thin from the start but that's the way it was bought.  My suggestion would be to cut the slices at least 3/4 - 1 inch thick.  Hubby also suggested that the bread be toasted in the toaster first and I really wished I had thought of that ahead of time.  All in all, this is a very, very good sandwich, very satisfying and will be a hit with the men in the family.  I also have leftovers so I don't need to cook dinner tonight, yea, my kind of recipe!

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