Seriously, the most amazing grilled chicken sandwich ever!

I recently received Guy Fieri’s new cookbook in the mail, it’s called Guy Fieri Food: Cookin’ It, Livin’ It, Lovin’ It. I’m going to have to be honest with you, I flipped through it and then put it down. My husband however, picked it up, flipped through it and bookmarked the page for the Red Rocker Margarita Chicken recipe and then persuaded me over several weeks to make it. Well, I’m glad I did. This is one moment I can say, honey, you were right with a straight face.

The book is huge, it’s over 400 pages long with over 150 recipes. Guy laces different stories with each recipe, which makes it kind of neat. The Red Rocker Margarita Chicken is a sandwich inspired by Sammy Hagar, I think that’s really cool! I love the show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives but I really thought this book wouldn’t be my kind of thing but I was wrong. There are some other dishes I want to try in the book including Chicken & Seafood Paella, Steak Diane and Fire-Roasted Shrimp Cocktail.

Dry Ingredients for Marinade

This tequila marinated chicken sandwich is an easy dish to make. Marinate the chicken in the seasonings, cilantro, roasted red bell peppers, tequila, etc. for 4-8 hours and you end up with a very moist grilled chicken.

Tequila Marinade

I placed the zippered plastic bag in a casserole dish before adding the marinade.

I put the bag in a casserole dish to be cautious, just in case the bag leaked or just in case I spilled the marinade.

Chicken Marinating

The chicken after marinating for 5 hours

The marinade smelled so good! This is the first time I cooked with tequila and it won’t be the last!

The chicken is very moist and the pop of flavor from the fried roasted red peppers makes this sandwich a winner!

I can’t wait to make this tequila-marinated grilled chicken sandwich again! The flavorful marinade and the fried roasted red peppers were so good! I got yelled at for eating too many of the fried roasted red peppers before we put our sandwiches together. They are addictive, the tequila flavor popped in your mouth when you bit into it.

Have you cooked with tequila before? I want to hear all about it if you have.

Red Rocker Margarita Chicken

Ingredients:

2 jalapenos, cut into thin rounds
3 Tbsp cilantro leaves
1/4 cup tequila
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp dried oregano
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
2 tsp kosher salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 roasted red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 cups canola oil
4 kaiser rolls
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 green cabbage head, very thinly sliced
4 oz. thinly sliced provolone

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the jalapenos, cilantro, tequila, minced garlic, chili flakes, cumin, oregano, lime juice and 1 tsp of salt. Place the chicken and bell peppers in a resealable 1-gallon plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, the remaining 1 tsp salt and the granulated garlic.
3. Preheat a grill to high. In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, heat the canola oil to 350 degrees F.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade. (Leave the roasted red peppers in the marinade.) Grill the chicken until cooked through, turning several times to prevent burning, about 12 minutes in all. Cover the cooked chicken and let sit for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the chicken across the grain.
5. Remove the roasted peppers from the marinade, dredge them in the flour mixture, and fry in the oil until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes, working in batches as needed. Drain on paper towels.
6. Split and lightly toast the rolls. Spread mayonnaise on the bottom halves. Stack each roll evenly with the cabbage, onion, chicken breast, fried peppers and cheese.

*Roast bell peppers over an open flame or under the broiler, turning to char on all sides. Skin and seed them.

Notes:

• I cheated a little and used jarred roasted red bell peppers.
• I ended up using 3 limes
• We toasted the kaiser rolls on the grill just for a minute or two on each side so they didn't burn.

From Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It by Guy Fieri, 2011. Reprinted with permission from William Morrow (an Imprint of Harper Collins).

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book from the publisher. I was not asked to post about it but after making this dish, I just had to! There are affiliate links in this post.

Guy Fieri’s Red Rocker Margarita Chicken © 2009-2011 the little kitchen. All rights reserved.

I guess these sandwiches are served with the sauce and served plain. My husband doesn’t like sauces so he eats them out without and adds provolone cheese, lettuce and tomato. He loves these sandwiches. I have even had the grilled chicken (not on a sandwich) but with couscous complete with the sauce.

This dish is in my top 10 list right now. Hope you enjoy them! If you make them, I’ll bet they will rank high on your list too!

Chicken Spiedies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp mayo
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (trimmed)
6 (6-inch) sub rolls

Directions:

1. Mix the oil, garlic, basil, oregano, lemon zest, salt, pepper and pepper flakes in a large bowl.
2. Take 2 Tbsp of the oil mixture and place into another bowl and set aside.
3. Prick the chicken breasts with a fork all over on each side. Cut into 1 1/4 inch chunks. Add to large (first) bowl of marinade. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 30 minutes and no longer than 3 hours.
4. Whisk together mayo, vinegar and lemon juice with the 2 Tbsp of oil mixture set aside earlier.
5. Remove the chicken and thread onto metal skewers.
6. Heat your gril for 10 minutes on high.
7. Clean and oil your cooking grate. Place the skewers on the grill, turning frequently. Cook for 10-15 mintues.
8. Remove from grill and allow chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes.
9. Grill the rolls on grill for a few seconds each. Remove quickly or they will burn.
10. Remove the chicken from the skewers directly on the rolls. Drizzle with mayo sauce mixture.

from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2010 Cookbook, published 2009

Spiedies © 2009-2011 the little kitchen. All rights reserved.

This visit to the Manatee Cafe was rather disappointing. We were in a rush to return home and after being seated, we got our drinks but then waited at least 20 minutes before deciding to order a to go order. The thing that was really frustrating was that they didn’t get that we switched to a to go order because we waited too long for them to take our order. I had to get food because I was really hungry, I ate it in the car. It’s too bad the service wasn’t that great because my sandwich was amazing!

After having this tasty sandwich at this cafe, I wanted to try it at home. The other night, my husband suggested we have grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. I remembered this sandwich and decided to try it. So I tried a variation of it and it turned out great. You can make this sandwich vegan by using a cheese substitute. If you do try it that way, please let me know how it goes!

I grew up eating tofu as a kid and I love it. My Mom cooked it all of the time and I will have to share with you soon one of my favorites. If you have never had tofu, I hope you’ll try this sandwich. I will definitely be making this sandwich again soon!

Cheese, Tomato & Tofu Sandwich with Avocados

Ingredients:

4 slices of your favorite sandwich bread
2 slices of sharp cheddar cheese (or sliced cheese substitute)
alfalfa sprouts
4-5 slices of tomato
4-6 slices of a ripe avocado
firm tofu, sliced 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices, about 6-7 slices
vegetable oil
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to make the dressing.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet on high for about 5-6 minutes. Add about 1/2 to 1 tsp of vegetable oil.
3. Pat the tofu dry between paper towels and add to the heated skillet.
4. Heat on high for a few minutes on each side, browned to your liking and heated through.
5. Toast the slices of bread and arrange your sandwich. Drizzle dressing over the avocado and sprouts on your sandwich.

If you like tofu and avocados, you’ll definitely love this sandwich! It’s light and fresh and very tasty!

Cheese, Tomato & Tofu Sandwich with Avocados © 2009-2011 the little kitchen. All rights reserved.

First, split the one pound of beef into four 1/4 pound portions and put each portion in between two pieces of plastic wrap. Roll flat until about 1/4 inch thick, be sure that they are even.

After frying them in a non-stick skillet (I don’t have a cast iron skillet the recipe calls for but am hoping to get one soon) on high heat, this is what one of the burgers looks like. Be sure to use a splatter cover because it can get messy. Then, you can to top it with whatever you want!

The Avocado Burger. This is what my burger looked like. I topped mine with avocado, lettuce and tomato. No cheese. Sliced avocado on burgers is a great addition, it’s a nice, buttery taste that adds a lot of great flavor (no need for mayo).

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. This is one of my husband’s burgers. I guess you can call him a cheeseburger artisan. This one is topped with barbecue sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles and diced onions. He said that when he looked at this picture, his mouth started watering. This is after he had already eaten it.

Bacon Cheeseburger with Avocado. This is my husband’s second burger (yes this was for one meal). This one is topped with white American cheese, bacon, sliced avocado, lettuce, tomato, pickles, diced onions and mustard.

This recipe is very easy to execute and I hope the above burger and cheeseburgers give you different ideas. So tell me, what do you like on your burgers?

Old-Fashioned Cheeseburgers from Everyday Food Magazine © 2009-2011 the little kitchen. All rights reserved.