Spring is here and we're happy because April is National Grilled Cheese Month and National BLT Month. This sandwich celebrates the best of both. From the ooey gooey cheese to the crunch of the lettuce, the heat from the buffalo sauce to the sweet maple bacon...this sandwich will be your new favorite! Since the weather has been a little chilly, this is a great grilled cheese (think comfort food) but with a twist. It has a crisp and refreshing wedge salad in between the decadent buffalo chicken grilled cheese.
I also have this recipe on my TODAY Food Club Page. To check out those recipes, click here.
Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese / Wedge BLT
This is my take on a grilled cheese, a BLT and a wedge salad—but all on one plate. I dare anyone not to love this sandwich.
Serves 4
4 slices bacon, chopped
4 romaine lettuce leaves, same length as bread
¼ cup blue cheese dressing
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
1 cup rotisserie chicken, skin removed and shredded
⅛ cup finely diced celery
¼ cup buffalo wing sauce
½ stick butter, softened
8 slices good-quality bread
8 slices colby jack or American cheese
Celery leaves, for garnish (optional)
MAKE WEDGE BLT
Add chopped bacon to a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until bacon is almost crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain.
Add romaine leaves to a plate, and evenly top them with blue cheese dressing, diced tomato, blue cheese crumbles and bacon. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.
In a mixing bowl, toss together chicken, celery and buffalo wing sauce. Set aside.
MAKE GRILLED CHEESE
Lay out all bread slices on a clean, flat surface. Evenly butter the top of each bread slice, then flip over. Add one cheese slice to the unbuttered side of each bread slice. Evenly distribute the chicken mixture to 4 slices of bread, then top with the other 4 slices, cheese-side down. You now have 4 sandwiches, butter-sides up and ready to cook.
Heat a large griddle pan to medium heat.
Add sandwiches to griddle pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes each side. Make sure that the cheese is melted. Remove from heat. (If you don’t have a large griddle pan, you can use a skillet and cook one or two at a time.)
ASSEMBLE
Start with one grilled cheese sandwich and top with two of the blue cheese-topped romaine lettuce leaves, side by side. Then top with another grilled cheese sandwich. Repeat the process for the other two sandwiches. Skewer both sides of the sandwiches and cut in half.
OPTIONAL
Drizzle on more buffalo sauce, and add blue cheese crumbles and celery leaves to garnish.
NOTE
If you want to make your own buffalo wing sauce, simply melt butter and add hot sauce (2 parts hot sauce to 1 part butter).
