Dijon Swiss Chicken Sammich--You Can Dress Up Chicken

We're on a diet chez nous.

Which is to say, "I'm being supportive of my wife's efforts."

Or to put it another way, "Thomas is always hungry."

One thing about my wife. In college, she spent an entire summer eating cereal for breakfast and quesedillas for dinner. She would be content to eat the same thing every day. I, on the other hand, need some variety.

So lately, I'm on a mission to figure out as many interesting way to cook chicken as I can. I feel like Bubba on Forrest Gump. You remember, "Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. There's um shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan-fried, deap-fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burgers, shrimp sandwich. That's, that's about it"

With that in mind, I present you tonight's essay: Dijon Swiss Chicken Sammich:

Dijon Swich Chicken Sammich:

What you need:

I'm assuming that you may be cooking for more than one, so this recipe is based on a one-person serving. Adjust accordingly.
One chicken breast
1/2 scallion (green onion)
1/4 lemon
1 slice swiss cheese
1 mushroom
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, dijon mustard, kaiser roll (or other bread)

What to do with it:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread a bit of olive oil on a baking sheet.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil (1 tsp or less) on top of the chicken, along with the lemon.
Thinly slice your mushroom and place on top of your chicken. Do the same with the scallion.
Sprinkle a bit of salt on top, place a slice of swiss cheese on top of the chicken.
Bake until it's done (time will depend on the type of oven you have, but generally 15-20 minutes, depending on thickness--add more time for more pieces: about 5 minutes each).
While your chicken's cooking, if you can, toast your bread.
When you're finished, add a little pepper to the chicken, put the mustard on your bread and serve.

Lox & Eggs and Gruyere Poached Eggs

I have a confession.

I HATE eggs.

I simply don't understand fried eggs (runny yolk is disgusting, and egg whites are gross). Scrambled eggs are only edible if they're covered in ketchup (they're the only thing I eat ketchup on). Don't get me started on soft boiled eggs.

Unfortunately, my wife, and a lot of other people, love eggs. So I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to make them...palatable.

I've had several people tell me that the two recipes I'm posting are really good. I'll just take their word for it.

Lox & Eggs

What you Need:

Nova Lox (or any other cold smoked salmon) (about 1 ounce per person, maybe a little more)
1/2 tsp dill per person (fresh is preferable)
1/4 Shallot per person
1/2 Tomato per person
1 Egg per person
1 Tbsb. buttermilk per person
1 Tbsp. cream cheese per person

What to do with it:

Chop the lox and tomatoes.
Beat the eggs and buttermilk with a fork. Yep. Buttermilk. Add the dill and cream cheese. Make certain that you have several clumps of cream cheese throughout.
Sautee the shallots in olive oil until translucent on medium heat.
Add a bit more olive oil, and drop in the eggs.
Sprinkle the lox and tomatoes on top, so that they're evenly spaced about.

You're going to want to put a lid on the skillet to keep heat in to cook the top without charring the bottom.

I suppose if you wanted to get really wild, you could add a bagel.

Gruyere Poached Eggs

What you need:

An egg poacher (this just won't work if you do it in boiling water)
Gruyere cheese
Rubbed sage (or crushed)
Salt & Pepper
Sour Dough Bread

What to do with it:

Put two small slices cheese (about 1" by 1/4") in the poacher
Drop in 1/4 tsp of sage, a few shakes of salt and pepper
Poach.
Serve on sourdough toast.

They're good. Trust me.

Or so I've been told.