Who says turkey is boring!  Not me, not with this combination of flavors!

Chipotle Turkey Melt

Melted cheesy sandwiches are a splurge for me.  I love them, but the bread carbs don’t always love me back, so if I’m going to eat a sandwich, I’m going all in.  Turkey has a mild flavor that craves great supporting taste sensations.  Turkey likes pepper.  So here you have turkey with cheese and pepper 3-ways.  Take a bite!

Ingredients

2 slices of your favorite bread
3 Tablespoons of mayonnaise (Hellmann’s preferred)
2 generous Tablespoons of the sauce from canned Chipotles in Adobo
2 slices of pepper-Jack cheese
Sliced deli turkey – amount to your liking
Salt and cracked black Pepper

Mix the mayonnaise and adobo sauce in a bowl.  Using a spoon or knife, spread lightly the mayo mixture on the two slices of bread – both sides of each.

Build your sandwich.  Bread, mayo mix, cheese, turkey, a pinch of salt & cracked black pepper, cheese, mayo mix, bread.

Heat a small skillet over medium high heat.  Place the sandwich in the skillet.  Remember, the bread has the mayo mix on the outside too!  Immediately, turn the heat down to medium and wait 2 minutes to flip sandwich or flip when the first side is golden.  Cook on the second side until golden, again 2 minutes or so.  Give an occasional press with a spatula.  

The mayo will help toast the bread nicely, give beautiful color, and will carry the chipotle flavor.  Your sandwich is going to look orange.  That’s just the adobo sauce.

Be careful not to rush the process.  You want the cheese to melt, but you don’t want the bread to burn.  If you go slowly over medium heat – or even medium low if your stove runs hot – you will achieve the perfect combination of crispy bread, gooey cheese, and warm turkey.

When you have a golden sandwich with cheese oozing from the sides, remove the sandwich from the heat and cut on the diagonal.  

If you like spicy food like I do, you can make extra of the mayo mix, and even add some chopped chipotles, and use that as a dipping sauce for your sandwich or for raw veggies on the side.

As with all recipes, this is a suggestion, not a rule.  If you don’t like pepper-Jack cheese, use cheddar, or your favorite.  Use leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of deli slices.  If you’re not a turkey fan, try chicken.  If you really like spicy bites, add some chopped chipotles to the inside of your sandwich.  You get to decide.  You are in charge.  Play, and have fun.

May 21, 2018

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