I am a HUGE sandwich fan. I love sandwiches. I’ll eat them at any meal — breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s a delicious meal between two pieces of bread — the possibilities are endless! This sandwich is pretty cool — it’s a spin on a reuben that uses chicken and mushrooms instead of the traditional corned beef filling. (It’s a Rachael Ray recipe.) The traditional Thousand Island dressing is homemade and ratcheted up with some fresh dill and parsley, and my favorite part is the portobellos cooked with sage until they’re dark and fragrant. But really, everything about this sandwich is good. It uses an unusual bread, which I love. The sauerkraut mixed with onion is awesome. And the gruyere melted on top — yum. There are so many flavors going on! Kim and I ate this for a girls TV night, and we just wanted to keep eating and eating even though we were stuffed. Now that’s a sign of a successful meal.

TW’s Tips

• I used jarred sauerkraut, but they also make it in little refrigerated packets if you can find them. Be prepared, it doesn’t smell good, but once you cook it, it’s delish.
• I used a good Gruyere and it adds a little something that deli Swiss just doesn’t achieve.
• The mushroom mixture doesn’t make a ton — I would add another 1/4-1/2 pound of mushrooms based on how my portions turned out. I had a ton of chicken and sauerkraut and not a lot of shrooms.
• This definitely makes more than four sandwiches. I’d say at least 6-8 (if you increase the mushrooms).
• I was also craving salt and vinegar chips with this one, in addition to the pickles.

Chicken and Mushroom Reuben

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick), divided
• 1/2 pound baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 package sauerkraut (1 pound), rinsed and drained
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved (6 ounces each half)
• McCormick brand Montreal Steak Seasoning or other grill seasoning blend
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons dill relish
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped, or1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 8 slices marble rye, rye, or pumpernickel bread
• 8 slices Gruyère cheese or deli Swiss cheese
• 4 large deli pickles
• 1 bunch radishes, halved and salted

Directions

In a small skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat, add the mushrooms and raise the heat a bit. Cook the mushrooms for 8-10 minutes, until tender and dark. Add the sage midway through the cooking time. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper after they’re dark and tender, as salt slows the browning by drawing out liquids.

Meanwhile, in a second small skillet over medium heat, melt another tablespoon of butter. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender, 10-12 minutes. Stir in the sauerkraut, warm through and turn off the heat.

While the onion cooks, heat a cast iron pan or griddle to medium-high heat. Season the chicken liberally with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Add the EVOO to the pan or griddle and cook the chicken, turning once, for 12 minutes, or until done. Remove from the heat and wipe down the skillet or griddle and lower the heat to medium-low. Slice the chicken into thin slices on an angle.

While the chicken cooks, stir the sour cream, relish and ketchup together in a small bowl and season with the fresh herbs.

Lightly butter one side of the slices of bread with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Build the sandwiches with buttered sides facing out, in this order: dressing, cheese, mushrooms, sliced chicken, sauerkraut with onions, cheese and ending with the dressing to set in place. Grill the sandwiches for about 3 minutes on each side. Serve with the pickles and salted radishes.