Grilled Chicken Club Sammies with Lemon-Chive Mayo

It started with bacon. (Mmmm.)

We had half of a package of bacon leftover from a weekend brunch that I didn’t want to waste. After brainstorming recipe ideas for a while (trying to come up with something light), I landed on a classic: the BLT. Yum! At the last minute, I decided to add grilled chicken and avocado, turning our BLTs into chicken club sammies. Doesn’t that sound like a tasty summer meal?

When creating a dish as simple as this, it’s important that each ingredient is good quality. Perfectly ripe avocados. A great loaf of crusty herbed bread. Extra crisp romaine lettuce. Tomatoes as ripe as springtime will allow. Beautiful!

To jazz up the sandwiches a bit, I made a fancy mayonnaise spread. I simply mixed together lemon zest, lemon juice, and chopped chives (from our garden!). In addition to a little garlic salt and black pepper, I used leftover zest and chive to help flavor the chicken before John grilled it.

Time to assemble the sandwiches! First, I toasted the bread. I smeared a good amount of lemon-chive mayo on both pieces. I laid a few slices of grilled chicken on one piece of toast, then some bacon, then sliced tomato, then romaine lettuce. On the other piece of toast, I added sliced avocado. The result was a hearty club sandwich- I love seeing the layered ingredients!

Each bite of the sandwich was full of texture and flavor- a brightness from the lemon-chive mayo, the crunch from the crisp bacon and romaine lettuce. This dinner was a great reminder that recipes don’t have to be complicated to be delicious- simple, fresh ingredients go a long way. And somehow a dish involving mayonnaise and bacon turned out to be rather light!

What’s your favorite summertime sandwich? Share with me!

Lemon-Chive Mayonnaise

*enough for two chicken club sandwiches

You’ll need:

• 3-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
• Teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine all of the ingredients and adjust chive and zest to taste. Spread on toasted bread for a summertime sandwich and don’t forget the bacon! Yum.

Hungry for more? Check out the collection of recipes on the FOOD BLISS page.

One year ago: A trip to Durango and ghosts of my past.