Monday, February 23, 2009

Grilled Chicken and Avocado Napoleon Pastry Sammies

I've never really been one to stress about my age. I suppose looking like a college freshman helps, or maybe it's because I don't truly realize how old I am! Today on the elliptical, I realized that I've been punching in my age a year younger for over a month now. Ooh, that hurts.


Grilled Chicken & Avocado Napoleons
Well, I may be getting old, but at least I have a cute husband who loves me. In another installment of Man Food Mondays, I was treated to this delicious Grilled Chicken & Avocado Napoleon sandwich which looks and tastes more like spa food than Man Food. Technically, its still considered Man Food because the recipe was created by a cute, sexy Italian lady with huge....uh, I mean nice smile.

chicken avocado napoleon
Thin strips of lightly spiced and grilled chicken are layered with avocado slices, a zesty mayo spread and diced tomatoes and then stuffed between layers of flaky puff pastry. These sandwiches are huge so trying to act like a {young} lady, I resorted to eating mine open faced. We also ended up making most of these with two layers of puff pastry, though the recipe below suggests 3. Proceed with your choice of height based upon the size of your mouth(s) :)

Here's a shot of one of our triple deckers, sans tomatoes for hubby:

Triple Decker Grilled Chicken & Avocado Napoleons

Grilled Chicken & Avocado Napoleons
slightly adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

2 (9 by 10-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into 12 (3 by 5-inch) rectangles
4 (4-ounce) boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
Kosher salt
Olive oil, for drizzling
3 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of garlic salt
1/2 large avocado, thinly sliced into 8 pieces
2 cups baby spinach leaves
Directions
Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the pastry on the prepared baking sheets. Using the tines of a fork, prick the top of the pastry all over. Cover the pastry with parchment paper and place another baking sheet on top. Bake for 25 minutes until golden. Remove the top baking sheets and parchment paper. Set aside to cool.

Preheat a grill pan or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the chicken with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Grill until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, cayenne pepper and a dash of garlic salt.

To assemble the Napoleons: Place 4 pieces pastry on a work surface. Slice each chicken breast diagonally into 6 (1/4-inch thick) slices. Place 3 chicken breast slices on each piece of pastry. Place 1/4 cup of spinach and 1 avocado slice on top. Spread 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture on the underside of another 4 pieces of pastry to create the middle layer of each Napoleon. Place on top. Repeat the layering. Each Napoleon should be completed with a piece of pastry as its top.

38 comments:

Dewi said...

OMG, drooling here..
Looks so delicious, especially with slice avocados in it.
Cheers,
Elra

Esi said...

I made something similar a while ago after seeing the show where Giada made them. Giada and her ta tas may bug me, but her recipes are so good. I love how you made this.

I am in constant denial about my age, but I love when I get carded and people tell me it's because I look so young! :)

Pam said...

It's 10:00 at night and I would LOVE one of these sandwiches. I like every ingredient used.

Snooky doodle said...

looks delicious ! don't worry about your age as long as you re healthy and feel well that s all that counts. and you ve got a nice husband too :))

Snooky doodle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

OMG, looks so yummy! I'll take one please :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Gorgeous stacked sandwich!! Love Giada's recipes :-)

Melissa said...

Those look great! I made a Giada recipe last night as well! I love her recipes and envy her figure. . .

Sophie said...

Haha! You are too funny, I can totally see why this would be man food. Though I'd gobble it up! :)

kat said...

That looks like a fork & knife sandwich to me!

grace said...

so...what does that say about me, who's getting old but does NOT have a cute husband who loves me? :)
moving on to brighter things--great, great sammich, even though it's inspired by big-head. :)

vanillasugarblog said...

I remember seeing that episode. But I love that color of the avacado! What a vibrant green!
I could care less about my age.
Giada's head is quite large though, but she has such pretty eyes.

Unknown said...

i saw her make these and they looked fantastic then and now :)

Mila said...

Oh this looks yummy! So elegant and simple! YUM! Oh and by the way I used to type in the wrong age for like a year on the eliptical...it's not just you :)

La Bella Cooks said...

Loving the avocados, which are my favorite. This sounds so yummy.

La Bella Cooks said...

Loving the avocados, which are my favorite. This sounds so yummy.

MaryBeth said...

Your not getting old and you look great, and so does this man's sammie.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea to make a Napoleon sandwich! It's too bad your husband isn't a tomato fan, they looked especially nice in the photos (maybe he'll come around when he sees them :-)).

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Sharon!

I would love to visit San Diego.(hopefully soon) Don't they have a Sea World there? :) Just give me a ring whenever you guys in town I can put something together for you.

Culinary Wannabe said...

What a beautiful site you have here! I saw Giada's show when she was making these and thought they looked amazing. Yum!

MrOrph said...

That is definitely a California sammich.

They look really tasty, and the flakyness....

Meandering Eats said...

Ah, GDL... also known amongst my guy friends and fiance as "The Hot Italian Chick". I'd roll my eyes, except I have a massive girl-crush on her. Beautiful sandwiches!

Chef Fresco said...

We love making sammies, and this recipe is a unique twist! We'll have to give it a try!

sugarlens said...

Oh my! That looks like something served at a restaurant, only better!

Katrina said...

Heavenly looking sammie!

Maria said...

What a fun sandwich!! Very creative!

The Blonde Duck said...

Is it bad that I'm obsessed with all these man food recipes you're posting?

Anonymous said...

ha! you're funny. gotta love Giada. she is true eye candy. my husband likes to tell me he thinks she has a big head — too big for her body. disproportionate, even. he's so nice to say these things.

this looks amazing!

PS: I've moved: www.alexandracooks.com

Unknown said...

I found your blog through Tastespotting....your recipes look lip-smacking-good. Happy Friday!

Maris said...

I love avocado. I could eat it on its own and I LOVE it in chicken sandwiches.

Emily said...

Mmm, those look amazing. At first I thought the tomato was strawberry. I don't think a strawberry-spinach sammich would be bad at all!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

What a spoiled wife! That's a lovely meal! And anything with color wins me right away!

test it comm said...

Nice looking sandwich!

RecipeGirl said...

A puff pastry sandwich? Sounds like a great idea. Good man food too :)

I hate that question at the gym... hate punching in my age. Weight too!!

krysta said...

i love it

Sara said...

This looks amazing! I have a sheet of puff pastry in the freezer, I should try this.

Roger said...

Teehee! I know what I want to make for lunch today :)

Spryte said...

WOW!! That looks awesome!!