Rings Weaver

Six Great "Melted" Sandwiches to Make--Even if You're in a Hurry

You're always in a hurry. So are we. You're always looking for a quick meal, something that everyone will like that doesn't take a lot of time. A "melted" sandwich on an English muffin will do it. With most, you can have a plate ready to serve in minutes. If you have company coming, make several kinds for a mixed platter of sandwiches. Each is made with toasted English muffins, spread with a filling, and topped with cheese. The sandwiches are cooked for about five minutes under the broiler element, the top element in your oven, until the cheese melts.

Melted Sandwich #1. Crispy Crab Sandwich

If you pick a good crab salad, this is scrumptious. Just stop by the deli on the way home and pick up your favorite crab salad. You'll need some English muffins. Prep time for four sandwiches is less than ten minutes. Here's how:

1. Toast the English muffins.
2. Load each with the crab salad. Top each with a slice of cheddar cheese.
3. Put your sandwiches on a baking sheet and slide it under the broiler element in your oven. Cook them for about five minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve them hot.

Melted Sandwich #2. Pulled Chicken and Cheese

When we think of pulled pork, we think of the Carolinas and great BBQ restaurants. These are made with chicken instead of pork. If you pick a good barbecue sauce, they will be great and though they do take longer make, they only have three ingredients. This recipe will make four sandwiches.

1 chicken breast
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced
3/4 cup barbecue sauce

Sauté the chicken breast in a skillet. Let the chicken cool. While it is cooling, sauté the onion in the same pan.

Using your fingers and a fork, pull the chicken breast part into strands. Return the chicken to the pan with the onions. Add the barbecue sauce and stir.

Now that the filling is complete, you can assemble and cook the sandwiches as before. We topped the chicken filling with provolone cheese.

Melted Sandwich #3. Chicken Salad and Cheddar

These are very good and very quick sandwiches. Either make your favorite chicken salad for sandwiches or stop by the deli for some. Toast the muffins and load them with the chicken salad. Top them with deli slices of cheddar or other cheese and broil them until the cheese is bubbly.

Of course you can make exactly the same sandwiches with tuna salad or a canned salmon salad.

Melted Sandwich #4. California Turkey, Bacon, and Avocado

So far, we have created fillings for our sandwiches. Now we will use sliced sandwich components. You can use whatever you like. But this is very good.

Spread the English muffin with a little mayonnaise. Top that with turkey and then a couple half slices of crisply cooked bacon. Top the bacon with sliced avocados and tomato slices. Top with the cheese of your choice and broil until the cheese is melted.

Melted Sandwich #5. Rueben's Melt

If you like Rueben sandwiches, you will like this version. Toast your muffins and add a little thousand island dressing topped with deli corn beef. Add a thin layer of sauerkraut and top it with Swiss cheese. Broil your sandwiches until the cheese is melted.

We found this sandwich a little overwhelming if we didn't keep the toppings sparse. It was very good with a just a couple layers of roast beef and single spoon of sauerkraut spread evenly over the meat.

Melted Sandwich #6. Summer Tomato, Fresh Basil, and Mozzarella

This a classic summer combination when the tomatoes are ripe and fresh basil is available. Since this is a meatless sandwich, you'll probably want extra cheese.

Spread a little butter or mayonnaise on your toasted muffins. (The mayo or butter will help protect the bread from juices from the tomatoes.) Lay tomato slices, fresh basil, and cheese on the muffins in that order. Broil your sandwiches until the cheese melts and is bubbly.

To Make or to Buy

You'll make great sandwiches with store-bought muffins but homemade always seems a little better . . . and satisfying. English muffins may be the easiest yeast bread to make, not much more trouble than pancakes. You do have to wait 40 minutes for the yeast to work and you do have to use English muffin rings to contain the batter. Other than that, it's pretty much like cooking pancakes. Because they are thicker, they take a little longer on the grill.

About the Author

Dennis Weaver is the president of The Prepared Pantry, a kitchen store that carries
over 100 bread mixes
including English muffin bread mixes and
mixes for making English muffins on a griddle
. He has written numerous books, articles, and recipes, including a free 250 page e-book, "How to Bake," with recipes and techniques from the culinary schools.

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