Roast chicken gravy sandwich

I was feeling a little too lazy to work in the kitchen today because of the ridiculous summer heat we've been having and wanted to avoid the kitchen unless necessary, so when we had leftover roast chicken and gravy from lunch that had to be turned into something for an afternoon snack, at the suggestion of my sister decided to make a sandwich. Sure enough, it was quick and easy.

So wanting to have the least possible time spent in the kitchen mid-afternoon, I went and made an open-faced roast chicken gravy sandwich. Its pretty much assembling the leftovers on top of a bread. It sounds simple enough but the trick to a great-tasting sandwich is to keep the bread toasty, I hate dry and soggy breads. Its why I don't like to eat a sandwich that's been sitting on a plate for more than ten minutes. Anyway, here's how I made my sandwich.

Roast Chicken Gravy Sandwich

serves 2

1 cup shredded leftover roast chicken (white meat parts)

2 slices of white bread

1 cup gravy

2-4 tbsp melted butter

my roast chicken already came with a gravy but in case yours didn't here's a basic gravy

Gravy

1-2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1/2 c chicken stock

hot water for thinning

To make the gravy, melt the butter into a saucepan and whisk in the flour to form a roux (paste). Slowly pour in the chicken stock and continue whisking until the gravy becomes smooth. If the gravy comes out too thick, add a bit of hot water and continue whisking to thin it out and likewise if it's too thin add flour to thicken. Set aside.

*note: consistency of the gravy really depends on how you like it. 

Heat pan. Brush melted butter on both sides of the bread and place on the pan to toast until it becomes golden brown, about 30-40 seconds on each side. 

Lay the bread flat onto a plate and divide the chicken between the 2 slices of bread. Top with 3-4 tbsp of gravy and serve with chips or potato salad.

*note: If you want your bread to look like it was done in a restaurant, toast it on a grill or textured pan. I used a circle-textured non-stick pan.

Quirky Mood

A couple of months back, I had the chance to style a table setting for SPACE magazine and thought I'd share it with you here. It was a long pseudo-impromptu afternoon shoot with me and my editors running around Rustan's Makati.

I have always loved entertaining at home but often I get bored with having to eat and drink at the same table at the same room of the house. Wouldn't it be fun to eat somewhere unexpected, like say the living room? This actually is fun and easy to set-up, you just need a couple of key items — a table element and cushions for comfy seating to be able to pull it off.

This camera lamp is one of my favorite finds, along with the plates (photo above)

I have always wanted to do a regular tablescape thing here on my blog, so hopefully this is a first of many. You can read more about this along with the table settings of Randy Ortiz, Doltz Pilar and Sheryl Songsong in the latest issue of SPACE out in the newstands now.

photographed by Paolo Buendia for SPACE magazine

February-March Notes

Yes, i'm still here. Can't believe March flew by without me posting anything, anywho I finally turned 30 this past month, decided to throw a 90s themed birthday party and had such a good laugh with the outfits.  Very thankful with the friends and family I have at this point in time. Have a lazy fun sunday!