Vodka chicken parm sandwich

Vodka sauce: heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil starts shimmering, add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. 

Carefully add 1/2 cup of vodka to the pan with the garlic. Simmer the vodka and garlic for 5 minutes, stirring often, then add the heavy whipping cream, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper. 

Bring the mixture to boil and then add the basil and parsley. Reduce the heat until the sauce is just simmering and cook for 10 minutes. Taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt and then remove it from the heat and allow the sauce to cool. You can store the sauce in a closed container in the fridge for up to a week. Serve the extra sauce over pasta for a quick weeknight meal. 

Buttermilk marinade: butterfly 1 chicken breast into 2 smaller sandwich-sized pieces. Add them to a bowl and cover with 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight. 

Chicken dredging: prepare a dredging station with three bowls. The first bowl will contain all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper, all mixed together. The second bowl should contain a splash of the buttermilk marinade mixed with a beaten egg. The final bowl should be panko bread crumbs, the rest of the salt and black pepper, and all of the garlic powder and onion powder. Mix up all three bowls to incorporate their ingredients. 

Using one chicken cutlet at a time, place in the flour mixture and thoroughly coat the chicken, pressing the flour into all surfaces and any crevices on all sides.

Transfer the floured chicken into the egg/milk mixture and make sure it gets wet and coated on all sides. 

Finally, place the chicken cutlet into the panko bread crumb mixture and make sure there are no visible areas where egg/milk shows through. Press panko into the chicken very well, coating all around. 

Repeat for all of your chicken cutlets and let each one rest after dredging on parchment or a baking rack while your frying oil comes to temperature. 

Chicken frying: in a large pot or skillet, add peanut oil until it fills at least 2 inches deep in the vessel. On medium-high heat, bring the oil up to 350 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer, heat the pot over a burner for a few minutes and sprinkle a tiny bit of flour in the oil. If it starts to bubble as soon as the flour hits the oil, it should be hot enough (make a mental note that you should get a thermometer). 

Add each cutlet into the oil, making sure to ease it in away from your body so that you do not splash yourself with hot oil. 

Fry in the oil for 4 minutes per side or until the crust of the chicken is nice and golden brown. Once the chicken is all done, move it to a plate or cooling rack to rest. 

Garlic compound butter and toast: in a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper, and using a spoon or spatula, mix everything very well. 

This is a garlic compound butter, and it can be placed in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Slice your sandwich rolls and spread some garlic compound butter on the inside of each piece (about 1 to 2 tablespoons per slice). Broil each slice for 4 to 5 minutes or until the bread is crispy and just starting to turn golden brown. 

Mozzarella cheese melting: while the cheese is broiling or you can actually do this at the same time if you want, place a fried chicken cutlet on a sheet pan and top it with a two or three spoonfuls of vodka sauce and then layer on 2 or 3 slices of mozzarella cheese in a single layer on top of the chicken. 

Sprinkle a healthy layer of grated Parmesan cheese on top of the mozzarella. Broil the cheese-covered chicken for 4 to 5 minutes or until the cheese is melty and starting to brown. 

Sandwich assembly: now that the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted, it's time to build the sandwich. 

Spread a bit of vodka sauce on the bottom piece of toasted bread roll. Top that with the cheese-covered chicken and add more vodka sauce on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with a bit of chopped basil or parsley and then a bit more grated Parmesan cheese. 

Top the sandwich with the other half of the roll and serve.