Ideas: The Open Faced Sandwich

When you are really trying to make an impression an open faced sandwich can be a great way to go.  In turn it can be elegant, rustic, or visually interesting as the ingredients are highlighted more than the bread choice as far as presentation.

When making one for myself, however, I love a wonderfully earthy, rustic bread that is sturdy and flavorful.  Ciabatta, foccachia, and other dense breads are a great choice.  It is especially nice to do when you have a bread that may be calorie heavy but tasty.  You still get the great punch of flavor but with less of the impact.

Toppings can be whatever you have on hand.  Onions, peppers, slaw, mushrooms, lunch meat, sliced chicken, pork roast, shredded beef, any type of lettuce or leafy green.

The open face can also be thrown under the broiler to meld the flavors (and melt any cheese you might add) or served room temperature.  Or you can toast the bread to melt the cheese and then add the toppings to have the best of both worlds.

This open faced sandwich is on a dense sourdough, which I put in the toaster and then topped with a sharp provolone and shredded chicken.  On that I then added a muffaletta olive mix.  This added a vinegar punch to the chicken and brightened an otherwise ordinary sandwich.