Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bread
Andrew already hyped this up on Facebook. Ahhhhh the pressure!
You see, I don’t know if I’m having a metabolism spike or something, but I am absolutely ravenous lately. A week or two ago, there was an unofficial “let’s eat a foot long meatball sub from Eastside Deli” challenge at the office. I wasn’t even going to partake. No, I was brought some overnight oats and my gym bag. That was my lunch plan. Then my boss sent a photo of said sandwich with an, “ARE YOU READY?” to all of us about an hour before go-time. I knew I was in. I love a meatballs [see here and here and here and here for proof], and I absolutely cannot turn down a challenge. I’m the only one who finished my sandwich. I am equal parts excited and disgusted by this.
If you’re following Instagram, then you know that I’ve already eaten another meatball sandwich since. No one is really surprised are they? There was also the half of a large cheese stuffed crust chicken supreme pizza I ate last week. A little roast beef and cheddar and jamocha shake action from Arby’s. The overwhelming portions of pork curry with soba noodles. A breakfast burrito, a coffee and coconut cheesecake donut, and an eggplant parmesan sandwich. It’s seriously out of control.
It only makes sense that I also added a lot little bit of cheese covered buffalo chicken on a french bread loaf. That’s right 12oz of cheese, 1lb of chicken, and an entire [baby] loaf of french bread broiled in the oven. It was the richest thing I’ve eaten in a long, long time. It was so intense that I barely ate more than 1/4 of it. It was so, so, so good, though. Of course you need to love buffalo sauce [although next time I’m picking up a sauce from Fire on the Mountain] and gorgonzola cheese because that’s absolutely going to be the two dominant flavors partying in your mouth. This would really make for a great party snack or, y’know, a rich, ridiculous meal. There are green onions on it, so that’s totally a vegetable. I’d throw chopped celery on it, too, next time.
Inspiration: How Sweet It Is
- 1 loaf of french bread, sliced in half
- 8oz fontina cheese, grated
- 4oz crumbled gorgonzola
- ranch dressing
- 1lb chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce + more for drizzling
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 3 green onions, sliced white and green parts
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Turn on the broiler in the oven. Place the bread cut-side up on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Toast them 2-3 minutes before rotating for another 2-3 minutes. It should be nice and toasty, so keep an eye on it if your oven is intense.
In a large skilled, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Once it is shimmery, add the chunks of chicken. Cover with a nice layer of salt and pepper. Allow them to cook on each side for a couple minutes until browned. Add the buffalo sauce and butter, stirring to coat. The sauce will thicken and cling to the chicken. Refrain from licking your spoon; it’s hot.
Brush the tops of the bread with ranch dressing with as much as you deem necessary. Sprinkle half of each cheese. Top with the chicken and drizzle all of the sauce on top. Top with the remainder of the cheese. Stick the breads back into the broiler for a few minutes. The cheese will be super gooey and start to brown.
Remove from the oven, allow it to cool for a few minutes, and then top with the green onion and cilantro. Drizzle more buffalo sauce on top.
Cut into slices and enjoy. Feel your arteries clogging, and eyes rolling back into your head.
Volume eaters UNITE! Some days (lots of days?) I eat a whole meal and then eat a whole one right after, and could then still go for a snack. I’d love to say it’s the weightlifting, but pretty sure I’ve been able to put it away like this my whole life.
And that bread photo is one giant piece of cheese-porn. Holy cow.
My arteries were seriously slowed by eating this cheesy mess. We both started out like, “OMG THIS IS INTENSE. AND AWESOME.” It ended like, “Oh god. It hurts.”
Oh man, I can feel my arteries closing just reading this. But in a good way! Er, yes. 🙂 EATING. It’s so great.
It’s definitely one of my favorite pastimes!