The last thing any cook wants to be during their Game Day party is chained to the stove.
You need something that can be made ahead and served cold, like… sandwiches. But they need variety (you’ve got both bulky linemen and svelte kickers coming to your party… and these days, at least one of the players will be a vegetarian), and they need to be easy!
The trick to making enough “sammies” to keep your game-day crowd satisfied, without being up all night the day before, is to use ingredients that you can multitask. A store-bought rotisserie chicken provides pizzaz that cold cuts just can’t match (slide pieces of chicken into these Basil Turkey Sandwiches instead of smoked turkey). They can be dressed up (or down!) to suit the occasion and the crowd. Picking the meat takes just a few minutes, and you’d be surprised just how many sandwiches you can get out of one chicken!
Use the white meat for daintier applications, like Dainty Chicken Salad Biscuits, and use the dark meat for more robust sandwiches, like these Mediterranean Sandwiches on focaccia with chicken, roasted red pepper and feta.
The dainty chicken salad biscuits are also amazing on a reduced fat Grands biscuit! (I love “salad” sandwiches on these biscuits, because they’re so flaky, the sandwiches are easier to eat than with a hard roll.) And the chicken salad is so easy, fresh and satisfying with grapes and cashews!
Speaking of multi-tasking, jarred red peppers can do double duty as well, both in the Chicken and Feta sandwiches and these Brie Sandwiches that are great for any veggie types you have over to watch the Big Game. And a few minutes spent in the kitchen whipping up this nifty, semi-homemade focaccia (using Pillsbury pizza crust) will reap huge benefits at half-time.
For the Mediterranean Chicken Sandwiches, start with some focaccia, either store bought or the homemade recipe below. There might be a simpler way to make this focaccia, but I don’t know how.
This crazy simple focaccia process starts with a roll of refrigerated pizza dough.
Just crack it open and spread on a baking sheet (after preheating your oven to 425 degrees, of course.) Grease your baking sheet or use a Silpat to prevent sticking.
Next, drizzle olive oil over the top, and sprinkle with herbs. Oregano and dried basil work nicely, but so does a blend of Italian seasoning. Sprinkle with shredded parm, too!
Then into the oven it goes (for 12-15 minutes) until it looks so golden and delicious you just couldn’t leave it in there a second longer.
Game Day Mini Sandwich Recipe Line Up
- Pizza Crust Focaccia
- Mediterranean Chicken Sandwiches
- Dainty Chicken Salad Biscuits
- Country Brie Sandwiches
- Basil-Turkey Mini Focaccia Sandwiches
Have a favorite game day sandwich? Let me know!
XO Michelle
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