Another day in recovery (screw you cancer…) and we were longing for brunch since the sunshine and birth of spring in the air was putting us in the mood. I whipped this up in about 15 minutes because we had leftover poached chicken and shredded cheese lying around. Would definitely make this again for brunch (with all the silver and crystal and linens) and it sure beats hospital food. -C

Mandarin Dill Chicken Salad Open-Faced Sandwich Melts

Ingredients:
Slices of good rustic Italian bread, one inch thick

For the chicken salad:
4 cups roughly chopped poached chicken (see our Lemon-Bay Poached Chicken Recipe)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped sweet vidalia onion
1 cup chopped mandarin oranges (from the can, drained)

For the dressing:
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. ground black pepper
2 T. chopped fresh dill

freshly grated cheddar and monterey jack cheese

Directions:
1. Toast the slices of Italian bread in the toaster. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with foil.
2. Turn on the broiler of your oven, or preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Combine the ingredients for the dressing and whisk together.
3. Fold the chicken salad ingredients together with the dressing. You can make this step ahead of time and store in an airtight container until ready to assemble the sandwiches.
4. Top each slice of bread with about 1/2 cup of chicken salad.
5. Top each mound of chicken salad with about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.
6. Put the baking sheet in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Use a spatula to transfer the open-faced sandwiches to the serving platter or individual plates. Serve with a simple salad with a light vinaigrette.