The Best Chicken Sandwich

Often I find myself flipping through one of my many cookbooks, digging for inspiration. Usually the cookbooks with bright bold pictures pull me in and make me wanting more. It’s like I almost get blinded by the enticing photos that I forget to glance over at the actual recipe. Alas my stomach yearns for something my pantry is severely lacking. The sorrow.

Or the other scenario is I spend hours labouring over what I think has to be an incredible meal. Where upon first bite, I am meant with instant disappointed. “But the picture looked so damn delicious”, I often ponder to myself after a remorseful second and third bite.

Why do our eyes so often deceive us so? Our eyes trick us into making a dish that in reality isn’t all that good. Even if you follow the recipe to a tee, the end result is nothing near to what your stomach was believed to be receiving. Cookbooks do this to us, they play with our emotions and our taste-buds.

But.

Every so often, as I am naively flipping through that very same cookbook, I give a new recipe a shot. This one looks easy, delicious, with ingredients I often already have in my fridge. I take the plunge and begin cooking. The wonderful aromas produced by the first few steps are looking promising.  The two delicious mayos are yin and yang, with one providing a smoky heat while the other invites a sweet herb undertone. Now add in the lime marinated juicy chicken thighs, a dash of cilantro, and your sandwich is complete.

The moment of reckoning is here. Will this dish be an inevitable flop to be banished to the Do Not Make Ever Again List? Or will it be place on the once every 4 month rotation? I take a huge bite; with chipotle mayo running down my chin I look over to M, and smile. This is the best chicken sandwich I have ever had.