Mimi’s Paninis
I have enough kitchen gadgets and small appliances to stock every kitchen in the neighborhood, but when you are “foodie” you just have to have kitchen stuff! I may only use an item once or twice a year, but when I need it, I want it there waiting for me.
Among my small appliances is a Panini Grill, a favorite of mine. Arch and I used to make paninis several times a week. Let’s face it, most sandwiches are better grilled.
To be an impassioned Panini maker you need to be prepared. In your refrigerator, you want to keep several kinds of thin sliced meat. You might want to do an American Panini, a grilled Ham and Cheese. Or maybe you prefer a Barbecue Panini with sliced brisket….. just because a Panini is an Italian sandwich doesn’t mean you can’t make it American, French, German, Mexican, whatever! However, my favorite Paninis happen to be Italian. Keep your refrigerator stocked with packages of sliced salami, hot capicola, soppressata, and prosciutto. Look for the Carando brand, always excellent and available at the grocery store, both pre-packaged and fresh sliced at deli counter.
Next we need to talk cheese. My choices are Provolone, which is Italian, and Havarti, a Danish cheese. Both are loaded with flavor and melt beautifully, but maybe you prefer Cheddar and Swiss. If you really want to live it up, go with Brie.
I think each Panini should also have a sauce. My favorite is a mayo flavored with pesto, but the new Hellman’s Mayonnaise with Tabasco is excellent also. You don’t like mayo?
Try a mustard sauce, such as Durkee’s, or how about barbecue sauce?
Okay, so far we have our meat, cheese and sauce ready and waiting in the refrigerator. Next we concentrate on the perfect bread. You do not want that wimpy, pathetic, pasty stuff they sell in plastic bags in the bread aisle at the grocery store, NO, NO, NO! What you want to do is find yourself an excellent source for good Italian Foccacia. Foccacia is a dimpled Italian flatbread drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with crushed rosemary and sea salt. It is the perfect bread for grilling on the Panini grill.
Now is the time for you to figure out if you are going to add such things as roasted red pepper strips, onion, olives, lettuce, pickles, etc. You might want to do a simple cheese Panini with apple or pear slices…..or you have Brie cheese? How about a Nutella, that wonderful chocolate/hazelnut spread you buy in a jar, and Brie Panini? When you run to the store to buy the Carando meats, pick up the Nutella, who knows when you might want a Chocolate Hazelnut Panini! You know what?....while you are there, pick up some flour tortillas, the Panini grill makes perfect Quesadillas!
Let’s see, all we need now is the olive oil and we are ready!
Cut you foccacia into 4” squares, slice each square so you have a top and a bottom of equal thickness. Drizzle with olive oil on both sides of each piece of bread. On the bottom part, spread the inside with pesto mayonnaise. All you need to do is buy prepared pesto and add a spoonful to a quarter of a cup of mayo. Of course you can make your own, you can even be a Martha about it and grow your own basil first, but personally, I think buying it is just fine. Next lay on a slice of cheese, followed by your choice of meat. Now, I know the deli sells sandwiches that are piled high with 4” of sliced meat, but that won’t work here. The grill has a lid that is weighted to flatten the sandwiches so they become thin and very crisp. You don’t want the filling of your Panini being smushed out the sides! So, several slices of meat arranged on top of the cheese. Now would be the time to add peppers, onions, etc. topped with another slice of cheese. You may decide to put more sauce on top piece of bread…entirely up to you. Place the top bread on the Panini and place it on the grill. Close the lid and in a very few minutes, (if you remembered to preheat it) you will have a treat!
I have enough kitchen gadgets and small appliances to stock every kitchen in the neighborhood, but when you are “foodie” you just have to have kitchen stuff! I may only use an item once or twice a year, but when I need it, I want it there waiting for me.
Among my small appliances is a Panini Grill, a favorite of mine. Arch and I used to make paninis several times a week. Let’s face it, most sandwiches are better grilled.
To be an impassioned Panini maker you need to be prepared. In your refrigerator, you want to keep several kinds of thin sliced meat. You might want to do an American Panini, a grilled Ham and Cheese. Or maybe you prefer a Barbecue Panini with sliced brisket….. just because a Panini is an Italian sandwich doesn’t mean you can’t make it American, French, German, Mexican, whatever! However, my favorite Paninis happen to be Italian. Keep your refrigerator stocked with packages of sliced salami, hot capicola, soppressata, and prosciutto. Look for the Carando brand, always excellent and available at the grocery store, both pre-packaged and fresh sliced at deli counter.
Next we need to talk cheese. My choices are Provolone, which is Italian, and Havarti, a Danish cheese. Both are loaded with flavor and melt beautifully, but maybe you prefer Cheddar and Swiss. If you really want to live it up, go with Brie.
I think each Panini should also have a sauce. My favorite is a mayo flavored with pesto, but the new Hellman’s Mayonnaise with Tabasco is excellent also. You don’t like mayo?
Try a mustard sauce, such as Durkee’s, or how about barbecue sauce?
Okay, so far we have our meat, cheese and sauce ready and waiting in the refrigerator. Next we concentrate on the perfect bread. You do not want that wimpy, pathetic, pasty stuff they sell in plastic bags in the bread aisle at the grocery store, NO, NO, NO! What you want to do is find yourself an excellent source for good Italian Foccacia. Foccacia is a dimpled Italian flatbread drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with crushed rosemary and sea salt. It is the perfect bread for grilling on the Panini grill.
Now is the time for you to figure out if you are going to add such things as roasted red pepper strips, onion, olives, lettuce, pickles, etc. You might want to do a simple cheese Panini with apple or pear slices…..or you have Brie cheese? How about a Nutella, that wonderful chocolate/hazelnut spread you buy in a jar, and Brie Panini? When you run to the store to buy the Carando meats, pick up the Nutella, who knows when you might want a Chocolate Hazelnut Panini! You know what?....while you are there, pick up some flour tortillas, the Panini grill makes perfect Quesadillas!
Let’s see, all we need now is the olive oil and we are ready!
Cut you foccacia into 4” squares, slice each square so you have a top and a bottom of equal thickness. Drizzle with olive oil on both sides of each piece of bread. On the bottom part, spread the inside with pesto mayonnaise. All you need to do is buy prepared pesto and add a spoonful to a quarter of a cup of mayo. Of course you can make your own, you can even be a Martha about it and grow your own basil first, but personally, I think buying it is just fine. Next lay on a slice of cheese, followed by your choice of meat. Now, I know the deli sells sandwiches that are piled high with 4” of sliced meat, but that won’t work here. The grill has a lid that is weighted to flatten the sandwiches so they become thin and very crisp. You don’t want the filling of your Panini being smushed out the sides! So, several slices of meat arranged on top of the cheese. Now would be the time to add peppers, onions, etc. topped with another slice of cheese. You may decide to put more sauce on top piece of bread…entirely up to you. Place the top bread on the Panini and place it on the grill. Close the lid and in a very few minutes, (if you remembered to preheat it) you will have a treat!
Warm and Oozing with melted cheese…OH MY!
It appears that I have misplaced my digital camera, so the photo above is not mine. I will keep looking and hopefully next time I can use my own photos.
Stayed tuned….I will be sending you more Panini ideas. Hopefully with photos!
Stayed tuned….I will be sending you more Panini ideas. Hopefully with photos!
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