Panini Recipes

Cucumber-Sprout Panini

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This is a very simple, quick, and light recipe for a summer snack or appetizer. Fresh cucumber and alfalfa are a great combination for summer, as they're both cool, refreshing, and full of moisture.

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Ingredients:

One quarter cucumber, sliced into thin medallions.
1/4 cup asiago cheese.
2 Cibatta loaves, or other dense bread.
1/3 cup alfalfa sprouts.
3 tsp flat Italian parsley.

Directions:

Slice loves in half, lengthwise. Sprinkle bottom half of each loaf with cheese. Grill until cheese is golden and loaves are toasty.

Allow to cool for a few minutes, so as not to make the vegetables mushy.

Assemble cucumber and alfalfa on top of cheese, garnish with parsley, then top with the other half of the bread.

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A ST. PATRICK'S DAY PANINI

Here's something a bit different that we just made up in our kitchen in honor of St Pattie. Recipe is for one panini. Multiply as needed. Green beer optional!

Ingredients:

Two slices of light rye or marbled rye bread

Several slices of lean corned beef (You can use deli style, but this sandwich is so much better with the "real thing" sliced from a brisket)

Sweet hot honey mustard

Several thin slices of good Irish Cheddar cheese (Vintage Irish and Dubliner Irish are nice.)

2-3 heaping tablespoons of potato salad (We prefer sour-cream based redskin potato, but it's up to you.)

Directions: (Pretty simple.)

Spread one slice of bread with the honey mustard.

Layer the corned beef on top of this slice.

Add the slices of Irish cheddar on top of the corned beef.

Top with potato salad, spread to the edges of the bread. (You could also add the potato salad after grilling if you prefer.)

Add the final slice of bread, with or without more mustard, depending on the style of potato salad you used.

Grill it up and eat, knowing the luck of the Irish is with you!

When the weather is turning decidedly wintry, a warm, filling, and delicious panini recipe is just what the doctor ordered when you don't feel like cooking a complicated meal. The meatiness of portobello mushrooms, along with the aromatic flavor of rosemary, and the bite of asiago cheese is a perfect combination for the holiday season. Whether you're looking for a quick snack, or an easy to prepare meal after a day of work, you'll really enjoy this delicious and quickly prepared sandwich.

Makes three to four sandwiches:
1/2 lb of portobello mushrooms.
1/3 cup of olive oil.
1/2 clove garlic, minced.
2 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice (lemon also works).
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried).
4 ciabatta bread, sliced in half, or any 8 slices of any dense bread.
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
1 teaspoon of pepper
6 teaspoons of pesto
7 ounces of asiago cheese, or cheese of your choice.
1 1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. For a sweeter taste, pomegranate-infused vinegar also works.

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Preheat oven to 400F
Combine Oil, Vinegar, Lime juice, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, and Rosemary. Mix well

Gently slice washed mushrooms into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Pour oil and vinegar mixture over mushroom slices, and toss well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or more. The longer you allow this to sit, the more flavorful the mushrooms will be.

Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a baking tray or sheet, sprinkle with more salt and pepper if desired. Roast for about 10 minutes, untill the slices are soft but still whole.

Toast bread lightly, this step can be omitted if using a very dense bread such as ciabatta, but I still prefer it.

Turn on broiler and allow to heat.

Spread pesto over bread, about 1 1/2 teaspoons per roll.

Distribute mushroom mixture evenly on to half of the sliced bread, leaving the other half aside to place on top later.

Cover mushroom mixture with cheese, and place under broiler until cheese is melted.

Cover melted cheese with the tops of the sandwiches, and serve.

I'm a huge fan of having the right tools for the job. If you want to speed this process up, I would recommend using a panini press, or sandwhich grill. Instead of having to bake everything, and then toast the bread, you can simply assemble the sandwich, and place it in your press. The bread will come out nicely toasted, while the heat from the press will melt the cheese and soften the mushrooms. This will cut cooking times drastically.

Bell peppers are now in season, so this is a perfect dish if you want a full mean. Peppers are easy to come by all year round, though, so save this one for the winter if it's too heavy for summer.

Ingredients:

3 ½ tablespoons olive oil

1 pound of sausage (any type should work, just pick the taste that you want)

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon of pepper flakes

3 bell peppers, Red, Yellow, Green, or Orange. Any work.

½ teaspoon of salt

1 small onion (I prefer sweet yellow)

½ cup white wine (don't use cooking wine, it's nasty!)

¾ cup of chicken stock (Using your own is best, however, if you want to use store stock, throw some herbs de provance in, and use a 2:1:1 ratio of chicken, beef, and vegetable stock. You can also combine store chicken stock with a light stock of your own. Simmering any chicken or turkey parts that you have (leftovers, gizzards, necks etc) until reduced by half, then add the same amount of store stock)

4 cibatta, panini, or Kaiser rolls

Garlic butter (1/2 clove of garlic, crushed in a press, and 2 tablespoons of butter) to taste.

Directions:

Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in deep skillet. Add sausage and sautee until pink in center (5 min) remove sausage, and, when cool, cut into ½ inch thick medallions. Leave juices in pan.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan, add garlic, pepper flakes, onion, bell peppers, and salt. Sautee over medium heat until vegetables are soft. Return sausage to pan.

Add wine and stock. Bring liquid to a boil, lower heat, and simmer. Stirring occasionally, until sauce becomes a thick glaze that coats sausage. About 8 min.

Slice open rolls, rub with garlic butter. Assemble sausage-sauce mixture on rolls, and place in panini press until rolls are toasted.

Eat, enjoy.