POTS AND PANS CITY BLOG

Panini for breakfast anyone?  A panini sandwich doesn’t just have to be a lunch or supper food.  If you include breakfast ingredients, a panini goes well for a breakfast meal as well.  This panini recipe (more like French toast than anything else) is a breakfast delight, with the cinnamon-y French toast with ham and gooey cheese in the middle, sweetened at the end with flavorful maple syrup (and you know how well ham and maple syrup compliment each other).  This is the ultimate in a panini breakfast sandwich.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup half & half cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 1 TBSP. packed brown sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 8 slices of French bread (cut ½ “ thick)
• 8 thin slices of ham
• 4 slices of gruyere cheese
• Maple syrup

According to the manufacturer’s direction, preheat your electric panini press until hot.

Add the eggs, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and salt into a medium bowl, and whisk until frothy and well blended.  Pour into a shallow baking dish and set aside.
Assemble the sandwich by placing the ham and cheese between two slices of bread.  Press down gently on the sandwich.  Place the sandwich into the egg mixture and soak for about 30 seconds on each side (until egg mixture has penetrated into the bread).

Place the sandwich on your heated panini grill and put the top down.  Grill for about 5 minutes or until the sandwich is golden brown on both sides.  Repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Serve the breakfast French toast panini sandwiches hot, with you favorite maple syrup on top.

A panini can be more than just meat, cheese and vegetables thrown together and grilled.  A panini can be made into a child’s delight as well, and what child doesn’t love peanut butter and jam sandwiches—or chocolate?  Here is a fabulous panini that every kid will love—and probably most adults too!

Ingredients:

Preheat your panini press according to the manufacturer’s directions.

• 4 slices crusty bread, cut into ½ “ slices
• Peanut butter
• Fruit preserves or jam
• 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Assemble the panini sandwiches:  Spread each slice of bread with a layer of peanut butter.  On half of the bread slices, spread your favorite fruit preserves or jam.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the jam.  Top these two bread slices with the other buttered bread slices with the peanut butter on the inside.

Place the sandwiches on your panini grill, pressing down lightly, for about 2-3 minutes, or until grill marks appear on the bread.

Enjoy warm, with the ooey-gooey peanut butter, jam and chocolate chips melting into the crisped bread.

Club sandwiches have been popular since the early 50’s when they were served in diners all over the country. The combination of succulent turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato are a classic. Here is a grilled turkey panini based on that popular club sandwich. Take your panini creations back in history to enjoy this Grilled Turkey Club Panini.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of whole wheat bread
• 2 thin slices of turkey meat
• 2 strips of bacon, cooked
• 2 slices of tomato
• Lettuce
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 slices Swiss cheese

Sauce:

• ½ cup Italian dressing
• 1 TBSP. prepared mustard
• 1 TBSP. Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Preheat your panini press according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Prepare sauce by placing all sauce ingredients into a bowl and mixing together well with a whisk.

Assemble the panini by layering the turkey, bacon and cheese between the bread slices. Brush both sides of the outside of the bread with the sauce. Grill on your panini press with the lid down until the bread is golden and toasted. (At this point, this is almost like a grilled cheese sandwich.) Remove the panini from the grill. Open it up and add the lettuce, onion and tomato. Close up the sandwich again and enjoy!

This is a more traditional panini sandwich using roast beef and cheese, grilled to perfection. The added excitement in this sandwich is that it is served with a dipping sauce (or juice) to add extra flavor. The combination of the crisped grilled panini sandwich and the velvety beef juice is a comforting delight to the palate.

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP. butter
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 1 ½ TBSP. flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• Salt and pepper
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 French baguette
• ½ lb. roast beef slices
• ¼ lb. sliced Swiss cheese
• 1 TBSP. mayonnaise

To make the dipping sauce: Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add in the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and translucent (about 3 minutes). Stir in the flour and cook for another minute. Add the beef broth all at once and stir vigorously. Add the hot sauce (if using), the Worcestershire sauce and the spices. Stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.

Preheat your panini press according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Assemble the panini sandwich. Cut the baguette into 4 portions and then slice those portions in half lengthwise. Spread the mayonnaise on half of the slices. In a bowl, add the roast beef slices with about half of the sauce and make sure the beef is covered in sauce. Add this beef on top of each of the sandwich slices spread with mayonnaise. Add the cheese on top of this and put the other half of the bread over all of this.

Grill the sandwiches on your panini press until grill marks appear on the bread and the bread is toasted to the desired doneness. Serve the grilled roast beef panini sandwiches with the remainder of the sauce on the side, for dipping.

There is no doubt that a grilled panini is the ultimate in gourmet sandwiches. This recipe calls for grilling the vegetables before grilling the sandwich, which makes it extra-special. The sweetness brought out by grilling the vegetables beforehand is heightened by the crunch of the bread when the put-together sandwich is toasted on the grill.

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet red pepper
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium-large eggplant
• 3 TBSP. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. paprika
• 1 TBSP. dried basil
• 1 TBSP. balsamic vinegar
• 1 thin French baguette
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese slices

Cut the red pepper in half and remove the stem and seeds. Brush the pepper with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a hot grill and cook until skin is blackened. Remove from grill and place the pepper halves in a plastic bag and seal. When cool enough, remove the pepper halves from the bag and slip off the charred skin. Slice the meat of the pepper into slices. Set aside.

Cut the zucchini and eggplant into long thin slices, about ½ “ thick. Brush the vegetables with a little olive oil and season them with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Grill over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side using your grill, B-B-Q or oven grill,. Set aside to cool.

Slice the baguette in half lengthwise. Bush the open sides with a little more of the olive oil. Place the bread soft side down on the grill and let toast for about a minute.

Remove the baguette and start assembling the sandwich. Mix together the remaining olive oil, the vinegar and the dried basil. Alternate layers of vegetables and cheese. Spoon this mixture over top of the last layer of vegetables, and then add the last layer of cheese.

At this stage you can eat the panini as is, or return it to the grill to warm it up again and melt the cheese a little. If you have a panini press or sandwich press, grilling the outside of the panini gives it that extra crunch.

Cut the panini into serving pieces. Enjoy!

A panini isn’t just a sandwich. A panini is a delicious, mouth-watering toasted or grilled sandwich with a variety of fillings that has become a culinary delight. Of course, the panini is a sandwich that originated in Italy, derived from the word ‘panino’ (which in Italian means small bread roll), with the plural being panini. In the English speaking world the term panini is used in the singular sense to describe this certain type of sandwich.

Traditionally the panini is made from a small bun or loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta or rosetta bread. Ciabatta bread, made with wheat flour and yeast, is an elongated, broad flattish loaf of bread that is somewhat collapsed in the middle—like a slipper. (Ciabatta when translated from Italian means literally carpet slipper). Rosetta bread is a small loaf that has slashes cut into it to create ‘petals’ and has a centre coil of bread that represents the centre of the ‘rose’. Sometimes rosetta bread is sprinkled with poppy seeds (giving an added taste dimension when made into a panini sandwich). Both breads are yummy-delicious when grilled or toasted.

When creating a panini sandwich masterpiece, the bread load is cut in half horizontally and filled with different types of fillings, depending on what type of sandwich is to be created. It can be filled with a variety of different meats, cheeses or other foods to create different taste sensations. The panini is then toasted, grilled in the oven or grill-pressed in a panini press. The panini is usually served hot.

A typical Italian panini consists of the two cut halves of the bread loaf filled almost invariably with prosciutto (a type of very tasty Italian ham) and a few slices of cheese, grilled in a sandwich press. Central Italy boasts a panini filled with porchetta (a popular Italian roast pork) that is very popular. The traditional Italian panini does not have sauce or toppings on it, although in other parts of the world this is added to appeal to local tastes.

The Paninaro, or the panini shop, started to become popular in Italy in the 1980’s. It was popular with the younger, teenage culture and appealed to their ‘fast food’ tastes. The young people would meet in the paninaro and eat panini’s, just like in the coffee shops of today. They became the ‘place to go’ and were adopted as the young crowd’s status symbol meeting places. Panini shops then entered the European markets and broadened their scope into the United States in the 1990’s. Now panini’s and panini shops are widely popular the world over.

One of the great things about the panini is that it doesn’t have to come from a panini shop to be enjoyed by everyone. Homemade panini’s are just as good as the ones you can get at your local panini shop. In fact, homemade ones might be even better because you can pick and choose your own fresh ingredients and design your panini sandwich just the way you like.

Add different sliced meats and your favorite cheese, along with some other food ingredients (like tomatoes, onion, peppers, etc.) and you can have a fantastic panini geared to your own tastes. Try different food combinations to make the panini just what you want it to be. Then, all you need to do is grill it on a sandwich press or panini grill and you can have the best panini you can ever hope to imagine. The toasting or grilling of the panini really does give the sandwich that extra flavor boost that makes the panini a wonderful thing. And, having a sandwich press or panini grill on hand at home makes it easy to make those flavorful sandwiches any time you get the craving.

Just a bit about buying a panini grill: There are a number of different companies that offer them. They are sometimes advertised as a panini grill, a sandwich press or even a panini press. They typically have a non-stick grilling surface that has ridges in it (to get those professional grill marks) and are usually double hinged and adjustable so that you can make open faced grilled sandwiches or double-grilled sandwiches with the top lid folded down. Most of the good ones have removable grills that are dishwasher safe to make clean-up easy.

Panini’s make a great tasting meal, whether it’s for lunch or dinner. You can go out and enjoy a panini at your favorite local deli or panini shop, or they are easy to make at home as well. Panini’s can be suited to any individual’s tastes just by varying the ingredients. Panini’s are a fresh, tasty, easy way to provide your family with a great meal. Why not try having a panini for your meal today!