Mini Roast Beef Panini

Matt and I are staying in town this year for Christmas so we have decided to have a little open house on Christmas Eve. We decided to serve bite sized comfort food. Given my obsession with my Panini Press, we had to have a dish that is a panini! Our Safeway has the most delicious Cheddar Horseradish Cheese, if you can't find it a sharp Cheddar would work too.

3 Tbs. horseradish cream
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. minced fresh chives
12 slices Italian or Sourdough bread
Olive oil for brushing
3/4 pound thinly sliced roast beef
1/2 pound thinly sliced cheddar-horseradish cheese
Preheat you panini grill to medium-high heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the horseradish cream, mustard, mayo, salt and chives. Set aside. Brush one side of 6 of the bread slices with olive oil. Lay the slices, oiled side down, on a cutting board and brush the tops of each slice with about 1 1/2 Tbs. of the horseradish mixture. Place a few slices of roast beef and a slice of cheese on each of the 6 slices. Top each with one of the plain bread slices and brush the tops with olive oil. Place 3 of the sandwiches on the preheated panini press and cook until crispy and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Place the sandwiches to a cutting board. Cut the crusts off the sandwiches. Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Transfer to a pretty platter. You could use the same idea and make little turkey sandwiches, or fancy grilled cheese. It would be fun to serve with small cups of tomato soup.

Thanksgiving leftovers panini

I hope you had a great holiday! After all that cooking yesterday who wants to cook today? Especially if you went post holiday shopping. Here is a delicous panini recipe that you can make from leftovers.

Butter, melted
Ciabatta bread
Cranberry Sauce
Turkey
Brie
Mixed greens
Preheat the panini grill to medium-high heat (375 degrees).
Brush melted butter onto two slices of bread. On one slice (non-buttered side), spread a layer of cranberry sauce. On the other slice (non buttered side) spread a layer of brie. Top with a generous amount of turkey and mixed greens. Place the other slice of bread (buttered side up) on top to form the sandwich.
Grill sandwich for 5-6 minutes until cheese is melted and grill marks appear. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Turkey, Artichoke and Mixed Greens Panini

When we were in Newport, Rhode Island we ate lunch at the Brick Alley Pub. The company at lunch was great, but my turkey, artichoke and mixed greens panini was amazing. I couldn't finish it and wanted to take it with me but we were flying home. I couldn't get said panini out of my head, so I figured out how to make it. The first thing you will need is a panini press, if you don't have one you could assemble your sandwich and grill it like a grilled cheese.

You will also need some artichoke tapenade, simple to make or you can purchase some, Fresh and Easy and Trader Joe's both make a nice tapenade. This is to make 1 sandwich, increase the ingredients base on how many people you are feeding.

2 slices fresh bread (the sandwich at Brick Alley was on sour dough, a ciabatta bread would be yummy too)

2 Tablespoons Artichoke Tapenade

2 thin slices of tomato

2 ounces of thinly sliced turkey

2 slices of swiss cheese

small handful of mixed greens

Take your two slices of bread and spread some tapenade on each half, layer other ingredients in between the slices. (Spray panini press with Pam) Grill on your medium hot panini for about 3-4 minutes.

Notes on wine from Jason:

Before I get to the wine, anyone else have an old Foreman Grill... you can use it to make a panini too. Not exactly text book, but hey the economy is in the crapper and I do it all the time...So panini makes me think lunch makes me think a nice crisp white wine. Checking my latest Top 10, thinking the King Shag has to be the call here. Enjoy!

Panini Happy

Kathy over at Panini Happy was kind enough to let me post one of her great recipes, I just love it when people share their recipes! Kathy has a site solely dedicated to delicious paninis.  From breakfast to desert she has you covered, her site is a great one to subscribe to, especially if you are lucky enough to have a panini press.  (I am dying to try her grilled brownie panini) I decided to share her Reuben Panini recipe, since it's one of my dad's favorite sandwiches.  Thanks Kathy, they all look spectacular, I can't wait to try them all!

Butter, melted
Rye bread
Thousand Island dressing
Sauerkraut, drained
Corned beef, thinly sliced
Swiss cheese

Preheat the panini grill to medium-high heat (375 degrees).

Brush melted butter onto two slices of bread.  On one slice (non-buttered side), spread a layer of Thousand Island dressing.  Top with a generous amount of sauerkraut (be sure to drain as much liquid as possible) and corned beef, and two slices of Swiss cheese.  Place the other slice of bread (buttered side up) on top to form the sandwich.

Grill sandwich for 5-6 minutes until cheese is melted and grill marks appear.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Caprese Panini

After our trip to Rhode Island, I am obsessed with paninis. If you have a panini press, you can try these new sandwich creations with me. This first one is a classic caprese sandwich.

1 (16-ounce) loaf ciabatta, cut in half horizontally
4 teaspoons basil pesto
1 1/3 cups thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
2 large plum tomato, thinly sliced
handful of baby greens
Cooking spray
Brush cut side of the bottom bread half with pesto.
Layer the top half with mozzarella, baby greens and tomato. Top with remaining bread half. Heat your panini press, spray with cooking spray, cook 4 minutes.