My mother was the queen of grilled cheese sandwiches. She made grilled cheddar sandwiches, ham and cheese, and tuna and cheese — usually on giant slabs of homemade bread.
She would spread butter on the slices and cook them until they were golden and crispy with cheddar oozing out the sides. I would pull the slices apart, warm cheddar clinging to both slices, and load the sandwiches with homemade sweet pickles.
What are Panini Sandwiches?
They are served hot, pressed together with a
panini grill, cooked until crusty, and filled with meats and cheeses. This is still typical of panini sandwiches though any grilled Italian sandwich can be called a panino. (Panino is the singular of panini in Italian.)
In most restaurants,
panini sandwiches are made with distinctive grill marks across the bread. Originally, panini sandwiches were made on small loaves of bread, typically a ciabatta, cut horizontally and filled with meats and cheeses and served hot.
Here’s a couple recipes we just go crazy-nuts over:
Mozzarella, Tomato, and Bacon Panini Sandwich Recipe
This is an Italian version of the popular club sandwich. It calls for an Italian dressing made with garlic and basil. Of course, if you prefer you can use mayonnaise or salad dressing.
We love tomatoes but tomatoes can get kind of messy on a grilled sandwich. By sprinkling salt on the tomato and sopping the moisture with a paper towel, much of the juice is removed and the sandwich does not get soggy.
For the Italian dressing:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine or balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoons crushed basil or 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh basil
1/2 clove garlic
3 drops hot sauce
For the sandwich:
1 small tomato
salt
pepper
4 slices of bread, thickly sliced
4 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp
lettuce
mozzarella cheese, very thinly sliced
olive oil
1. To make the dressing, pulse the olive oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, basil, garlic, and hot sauce in the blender until smooth. Set aside.
2. Slice the tomato, sprinkle with salt and place on a paper towel. The salt will draw some of the moisture from the tomato. After fifteen minutes, sop up the extra juice with another paper towel. Sprinkle with pepper.
3. Spread the dressing on two slices of bread. Place a layer of cheese on one slice of bread over the dressing, then bacon, then tomato, and then lettuce. Brush the outside of the sandwich with olive oil.
4. Cook on the heated grill pan or griddle, cheese side down and topped with a
panini press until crisp and golden. If you are not using a panini press, turn the sandwich after one side is cooked.
Baker’s note: The cheese is placed next to the bread so that it will melt easily while grilling.
Download this recipe.
Grilled Rueben Sandwiches
This is a classic. Make this on Black Russian (Pumpernickel) Bread. We didn’t overwhelm it with sauerkraut and it was just right.
4 slices of bread, thickly sliced
Thousand Island salad dressing
Swiss cheese, very thinly sliced
Deli-style corned beef, thinly sliced
sauerkraut
olive oil or melted butter
Spread one side of each slice of bread with the Thousand Island dressing. Place a layer of cheese on one slice of bread over the dressing, then corned beef, then sauerkraut, and then another layer of cheese. Top with another slice of bread. Brush the outside of the sandwich with olive oil or melted butter.
Cook on the heated grill pan or griddle, cheese side down and topped with a panini press until crisp and golden. If you are not using a panini press, turn the sandwich after one side is cooked.
Baker’s note: The cheese is placed next to the bread so that it will melt easily while grilling.
Download this recipe.
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