Poor Man's Panini Maker (and a great panini recipe!)

While we were in Door County, we ate lots of delicious food. Obviously.

One night we ate at a restaurant called The Cookery. Part wine bar, part casual restaurant - it was awesome.

Being my typical self, I scoured the menu online before we left to check out the options. I had my heart set on a flatbread, but when we got there, it was not on the menu! (Turns out it was on the wine bar menu only, and we were dining in the restaurant.)

But... after a few minutes of sweet talking and schmoozing with the waiter, I was able to order it! (Okay, I basically just asked and he said yes.)

I ordered the Chicken & Cherry Flatbread--house made cherry chutney, roasted chicken, caramelized onions, and gorgonzola on wheat crust.

I wanted to take my plate home. It was really neat.

It was so delicious! The flavors all complimented each other so well. I knew I would have to repeat the same flavors at home.

And thus, the Chicken Cherry Panini was born!

Yes, it's on a Christmas tree plate. I hadn't intended on blogging about this so I didn't use my pretty plates. But it was too good not to blog about!

Ciabatta bread, piled high with roasted chicken, caramelized onions, dried cherries, swiss cheese, and a bit of barbecue sauce. Oh, and the basil. Can't forget the garden fresh basil.

I have a lot of kitchen gadgets and appliances, but one thing I don't have is a George Foreman or panini press. I know, it's tragic.

So we made do. We put the sandwiches in a large skillet over medium heat on the stove, and put another pot on top. The pot wasn't quite heavy enough, so we added a brick from the yard. It did the trick!

Just a few minutes on each side, and the paninis were nice and crisp on the outside, and warm and melty on the inside. Yum!

---

In other news, it's Friday! Which doesn't mean a whole lot right now, but it will three weeks from now. I'm running a 5k here in the Bean Town tomorrow (hoping to break 20:00). So I've got these cookies in the oven to help me carb load. Because carb loading for a 5k is extremely necessary.

Happy Weekend!

Servings/Yield

As many as you make!

ciabatta bread, sliced
barbecue sauce
shredded chicken
caramelized onions
swiss cheese, sliced
dried cherries
fresh basil chiffonade

Method

Prepare sandwiches. Layer barbecue sauce, chicken, caramelized onions, cherries, basil, and swiss cheese in between two slices of ciabatta bread. Prepare in griddle pan or panini press until toasted on both sides.

Comments

The Arrival of Something New...

Woo hoo for the last Friday of the school year! And only one more day of school next week. (And then a couple teacher workshops...) Another reason to be excited? Our fridge came today!! Isn't she a beauty? It is so nice to have a fridge again. You don't realize how much you miss a full-size refrigerator until you go a couple weeks without it. A bit bare... but that can be solved easily. Bottom-drawer freezer, containing the essentials: moose tracks & Diet Dew trying to get cold asap. Anyways, I'm just popping in to share my beautiful new appliance. The baking monster has taken over, and I'm in the midst of making 150 cupcakes for a graduation party tomorrow. First big baking project in the new kitchen! I'm loving all the counter space. Mmm... chocolate buttercream! Making good use of the baking nook! :) Adios!

Samoa-what?

So. Last night I did some baking. For my Business Man. Leaning tower of... cookie bars? Before I tell you all about it, let's rewind a bit... Last week when I was gone traversing the Midwest , our order of Girl Scout cookies came in. (finally!) They got here on Monday. When I spoke with my Business Man Tuesday night, he informed me that the box of Caramel Delights was gone. Gone! I would have been shocked and horrified and disappointed if I actually liked coconut, but alas I just shook my head and laughed. Those cookies didn't stand a chance with my Business Man locked in the same apartment for any length of time. The real deal. Just to prove his love for Caramel Delights even further, let me tell you this little story. L ast year I came out to visit one weekend and take the oh-so-enjoyable Praxis tests. We stopped at Family Video after the tests to pick up a few movies for the afternoon/evening. There happened to be some cute lil' Girl Scouts trying ...

2011 Flying Pig Marathon Race Recap

Marathons are hard. But before we get to the actual marathon, let's rewind a bit to Saturday afternoon. We arrived in Cincy around 2pm, and hit up marathon expo. Goodness sakes, I had never seen a room so large filled with so many runners. Everyone was so excited, you could almost feel the energy. We weaved our way through the exhibitors and what they had to offer. (Think free dark chocolate almond granola samples! Yum! I also might have snagged some info on the Disney Half & Marathon in January... we shall see.) We also stopped for a few fun photo ops. Posing with a balloon flying pig. These were everywhere! Flying pigs with all sorts of themes. They were so cute! After the expo, we headed to our early-bird dinner. We had the luxury of dining at Maggiano's Little Italy (major carb-loading!), and it was a fantastic dining experience. The service was great , and the food was delicious as well. None of us had ever eaten there, befo...

Livin' the Dream in Lima

Search This Blog