Sandwiches | What's Up Brock

Panini is the plural form of the Italian world panino meaning small bread roll. In America we have adopted Panini to symbolize toasted and pressed warm sandwiches.

Well I made one tonight and it was fantabulous which is Brock speak for “goddamn thats a good sandwich.

Fist I made a loaf of bread. You don’t have to make your own bread, but I did. Its too damn easy if you have a bread machine. Fresh homemade bread makes the house smell nice, and I was a little gassy today.

Then I made some tomato sauce. You don’t have to make your own tomato sauce, but I did. Its super easy. Just sauté an onion some bell pepper a little garlic. Then add a few good tablespoons of tomato paste, some chicken stock and simmer. Salt and pepper to taste, and boom you have a basic tomato sauce.

I brined and roasted a chicken the other night and had some leftover breast meat. You don’t have to brine and roast your own chicken but I did.

I also grew some fresh basil. You don’t have to grown your very own basil but I did. Herbs are easy to grow.

I did not make my own mozzarella cheese because I have not ordered any rennet tablets yet, but soon I’ll make my own cheese too. So do Like I did and go to the store and buy some mozzarella cheese. I pretty much have some on hand at all times. If cheese was like a person, I’d think of mozzarella as fresh little brand new babies or brand new puppies. Clean, mild, and milky.

If you have a panini maker you’re pretty much all set. Just assemble the sandwich with the listed ingredients and place in a heated panini maker. A few minutes later you’re all done. Slice and eat.

Roasted Chicken Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Panini

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

15 mins

Quick and easy roasted chicken, tomato, basil, and mozzarella panini

Author: WhatsUpBrock

Recipe type: Sandwich

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 1

Ingredients

Crusty White Bread
Tomato Sauce (fresh or from a jar)
Roasted Chicken
Fresh Basil
Mozzarella cheese grated

Instructions

Heat Panini press to medium high heat
Place slice of bread on Panini grill
Place Chicken on bread slice
Spoon tomato sauce on top of Chicken
Place a few fresh Basil leaves over Tomato sauce
Mound about ¼ cup of grated Mozzarella cheese over Basil and Tomato sauce
Place second slice of bread on top of Mozzarella
Close Panini grill and bake for about 5-7 minutes

Notes

A Panini press or a regular grill pan will work to make Panini sandwiches

Steak Melt sandwiches are just like your typical patty melts the only exceptions being instead of using some kind of ground beef patty, you use shaved steak slices, regular white bread and a tablespoon of ghetto.

Here’s your cast of characters. (Please don’t mind the 70’s counter tops, it really brings out the color of my eyes!)

Cheap sliced Swiss cheese and if you cant get it free on a government food line then Walmart is your next best bet. Except at Walmart be sure to show a little butt crack when checking out.
Sliced steak like product. Could you use actual sliced rib-eye? Sure you could but what the hell are you some kind of aristocrat? You’re already at Walmart getting that cheap assed Swiss cheese with your plumbers crack, and needing a shave. Go over to those big open freezers everyone sneezes into after scratching their ass and pick up a box or two of the classic Steak-ums.
Bread. Decide how many sandwiches you want then multiply by a factor of 2. Three sandwiches? No problem. Your bread slice formula will look like this 3 X 2 = 6 slices of bread. See you just got some math learnin’ in for the day. We’ll clean that Walmart trip off you yet smartypants. Spread a little margarine or butter on each of those bread slices champ.
Two sliced yellow onions. Walmart these babies too. They’re over in the produce section in the big bins. Look for the ones grown in some south American country and cultivated by twelve year old slave labor. Walmart knows cheap food. Take advantage. Fan away the fruit flies and gnats at the onion bin and pick out two that look salmonella free.

Sauté up those sliced onions in a pan. A little olive oil salt medium heat 5-7 minutes and proper caramelization you’re good to go. Pour off into container.

Now in the same pan you just cooked the onions in, fry up the Steak-Um mechanically separated beef product slices. Now don’t worry. Steak-Um is 100% beef. It says so right on the package. Beef eyes, ass, lips, pecker its all beef 100%. Its good for you. Carnivores unite! The fond left over from the sautéed onions adds a rather nice piquant flavor to the Steak-Um.

Onions= Check!
Steak-Um= Check!
Buttered slices of bread= Check!
Swiss cheese slices= Check!

Now you have your miss en place ready to go.

If you’re like me and have a handy dandy panini grill set the temp to high and get ready to assemble your Steak Melts. Otherwise use the same pan you sautéed the onions and fried the Steak-Um in to make your sandwiches.

Assemble the sandwiches in the pan or on the grill. Don’t try and put them together on the counter or a plate or your hand. The bread is buttered numb nuts! Last thing we need is a bunch of lubricated slippery hands making a mess in the kitchen. This isn’t that kind of a movie.

So, place a slice of buttered bread on the pan or grill buttered side down. Put your Steak-Um beef product on the slice of bread, spoon on some of the sautéed onions, then cover with a slice or two of the Swiss cheese followed up by placing the other piece of buttered bread on top of the Swiss cheese. Only this time the buttered side of the bread is facing up. You get all that?

If you’re cooking in a panini press, just close it up and let it go. 5-7 minutes worked for me. Keep peeking till its done to your satisfaction. If you’re cooking in pan on the stove, 3-4 minutes, flip the sandwich over and let it go again for 3-4 minutes. Again just keep your eye on it and take it off when its done the way you like it.