Leftover Corner: Lunch Meat to 'Merica Paninis

Once again scratching my noodle to come up with a dinner idea this week, I turned to the fridge for inspiration. A couple containers of lunch meat stared up at me and I thought, "I can do something with this."

I threw together a quick shopping list to round out my ingredient pool, snatched some quick sides and fired up the panini press.

Ingredients:

Ciabatta Rolls

Sliced Roast Beef

Sliced Turkey

Roasted Red Peppers

1 Onion

Sliced Cheddar Cheese

Mayonnaise

Steps/Analysis:

First, cut up the onion into thin, uniform rings and get them sauteing with some olive oil over Medium-High heat. (It seems like a lot of my recipes start out this way, huh? I'm a fool for some onions.)You really want to get these nice and soft, golden brown and delicious for the sammiches.

I went with ciabatta rolls for this dish because I've had success with them in the past and really like the way they hold up in the panini press, but you can go with any sturdy roll or solid bread that you prefer.

At any rate, cut the rolls in half and spread a thin layer of mayo on each side. Then, pile on roast beef and turkey. Remember that you're making a dinner here, not a lunch, so don't be afraid to lay it on thick. Next, add the roasted red peppers and onions, capping everything off with the cheddar cheese.

Place the top half of the rolls in their proper position and turn your attention to the panini press. Lube it up with a dab of olive oil and a paper towel and get to pressing. If you made your sandwiches especially thick or the lunch meat just came out of the refrigerator, you may need to give them a nice long rest on the press to make sure everything is warm and the cheese is nice and melty.

Serving/Notes:

I cut the paninis in half for convenience sake and kept the sides simple: chips and a little asparagus.

So what makes these 'Merica Paninis? Well, to be quite honest, I was a bit flummoxed when it came time to name my creation. There didn't seem to be an easy analog in the sandwich world. A friend of mine suggested 'Merica (as in America with a healthy, proud inflection) and it stuck. After all, what says classic American sammich more than roast beef and turkey?