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?

Mediterranean Chicken Paninis

For Christmas, the lady in my life gave my family a panini press. I can no longer imagine life without one. There's no easier way to make a sandwich taste gourmet. I've made breakfast, lunch, and dinner paninis. My latest adventure into the world of toasted sammiches is the Mediterranean Chicken Panini.

Ingredients:

4 Large Pieces of Round Flatbread

2 Packages of Purdue Short-Cuts Sliced Chicken Breasts

1/2 Medium-sized Onion

1 Small Container of Red Pepper Hummus

1 Small Can of Sliced Black Olives

2 Tomatoes

Mozzerella Cheese

Basil

Steps/Analysis:

Start by cutting your onion into thin slices and sauteeing them in a large pan with some olive oil. Before they're quite done, open up your Purdue Short-Cuts and throw them in as well. The sandwiches are going to be pretty thick and you want and you want the end result to be warm and melty, so it's a good idea to take the refrigerator chill off of the chicken.

In the meantime, cut the flatbread rounds in half. Each round is going to make one panini. Also, cut your tomatoes and cheese as thinly as you can manage.

For the basil, I attempted a chiffonade - a knife technique that I've seen on Food Network a few times, but never tried myself. Basically, stack a bunch of basil leaves one on top of the other and roll them up. Then, make small slices across the cylinder. You should have tiny strips of basil, but don't worry too much if your first try at the maneuver isn't too pretty. It's going to be covered in cheese anyway.

Spread the hummus across one flatbread half and sprinkle with olives. Spoon on enough chicken and onions to make a hearty sandwich on top of that. Next, layer on basil and tomato and, finally, the mozzarella cheese. Cover with the second flatbread half and carefully load it into the heated panini press. There should be enough supplies for four sammiches.

Serving:

Though this is a thick, hearty panini, it's not quite enough to make a meal on it's own. I paired it with some Progresso Italian Wedding soup, which complemented things nicely.

When all is said and done, this dinner took me 20 minutes from start to finish. The payoff is definitely worth the minimal time investment and you may even have left overs for lunch the next day.