Prime Cuts

As one of our wedding gifts Laura and I received a Breville Indoor BBQ & Grill.  What’s so great about this grill is that it has a griddle on one side, grill on the other and can be closed and used as an awesome panini press.  Since getting home from our honeymoon I have been trying different sandwiches, wraps and paninis on it besides using it as an excellent grill.

So, last week while flying through some feeds I came across a recipe for a Nutella Panini.  Never satisfied, I decided to extend this recipe to create an amazing sweet breakfast panini.  What’s even better is that this panini is super easy to make and only takes a few minutes to cook.

Nutella, Strawberries and Banana Panini

Ingredients

2 slices Scala bread (or any other dense and thick bread)
3 tbsp Nutella
1 banana, cut into bite-sized pieces
4-5 strawberries, cut into bite-sized pieces
Spreadable butter
Ground cinnammon
Confectioners sugar

Preparation

1. Heat panini press on medium-high or “sandwich” setting, depending on your model.  If you don’t have a panini press, you could use a grill or small saucepan and use a tea kettle as a weight on top of the sandwich.
2. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.  On the other side of the bread spread Nutella on either side.
3. Lightly toss the strawberries and bananas together and distribute evenly across a side of the bread with Nutella on it.
4. Put sandwich together and place on panini press, grill or small saucepan with butter side down.  Press/grill for approximately 1 minute on each side or until the Nutella has become warmed and bread is toasted golden brown.
5. Remove from heating surface, spread a little more butter on one side of sandwich and sprinkle ground cinnammon and confectioners sugar across.
6. Cut into 2 triangles and serve warm

Enjoy!

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Photo by: love-janine

I recently was granted the opportunity to host a reunion of my freshman college dorm (7th floor Grayson, UMASS) at Caminito.  It was an informal, luncheon, and I was amazed at how many people showed up.  It was so much fun to cook for them all in my own restaurant.  It definitely got me thinking about the good old days at college, and how great that first year living in the dorms time was.

Well, I was then, much as I am now, very into food, and it’s kind of hard not to be into drinks when you’re a freshman at college.  The food I ate then wasn’t the sort of fare I prepare now by a long shot but a few brilliant culinary moments were had, including some excellent homemade raisins (don’t ask).   However it was my roommate Tim’s recipe that spared us from the dining hall food most often.  It is a hearty, satisfying, and easy to prepare sandwich, which was composed of just a few simple ingredients and I still make it today.

The following recipe is the sandwich that Tim came up with.  It was based on the few ingredients we had on hand that day and has been refined a few times since.  It is a classic flavor combination that I have seen in a Panini shop or two since first eating it in my dorm room.

Tim’s Turkey, Avocado, and Brie Sandwich

Makes 2 big sandwiches
(You will need a toaster and a sandwich press)

Ingredients

4 large slices of hearty multi grain bread
½ lb sliced deli turkey, smoked (not the sweet kind… no maple)
1 large soft avocado, roughly sliced
½ lb soft brie cheese rind removed, roughly sliced

Preparation

1.    Toast the bread slices lightly
2.    Lay the avocado slices ½ and ½ on 2 slices of bread
3.    Lay the sliced brie on the 2 remaining slices
4.    Bring together the avocado and brie halves and put turkey in the middle
5.    Further toast on the sandwich press until cheese starts to melt and turkey is warm
6.    Eat, and enjoy!

This seems like a very simple sandwich and it is, but it works on many complex levels.  The creaminess of the avocado acts as a lubricant for the dry toasted bread which should still be a bit moist in the middle due to the denseness of the multigrain dough.  To me it is the bread that makes a sandwich and in order for this sandwich to be perfect you must double toast the bread – once lightly in the toaster and then once again in the sandwich press.  This gives the perfect crispness while still retaining some moisture in the bread.  The slight tang of the brie contrasts nicely with the smoothness of the avocado and the mildness of the turkey.

It is an easy sandwich to eat due to the softness of the ingredients, yet the toasting gives a pleasant crispness.  And finally, it holds you down, plain and simple…eat one of these and you’re practically good for the day.

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Photo by: SimonDoggett