Grilled Panini Sandwiches Made Quickly For Any Occasion

Grilled Panini Sandwiches turn a dull, lifeless sandwich into a classy, delicious treat that can be made into an appetizer or served as a meal. They are classy enough to look like you put a lot of work into them when you didn't.

If you are not sure what a panini sandwich is, here's a brief description: It is a sandwich made of two slices of a denser bread like an Italian loaf or any rustic bread. The inside of the sandwich can contain just about anything you like. The made sandwiches are then "pressed" or "weighted down" with a heavy object and grilled.

These sandwiches are very versatile. Just about anything in your fridge can be used to make a grilled panini. Leftovers like grilled chicken breasts with varios cheeses, or tomato slices with various herbs, can all create delicious panini sandwiches.

Since this is a barbeque and grilling site, we will focus on panini sandwiches that are grilled outside and without a panini maker. A gas grill is ideal for our purposes because getting the fire going takes little time, and we want a "grilled flavor" for our purposes.

Here are a couple of recipes that will make delicious grilled panini sandwiches. The weighted object(s) we will use is a couple of cast iron skillets on top of each other. If you only have one skillet, put it on the sandwich and place something heavy inside the skillet that can withstand high heat. Unlike a panini grill, with your outdoor grill you will need to flip the sandwich once to the other side and press again.

Panini Club Sandwich

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/3 cup your favorite chopped fresh herbs
6 slices smoked turkey breast
6 slices ham
8 slices swiss cheese
16 slices bacon, cooked crisp
8 slices tomatoes
8 slices sourdough or another firmer bread or bread of your choice
3 tablespoons olive oil to brush onto the bread

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the mayonaise, mustard and herbs, set aside. Place 3 turkey slices, 2 ham slices, 2 cheese slices, 4 bacon slices and 2 tomato slices on half of the bread slices.

Spread remaining bread slices with the mayonaise mixture, place, mayo sides down, on top of the tomato.Spread the outsides of sandwiches with the olive oil. On the top slice spread it just before you turn it over.

Preheat your grill to medium heat.

Place sandwiches on grate. Use 2 cast iron skillets to press and weigh down. Grill for 2-3 minutes then flip over and press down again for another 2-3 minutes.

These delicious grilled panini sandwiches are now ready to serve.

Grilled Vegetable Panini

INGREDIENTS:
1 Sweet red pepper, split and seeded, with each half cut into thirds
1 Green zucchini, cut into long slices
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into long strips
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup basil leaves
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
1 thin baguette French bread
1 pound Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into thin slices
Fresh herbs
Balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
Brush the vegetables lightly with oil. Season with salt and pepper and grill over medium-high heat. Allow the vegetables to get a good color.

Remove from the grill and cool for several minutes. Remove any black skinfrom the peppers.

Slice the bread open lengthwise and brush the inside with olive oil. Grill the inside of the bread quickly and remove.

Put together the warm sandwich by alternating layers of vegetables, cheese, basil and then sprinkle on any remaining oil and a few drops of vinegar.

Sprinkle on any herbs desired. Slice into 4-inch lengths and serve warm.

There are an infinite amount of combinations of different ingredients that can be used for these panini sandwiches. More will be included here in the future, so visit often.

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