All the panini recipes in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t have a panini grill?  So today I’m here to talk about what’s important to consider when purchasing a panini grill.

First off, if you’re like me, you care about what it’ll look like on your kitchen counter.  The Delonghi Retro Panini Grill is a great looking appliance.   The retro look is pretty popular in the kitchen lately and this grill really pulls it off.  Modern enough to look great next to all of the stainless steel in your kitchen and retro enough to make it look like it was something that you brought back from your last trip to Italy. Read more »

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Just because the word panini is Italian in origin, doesn’t mean that you can’t make a good American panini. What’s more American than roast beef? This panini recipe takes some ingredients with bold flavors and combines them together into a sandwich that you’ll love. Read more »

If you’ve ever watched the Food Network then you’ve probably heard of Giada De Laurentiis.  She’s always making fantastic Italian recipes on several different shows.  I like the show called Everyday Italian the best and here’s a great dessert panini recipe from that show.

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If you’re looking for a panini recipe that is sure to please almost anyone, then be sure to try a pizza panini.  This is a simple recipe that should be in one of those cooking for kids cookbooks.  It’s an easy to make, tastes great hot sandwich with Italian style.

Your choice of bread is very important with a pizza panini.  You definitely don’t want to try this with two slices on Wonder Bread in your panini maker.  And you’ll probably make someone sick if you try it with a cinnamon raisin bread.  No, you really need a great crusty Italian style bread for this recipe.

So whether you pick a round semolina peasant loaf or ciabatta rolls or even a loaf of regular Italian bread, you should be okay.  And just to be clear this is not an open faced sandwich.  You’ll have to clean your panini grill for hours if you forgo the lid to this panini.

The next thing you need is some tomato sauce.  You don’t need too much so any sauce that’s leftover from your last spagetti dinner will do just fine.  The last ingredient is cheese.  Like any good pizza, you’ll want to use mozzarella cheese.  The shredded mozzarella that comes in a bag from the supermarket will do just fine but if you want to treat yourself, you must try fresh mozzarella.  You can buy a ball of fresh mozzarella at a good Italian deli and believe me you will taste the difference.

And just like regular pizza, you can also add your favorite toppings to the panini sandwich.  Most popular in my home are slices of pepperoni or sausage.  Remember not to overdue it though or the flavors of the toppings will overpower the sauce and the cheese.

Making this panini recipe is easy and can be lots of fun too.  Why not set up a mini fixing bar with all of your family’s favorite toppings and let them add their own.  Then after a few minutes in the panini press, you’ll all be enjoying personal pizza panini.

Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler

If you’re looking for a good multifunctional griddler that can not only panini sandwiches but can also be used as an indoor grill, you should check out the Cuisinart Griddler.

The Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler is a four in one kitchen appliance that can function as a contact grill, a panini press, an open grill or a griddle.  This thing really can do it all.  So if you’re one of those people who thinks that buying speciality appliances is a waste because they can only cook one thing, then the Griddler has got you covered.
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In my quest to make my brown bag lunch exciting, I have tried many different kinds of panini sandwiches.  Today I’d like to talk about a spicy sandwich that is very exciting, the buffalo chicken panini.

Buffalo Chicken Panini:

• Chicken
• Hot Sauce
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Bread or a wrap
• Chopped Celery (optional)

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