Panini Supreme

I’m kind of brand new to the panini sandwich. I’ve always thought they were supposed to be some “trendy” little things that fancy people noshed on with their little pinkies sticking up all prim and proper.

Well. I was wrong. Yes, the panini has European roots in Italy — but given the right ingredients one of these awesome sandwiches can actually power you through the day, and be quite filling.

Homemade whole wheat bread

Maybe I’ve been served the wrong way in the past. I once ordered a panini as pub food in a bar, and was pretty disappointed. It was a weak little snack with a hint of something that vaguely tasted like a slice of deli meat, and an unsatisfying plop of goo that passed itself off as cheese. I suppose if you’re having a pint or two, then it’s beneficial to have something on your stomach besides the alcohol.

I started experimenting with making my own paninis and let me tell you…. I’m hooked on these things now ! I start off with two thick slices of my homemade whole wheat bread that I grind the flour for myself. (See other posts for the recipe).

Kerigold aged cheddar cheese

The base layer always begins with Kerigold aged cheddar. Nice thin slices longwise to cover the entire slice of bread, of course.

Fried egg

The second layer starts off with a lightly fried egg with turmeric sprinkled in and just a hint of whole milk to make the egg creamy. I scramble this together and place it in an egg ring on the panini grill.

Buffalo steak strips

I add three strips cut from a buffalo steak, sliced thin. Yes… I’m talking about real American bison meat… cut from the Great American Assault Cow, the Plains Buffalo. The meat is incredibly lean and delicious when cooked — just don’t try to pet one next time you’re in Yellowstone Park.

Building the ultimate panini

The next layer is bacon strips. I mean — who doesn’t absolutely LOVE bacon strips ? It’s the duct tape of the food world, and wrapped tightly around various loose food stuffs, it absolutely holds them together perfectly. In this instance the bacon ties the cheese and bread to the rest of the amazing sandwich.

Adding the buffalo

Now is the time to add the strips of juicy lean buffalo steak. I stack them crossways to the rest of the layers. Like building a house, you have to alternate the layers like bricks to give the thing some strength.

Spicy salsa

Now comes the filler. A small loose pile of diced tomatoes and onions. Now there may or may not be some bits of cilantro in this salsa. I’m told there’s an unfortunate element of humans who think that cilantro tastes like soap. I feel badly for those people, because I don’t have this malady and I could just about graze on cilantro like a cow in a hayfield. If this is your curse — maybe you should substitute some parsley instead. At any rate… two more strips of Cris-P-Bacon goes on top of this layer to lock in the salsa when the sandwich is grilled.

Fried scrambled egg

Now we’re coming down to the finale. Remember that scrambled egg with turmeric and black pepper we fried earlier ? Oh yeah. Now is the time to place it on top of the final layer of bacon. We’re almost ready for the panini grill, but not yet. Oh no, not yet. The final link in the chain is a thin sliced layer of Swiss cheese to hold the top crust of bread in place. NOW…. We’re ready.

Ready to eat ? Not yet.

See this monster ? How can you wrap your lips around this without it all falling apart ? Well, you could because everything is cooked, but it would make a mess. So I pop this in a microwave long enough to slightly melt the cheese and glue it all together.

On the panini press

The weight of the panini grill lid adds heat and actually presses the sandwich down flatter somewhat. I just allow the weight of the lid to do it’s thing, because I don’t want to smash the sandwich down into a soggy mess.

Panini supreme

The grill lid adds the standard panini marks and the whole sandwich is toasted and compressed slightly. Now this is much more manageable.

Sliced panini

I cut a diagonal across the sandwich to make it easier to manhandle. Look at all those layers of melted goodness, all blended into a spectacular sandwich. The flavors seem to complement each other perfectly. Meat, cheese, vegetables, bread…. An amalgamation of food perfection, in my opinion.

Then again, perhaps a panini sandwich is just not your thing. It wasn’t one of mine at first but I decided to own it and make it my own creation for me to enjoy. The sky is the limit and you can add whatever you want to one of these when you make it yourself. As for me… one of these is enough to keep me going for the rest of the day, without feeling bloated.