Comments on: Panini: fast food, Italian-style

By: linda

linda — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:43:15 +0000

About panini in general, last week we saw a book store snack bar employee put the sandwich in a sheet of parchment prior to grilling it in the panini maker. It still came out toasty and browned with the grid marks, but there was no cleanup of melted cheese, etc. Has anyone experience with this? Would the KAF half sheets of parchment work in this way?’

Great idea, and yes, our parchment would work fine. You’d want to cut it in half or even quarters, I’d guess. Thanks for sharing, Linda- PJH

By: Federico

Federico — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:31:23 +0000

Great pictures, but just a minor nit: “panini” in Italy may or may not be grilled…of course most people like to have them grilled.

By the way, I just came back from Italy with what looks like a great baking book (check out the author’s web site, Italian master baker Giorilli at: http://www.giorilli.com/libri.htm) The catch is that all the flours used are rated according to their protein content with a “W” number (e.g. 280W). Is there a conversion or mapping that can be used to guestimate the “W” rating of King Arthur flours? This is apparently how flour is rated in Italy…

Sorry, Federico, don’t know - please email our master baker, jeff.hamelman@kingarthurflour.com. PJH

By: Erika

Erika — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:38:15 +0000

The Panini looks great but I was dismayed that it took 20 pages to print it out. Is there a print version someplace that I missed? No recipe should take 20 pages.

Alas, Erika, yes - you missed the recipe link at the end of the blog post. Go here: Grilled Summer Vegetable Panini - you’ll find an easy printable version, 1 or 2 pages. Sorry ’bout that! PJH

By: Sue

Sue — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:03:57 +0000

We’ve been in a meal rut and this is a welcome suggestion. Thanks!
Meatless too!!

By: MaryJane

MaryJane — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:48:40 +0000

SAVE SOME ASPARAGUS! A grilled pizza with caramelized onions, grilled asparagus and Italian sausage is one of the best pizzas you will ever have! Plus, even Miss Manners says it’s okay to eat asparagus with your fingers, so nibble away while your pizza is cooking. ~MaryJane

By: cindy leigh

cindy leigh — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:28:15 +0000

I love my panini press!
In addition to sandwiches, I make egg rolls. Use your usual egg roll recipe but instead of frying in oil, brush sesame oil on the press and grill the egg rolls. They will obvoiusly be flatter than the typical egg roll, but they taste the same and are lower in fat. The flattened egg rolls look cool and are easy to eat. Nice and crisp.
Makes me wonder what else I could put in an egg roll wrapper- maybe a mixture of cooked italian sausage and low fat cheese, with marinara for dipping? Kind of like toasted ravioli?
You go , girl! What great ideas! Mary @ KAF

By: Sophia

Sophia — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:51:14 +0000

oh man…oh man….I’m mad abt this sandwich. Fast food style! Love it! All McDonald’s should have this on their dollar menus…

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:40:42 +0000

You can use your panini grill to ‘grill’ those veggies as well. I’ve done everything from asparagus to 1/2″ thick rounds o’ potatoes… I do use salt and olive oil on my non-stick grill because I like the taste.

Then, when you’re all done with your veggies, you make your sandwich. The juices and extra salt/oil from the veggies makes a nice crust on the bread.

A good way to remember the joys of summer grilling in the middle of the winter.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:24:58 +0000

A George Foreman grill works great for paninis, too!

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:21:55 +0000

The sandwich part of this post looks and sounds just heavenly.

However, I do have to take issue with your instructions concerning asparagus. If they’re limp when you take ‘em off the grill, they’re overcooked. In my experience, I’ve found that a quick but HOT time spent on the grate is enough to get ‘em both cooked and still crunchy and firm. Anything more than a few (five at max, depending on how hot one’s grill gets) minutes on a piping hot grill is too much time and asking for limp and mushy results.

Each to his own, Mark. Mine had a nice, crisp bite in the center, and I liked them just fine - PJH