Paninis and Soup by Way of High-Tech Gadgets

Being engaged has its advantages--you marry the one you love, people fawn over you for no reason and on top of that you get fun presents. One of those presents happens to be the best invention since the oven--well almost. I'm talking about no other than the panini press that we got from my aunt Hela and uncle Andy. It's very embarrassing but my level of excitement to come home and make a panini is immeasurable. So far, I've eaten paninis three times this week and the urge isn't waning. In fact, last night I grilled up a Nutella panini a la Giada De Laurentiis. I don't know when this panini tick will stop but I'm taking it in stride.

Here's a fun panini combination that I made recently, and you can too! If you don't have a panini press, just use a grillpan and weigh it down with a pot--the effect is the same.

Genoa, Provologne and Pear Panini:

Ingredients: (serves 2)
4 pieces of your favorite country bread (try to avoid soft breads such as Wonder)
4-8 slices of Genoa salami (depends on your preference; if you like a lot of meat, add more, if you don't take some out)
4-8 slices of Provolone cheese (see comment above about your preference)
8 thin slices of fresh pears
Olive oil

Directions:
Turn the panini press on and set the temperature to 375 degrees. Drizzle the insides of the bread with olive oil and then place all ingredients on the bread in whichever order you prefer. Put the sandwich together and then drizzle with olive oil on the outside of the bread (both sides). Place inside the panini maker or grillpan and press together. Let it cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Again, this depends on your preference of how well-done you like your bread. Take bread out of the panini maker and cut in half.

Now, I needed something else with my panini to make it heartier and even more satisfying. So I decided to make a simple chicken stock based pea soup. The recipe came from my Dave Lieberman cookbook. It's easy and fast and requires very few ingredients. In my variation, I skipped the sour cream for garnish and instead used sliced prosciutto, which provided a nice salty contrast with the sweetness from the peas. As you see on this picture, I served the pea soup in oversized coffee mugs for fun presentation. And those adorable mugs happen to be (once again) a present from friends, Carrie and Neil. Did I mention that being engaged has its perks?

Thanks everyone!

1 Spoonful of Ricotta - 2 Sandwiches

The weather was pretty yucky and cold today so I stayed in and watched a week's worth of the Food Network. And as I was watching Giada make varieties of her beloved paninis, she inspired me to make my own. I didn't have many ingredients in the house but I dug around and found some basics--focaccia bread, ricotta cheese and of course Nutella.

Here's what I came up with--and you can do it too. No cooking required.

Foodista's Black and White Focaccia Combo

This makes for a lovely snack or a good meal starter. What I love about it is that it combines savory with sweet. The two contrasting tastes appeal to me so much that I alternate a bite of each sandwich in one short sitting. And while Dan isn't a huge fan of ricotta, he swallowed these up in 2 big bites. Try these or vary them up with fruit or fresh Italian cold cuts.

Ingredients: (Single serving)

A generous slice of herb focaccia bread

1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese (whole, skim, whatever you like)

A dash of Italian seasoning (dried sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, etc)

1 tablespoon of Nutella

Instructions:

Cut the sliced focaccia bread in half and place it in the toaster oven for 3-4 minutes (or until slightly brown). Spread the ricotta cheese generously on both halves. Top one half with Nutella and the other with Italian seasoning--it's embarrassingly easy. Enjoy them and try my method of alternating the savory with the sweet--it's delightful.