I love paninis. I’ve written about making them before, and I’m going to write about them again, just to prove my love. Paninis are simple to throw together, the variations are endless, and my girls {almost always} eat them. It’s a tasty, simple dinner option that I frequently turn to. Plus, I’m a sucker for any hot sandwich you put in front of me.

My personal favorite panini is of the caprese variety. On this week’s menu post, Amanda asked if I would share the recipe. So, here we are!

In addition to my “recipe” for caprese paninis (which, by the way, is not really a recipe nor anything all that original…but certainly tasty!), I have another “recipe” for some pretty darn yummy garlic basil mayonnaise, as well as how I make paninis without a panini maker {it can be done!}. This is a whopper of a post. Get ready.

First, Caprese Paninis.

Caprese Paninis
From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner
- Panini bread or any delicious sliced bread
- Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
- Fresh basil, chiffonaded (is that word?)
- Tomatoes, your favorite variety, sliced
- Olive Oil and/or Balsamic Vinegar and/or Garlic Basil Mayo (recipe below)
- Salt & Pepper

Place your sliced mozzarella cheese, basil and tomatoes on a slice of bread. Sprinkle some salt and pepper, then drizzle with a bit of olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar, or spread the bread with Garlic Basil Mayo before putting ingredients on the bread. Top sandwich with second slice of bread and cook in a panini maker or on the stove in a skillet with another skillet on top (see below for my oh-so-fancy technique) over medium heat. When side 1 is lightly browned, flip and cook until side 2 is browned and the cheese is melted.

Second order of the day – Garlic Basil Mayonnaise. The inspiration for this comes from Cafe Borrone. When tomatoes are in season, they have this to-die-for Basil Melt, which is basically an open-faced caprese panini. They use a flavored mayonnaise that really puts this sandwich over the top. Tonight, I attempted to replicate the mayo. I’m certain it’s different, but it was still awesome and made for the best caprese panini I’ve made yet! (Note as of 10/2011: the menu this year says they use a thyme mayo, so next time I make this I’ll try throwing in some thyme!)

Garlic Basil Mayonnaise
From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner
- Mayonnaise
- Salt & Pepper
- Fresh garlic clove
- Fresh chopped basil, a few leaves’ worth
- Thyme (haven’t tried this yet, but see note in the paragraph above)

For three good-sized paninis, I simply scooped out about three spoonfuls of mayonnaise into a bowl. I threw in some basil, two shakes of salt, two shakes of pepper, and 1/2 of a garlic clove pushed through a garlic press. Mix together and spread on bread for Caprese Paninis.

Last order of business…what to do if you do not have a panini maker. I’ve thought about buying one. My friend Jen who went to culinary school and is an amazing cook loves her panini maker almost as much as her knives. But, fact is, my non-panini-maker technique works fine, so whatever. Maybe one day I’ll get the real deal, but until then, here is what I do.

I get two skillets that are the same size. (You could also use two different sized skillets and have the smaller one on top, but I’ll continue explaining the technique assuming you’re using two of the same size and explain why I like it.) I heat the pan over medium heat (my stove runs hot, so I actually do one tick lower than medium), with the second pan resting on top. Once the pan is heated, I place my sandwich in the bottom pan, then place the second pan on top of the sandwich and press down until the pans are resting on one another. This is why I like using the same size pans, the top pan just sort of rests in the right spot. I try to make sure the top pan stays parallel to the one below so my sandwich “squishes” evenly.

I used to use two medium sized pans flat pans, but last summer I got two 12-inch Calphalon skillets, one of which is a grill pan. Now I can get those fun ridges in the sandwich. And I can cook two paninis at once. Love it!

There you go, more than you ever wanted to know about how I make paninis. Bon Appétit!