Min & Ad's Panini Sandwiches

š Fresh French bread, cut in four segments; one loaf will make about four large sandwiches

š Thinly sliced roast beef

š Pancetta or procuitto

š Thinly sliced Provolone

š Thinly sliced:

o Tomatoes

o Cucumbers

o Red onions

o (red, yellow or green bell peppers, optional)

š Salt

š Olive oil

1. Preheat grill pan and grill press on medium-high
2. Slice each piece of French bread, careful to keep it parallel with the flattest side—top or bottom—of the bread. (to avoid sliding)
3. Drizzle inside bottom piece of bread with olive oil—the bread will go on the grill dry, so don’t oil the bottom.
4. Carefully layer on bottom bread:
1. cheese
2. pancetta
3. cucumbers (lightly salt cucumber layer—important)
4. roast beef
5. tomatoes
6. onions (just a few, not a whole slice)
7. cheese
8. top piece of bread
5. Carefully transfer sandwich to grill pan. Drizzle top of sandwich with olive oil and press down gently. Once you’re sure things won’t slide around too much, press harder. Sometimes if your bread is uneven on top, you will need to keep hold of the press the whole time.
6. Grill sandwich, pressing, until bottom cheese is melted. Carefully flip sandwich, drizzle with olive oil and press and grill again until warm, melted and nicely toasted.

We purchased a nice Lodge cast-iron grill pan specifically for making this sandwich. We have even made these out in the middle of the desert, over a campfire with our grill pan. We did get a grill press on amazon also, but have since found a bigger, better one from Pampered Chef.

P.S. It's difficult to take a picture that does this sandwich justice! I'll try again next time.