Grilled Pastrami and Cheese Panini

 RSS    

Panini, as you may know, is an Italian word that means "little breads" and refers to all kinds of crusty griddle-cooked sandwiches filled with delicious ingredients and oozing with melted cheese. They're some of my favorite casual treats, with great tastes and textures and an endless capacity for creativity.

For your party, set out platters of good sliced breads, assorted sliced or shredded cheeses; butter or olive oil to help brown the bread on each sandwich; condiments including mayonnaise, mustards, maybe some black olive tapenade, or pesto; sliced cold cuts, meats, or poultry; and assorted fresh, pickled, or roasted vegetables. Have an electric panini maker or hinged contact grill heating on the counter; or a griddle heating on the stovetop, along with a spatula to flip the sandwiches and cast-iron weights to press them down. Then, let your guests go to town coming up with their favorite creations, making sure that they build the sandwiches with some cheese touching both bread slices to help seal it all together as it melts.

You can offer as many bread and filling selections as you like. Or, for a smaller gathering, just limit things to one tried-and-true combination like you'll find in my recipe for Grilled Pastrami and Cheese Panini.

If you want to be even more efficient, you can assemble all the sandwiches yourself and refrigerate them, uncooked, a few hours beforehand. Then, they'll be ready to pop into the panini maker or onto the griddle during the show.

And, whenever you want, you can bite into a warm, crispy, crunchy sandwich

GRILLED PASTRAMI AND CHEESE PANINI

Serves 4

8 slices crusty rye bread, marble rye bread, pumpernickel, or country-style bread

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup prepared Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing

8 thin slices fontina cheese, or 1 cup grated fontina cheese

1 pound thinly sliced lean pastrami, preferably from a deli

Thinly sliced dill pickle chips (optional)

3/4 cup well-drained sauerkraut or coleslaw (optional)

Preheat an electric panini maker or a double-sided indoor grill, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Place the 8 slices of bread on a work surface and spread the top of each slice with butter. Turn 4 of the slices over and spread each of them with 1 tablespoon of the Russian dressing. Top the dressing with half the cheese and then with one fourth of the pastrami. If you like, arrange a few dill pickle slices on top of the pastrami; or, for a variation on a Reuben sandwich, arrange a layer of drained sauerkraut over the pastrami. Top with the remaining cheese. Place another slice of bread on top, buttered side up.

Place in the panini maker or indoor grill as many sandwiches as will fit comfortably side by side. Close the machine and cook the sandwiches until the cheese has melted and the bread is nicely browned and crispy, 3 to 4 minutes total cooking time. Repeat with any remaining sandwiches.

With a sharp knife, cut each finished sandwich diagonally in half. Serve the sandwiches immediately.

 RSS    

Recipes

 

More Recipes

Grilled Pastrami and Cheese Panini - Wolfgang Puck Recipes

(c) 2010 Wolfgang Puck