The Most Delicious Caprese Paninis Ever, I SWEAR

Have you ever had a Caprese salad? They're delightful, really; thickly sliced tomatoes piled with fresh buffalo mozzarella and sweet basil leaves, and drizzled, typically, with balsamic vinegar and fine olive oil. They're fabulous in the summer. I sometimes add a little salt to my Caprese salads, but not always, since fine herbs and good vinegar/oil usually does the trick.

I decided to kick my Caprese salad up a notch, making a panini sandwich out of it. I thought I'd incorporate my Easy Breezy Every Day Pesto into it to add some nice punch and flavor. Because it's important, I made sure that all the ingredients were as fresh as possible.

The result was something out of this world -- fresh, light and even healthy. I made mine in a waffle maker because honestly? Do you think I'm going to spend $50 for a panini maker? Hardly. A waffle maker will do just fine, and if you don't have one of those, try toasting the sandwich in a cast iron skillet, the sandwich weighed down by another heavy pan or pot. Works expertly. My grade? To the moon and beyond! A++

The Most Delicious Caprese Paninis

Ingredients:

3 Roma tomatoes
Good balsamic vinegar
Good extra virgin olive oil
1 container buffalo mozzarella in water
15 - 20 leaves fresh sweet Basil
pesto
1 loaf sliced Italian bread (or ciabatta)
butter

Directions:
About an hour before panini making, marinate thinly sliced Roma tomatoes in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The tomatoes will let off liquid into the oil and vinegar, creating a nice marinade.

About ten minutes before panini making, turn on waffle maker or begin to heat pan.

One hour later, arrange two bread slices for sandwich making. Slather both pieces with homemade pesto (the more the merrier, depending on how much you like the green stuff). Atop the pesto create a layer of marinated Roma tomatoes. Atop the tomatoes layer thinly sliced buffalo mozzarella. Atop the mozzarella drape the sweet basil leaves. Create sandwich, lightly buttering the outsides of both pieces of bread, and then brushing on a light layer of olive oil.

Place sandwich into waffle maker and close lid. Watch closely, making sure cheese melts and tomatoes and basil become sufficiently wilted. Pull sandwich when bread is golden brown. Cut in half and serve immediately.

Difficulty: Easy
Prep/Cook time: 30 minutes prep, 5 minutes cooking (per panini)

Easy Breezy Every Day Pesto

Pesto is good in so many ways. With pasta, on sandwiches, or as an enhancement to other condiments like mayo or olive oil. And pesto is most fabulous when made fresh. There's nothing to it, even I can do it! For this recipe I pulled herbs from the garden and mixed it with simple store-bought items to make a panini entree too good to be believed. My grade: A

Every Day Pesto

2 cups fresh sweet basil
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup quality olive oil
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup quality Parmesan cheese (Pecorino is also quite nice)
2 - 4 garlic cloves (I use 4!)
Kosher salt to taste if you like (I rarely use any salt)

Take all ingredients and combine in food processor. Start conservatively with both olive oil and Parmesan cheese, tasting all the while. Blend until nicely mixed, presenting as a somewhat smooth and nutty texture.

This pesto will last several weeks in your refrigerator. You can add olive oil periodically to moisten the mixture.

Difficulty: Easy
Prep/Cook: 10 - 15 minutes

Oven Roasted Tomato Bruschetta (on Focaccia)

Surprisingly we're still doing the vegetarian thing, though now we're calling it the "no red meat thing", because every once in awhile (usually on Sundays, for barbecuing) we eat chicken. I don't miss it though, especially when there are so many fabulous tasting meatless meals to enjoy.

This bruschetta is a perfect example. Not like typical bruschetta, which is made with raw tomatoes and usually served on a more crusty bread, this bruschetta is made with "candied" tomatoes piled high on soft, toasted focaccia with mozzarella and fresh basil from the garden. It's a nice twist on the old standard. Additionally, these tomatoes would be fabulous in paninis, and for that reason I'll indicate their preparation separately from the entire dish. My grade for the bruschetta: B+

Oven Roasted Tomatoes
Several ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and cored
Good balsamic vinegar
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Take the prepared tomatoes and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle as liberally as you like with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.

When finished, chill and then set aside. Reserve some if you like for a jar. These last awhile in your fridge.

Oven Roasted Tomato Bruschetta (on focaccia)
One loaf store-bought focaccia (I use Trader Joe's)
Butter
Olive oil
Reserved oven roasted tomatoes (chilled)
12 - 15 leaves fresh sweet basil
Buffalo mozzarella, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced

I realize I don't have exact measurements here, and that's because I like a lot of basil and a little less mozzarella. I often omit the butter (though I like the taste it imparts). Prepare according to your proclivities.

Slice focaccia about 1/2 inch in thickness. Lay on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Add a little bit of butter to each slide if you like. Broil on hi for approximately 5 minutes. Watch closely; they toast quickly and can burn. When finished, set aside.

Grab your oven-roasted tomatoes, now chilled, and if you like, add some garlic. If they need some more balsamic, add conservatively. Slice sweet basil in long thin strips. Arrange mozzarella on top of toasted focaccia, and then add tomato mixture and basil. Serve immediately.

Easy Baked Chicken Paremsan

The following picture does not do what I just put into my mouth any justice whatsoever. Just know that going in:

I have an herb garden and it is rad.

Within this herb garden I have thyme, tarragon, sweet basil, rosemary, Greek oregano, sage, Italian oregano and Italian parsley. I also grow my own Roma tomatoes, broccoli, green beans and peppers. It makes me feel earthy. It makes me feel agriculturally superior. And that's because I am agriculturally superior.

Today with the basil and oregano I made a lovely sauce. My tomatoes are not in yet, so I used a can of plum tomatoes from Trader Joe's and they worked splendidly. I poured the thick sauce over breaded chicken breasts and baked, for the easiest and most fresh, most delicious Chicken Parm ever.

I mean, let's face it. Chicken Parmesan isn't the hardest dish to cook. It's actually damned easy. But when done right, it's good. And what helps make it "right"? Freshness. Herb-y freshness. And so I don't think I'm necessarily telling you to cook Chicken Parm so much as I am encouraging you to grow your own herb garden, because with fresh herbs you can make simple, rustic meals come alive. I served this one with garlic butter bread and it was stupid good. In fact I would smear the sauce all over my body and painstakingly lick it off if I wasn't wary of perhaps frightening my innocent child.

I'm that serious about it. My grade: A

Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

Chicken:

4 chicken breasts, pounded flat
seasoned bread crumbs (I make mine fresh from a baguette, which I toast and then grind)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
Bufallo mozzarella in water, drained, sliced
Parmesan cheese
vegetable oil for frying, about 1/2 cup

Sauce:

28 oz can whole, skinned plum tomatoes (or any tomato you prefre)
1.5 tsp Kosher salt
2.5 tsp sugar
1 tsp fresh Greek Oregano, minced
1 tsp fresh sweet basil, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pound breasts flat, about 1/2 inch in thickness. Whisk together egg and milk. Place breadcrumbs into bowl. Dip each breast into egg/milk mixture, then liberally coat with breadcrumbs. Fry in oil, 3 -4 minutes each side, until golden brown. When done, place into bake pan and layer two to three slices of buffalo mozarella atop each breast.

In food processor, add tomatoes, salt, sugar, herbs and garlic. Puree.

Pour tomato mixture over chicken layered with cheese. Atop this sprinkle the Parmesan cheese, according to your tastes. You may also layer more mozzarella, if you like.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes, serve.


Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking
Serves: 3 - 4

Perfectly Juicy Meatballs in Rich, Sweet Marinara Sauce

I like my marinara sauces thick and on the sweet side, packed with dimension and flavor. Of course I make it myself, because making it yourself is so easy and plus in the end you get exactly what you want, according to your tastes. It's fresh. It's homemade. It's delightful.

Oh and I love meatballs, too. I typically make them the same every time, although I'll switch it up here and there, adding minced mushrooms or different cheeses to taste. They're as easy as pie which is another reason I make them at home instead of buying them frozen in bags. Why do that? Meatballs are meant to be juicy and delicious, not thawed out and bland. I'm telling you, these two recipes are fabulous and easy, and once you try them you'll be making your own sauce and balls from this day forward, forever. My grade for each: A+

Rich, Sweet Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olve oil
3 14 oz cans Italian peeled tomatoes (I like San Marzano), pureed
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
5 cloves minced garlic
Half a yellow onion
7 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
2 ounces fresh basil, chopped, or to taste

Directions:

In a saucepan, heat oil. Add onion and saute until transparent. When cooked, add garlic, peeled/pureed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, pepper flakes, salt, bay leaf and basil. Cook, uncovered, for twenty minutes. When done, remove bay leaf and use immersion blender to puree, or regular stand blender. Blend until desired consistency is reached.

Perfectly Juicy Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground chuck
2 ounces dried bread crumbs, as fresh as possible
3 large eggs
4 ounces grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 small yellow onion
2 ounces minced basil leaves
2 ounces minced Italian parsley leaves
5 - 7 minced garlic cloves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. If mixture seems too soft or loose, add bread crumbs. Roll meatballs about the size of a golfball or ice cream scoop. Cook for 35 - 40 minutes. When done, place in sauce and simmer for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Difficulty: Easy
Yields: 8 servings