Pastrami and Cheese Panini

Panini ever since my first try at it has been my personal favorite casual treat and making it at home is very much like an elegant piece of art created within the very comfort zone of yours. With its great versatility and an endless possibilities to making the many varieties of panini, a little imagination is probably what you need to go a long way making all the discoveries and getting wowed continually by these pressed sandwiches. Hubby was the one who made known to me the charm of pastrami when I first moved here, and a very popular and delectable deli meat it is indeed. Have this rich meat of pastrami sandwiched in between warm toasty breads complete with the warm gooey melted cheese in between, nothing beats a lunch as elegant as this - such a guaranteed hearty lunch! Or brunch! Or don't even set a time - just do it! lol. Adding a little extra touch of hot peppers that I have come to love and so adore from the renowned Potbelly Sandwich Shop, the whole creation is simply so brilliant - from a little spice and a nice kick to a heightened flavor and sensation! 

Gourmet Ham and Cheese Panini

Costa Coffee's Ham and Cheese Sourdough Panini was the first ever panini that I had in life. Knowing nothing about panini, I remember how enticing the sight was as the barista was getting it neatly pressed behind the counter. That was probably close to five years back, one of the rare precious moments to be out for a good and smooth cuppa with my housemate, Chuey Ee at the St. Enoch Shopping Mall back in our final uni year. And there I think I was instantly hooked on these melty stackers. As much as I love sandwiches, subs and wraps, there always is something extra about panini that I have always adored. Unlike hot sandwiches with the bread toasted before assembling, panini is about getting all the ingredients laid out readily, assembled and pressed. So yes, I would think with the extra care and patience needed on top of the basic creativity, making a perfectly browned and crisped up panini is almost like an art itself. It's about stacking them firm and steady, neat and elegant. And yea, you will have to limit and reserve the idea of having an overflow filling to the classic sandwiches and spare the panini.   

Just like how my first ever panini made and left its impression to me back then, there really is nothing quite like the comforting ham and cheese duo. Sliced ham with a perfect balance of flavor and texture with a slight hint of heat coming from the melting gooey pepper jack cheese, this panini is made complete with the creamy avocado and earthy, crunchy sprouts that complement each other really well. And with a dollop of dijon mustard scattered here and there bringing in a tangy flavor to the panini, together they make an incredibly scrumptious combo, totally hearty and healthy.

Oven Roasted Chicken Breast with Bacon Sandwich

Apart from wraps, sandwiches have to be the next best thing that I particularly love having for lunch. A bread lover since a kid, there hardly were many days that I recounted gone by without having a slice or two of breads in a day. Generously stacked, served plain with something fancy or simple to dip in or eaten as it is, I adore them all the same. Moving here, it has since played a bigger role in our lives than it was back in Malaysia. Bread is almost the item certainly guaranteed an appearance on the kitchen countertop. On most of the working days, homemade sandwiches are what fill us through our everyday lunches, sometimes even extended to weekends.
 
A sandwich needs not many fancy ingredients to make it stand out. A few basic ones as long as they are really fresh to begin with, mixing and matching is all you need to produce a variety of balanced, hearty and healthy sandwiches, probably with just a little imagination. Our lunches are usually prepared earlier in the day and finished just in time to pack hubby's for work. Biting into lunches that have gotten soggy at lunch time after long hours of anticipation can really be a huge disappointment and letdown. This I did learn it the bitter way, but sometimes a mistake or two are exactly what make you a little wiser along the way. Well they sure are in my case. Making sandwiches these days, these are what I will always take extra notes on-

• Heartier, denser breads always make better sandwiches. They do a much better job at holding the fillings in place. Softer breads, as temptingly good as they can be, makes sandwiches collapse and they often are the main culprit in soggy and out-of-shape sandwiches by lunch time. My best choice - honey oat bran or anything multi-grain.
• Streaking the bread with a thin layer of butter before assembling them does wonders. Apart from the slight enhancement in taste, these naturally make good protection layers keeping the bread from the moisture contained within the fillings in between.
• Begin assembling the sandwich with relatively drier ingredients that make good barriers separating the fillings and the bread. Salad leaves, lettuce, pieces of deli meats, sprouts and cheese generally fit well into this category, making them the best candidates to be put into direct contact with breads.
• Limit the amount of condiments (if any), and they are best positioned in the middle.
• Likewise drippy ingredients like tomatoes, pickles or even cucumber, they are best placed the furthest away from the breads. 
• An extra measure on top of all these will be setting all the ingredients on paper towels prior to assembling - this ensures that the extra moisture are taken care of to begin with.