Rating: 💋 💋 💋
Another recipe I wanted to try while I had the time to cook dinner fresh: panini. They are simple to make, but since they're meant to be served hot and fresh, you can't really make a bunch and then pack them for work each day. My time off was the best opportunity to get them on the grill. I used a recipe I ripped out of People magazine years ago as my inspiration, but I will be making some tweaks to it going forward.
As it was Friday night, I decided to be bold and pair my Panini with a glass of one of my most favorite roses. It was a big day for me because I managed to rip the cork out with the corkscrew all by myself! Shannon was out and at first I thought I would wait for her assistance, and then my brain went down this whole rabbit hole of how I am going to have to live on my own one day and Shannon should not have to go through all this for me and every self-respecting person needs to be able to open their own bottle of wine. After berating myself enough, I mustered up the courage to try, and out the cork popped!
Maybe the broken corkscrew from college was the issue, and not me, after all. Wonders never cease.
Remember that cauliflower dish? Yeah, I was still working my way through it. As delicious as it was, one gets tired of dishes by their fourth day in a row, but that's just the way it has to be. The roasted veggies were still yummy, I just couldn't believe I was still eating them. While they re-heated in the oven, I prepped my sandwiches. One of the greatest shames of this recipe is, it only requires two handfuls of watercress, but it is nearly impossible to find a serving that small in the grocery store. As I opened the five-ounce package of thrice-washed watercress, I had a sinking feeling it would become my new red quinoa (which I am ALSO still working my way through!) All for the culinary cause, I suppose.
These sandwiches are super tasty and super easy to make, so there really is no reason to say no.
Apple Panini Serves: 2
Ingredients:
-1/2 French baguette
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-Apple butter
-Dijon/whole grain mustard
-1/3 lb fresh deli ham
-2 handfuls watercress
-4 oz. French Brie
* Notes: For this rendition, I used Grey Poupon Dijon mustard and black forest ham. Also, if you are considering a Brie that is not French, put it right down and call the cops on the imposter!
Preparation:
1. Slice the bread in half lengthwise and brush the outside crust with olive oil. If you, like me, sadly lack a cooking brush, pouring oil into the pan to coat works just as well.
2. Smear apple butter on one inner half of the baguette, and coat the other inner half with the Dijon mustard. Add as much or as little as you prefer, with about two tablespoons each as my recommendation.
3. Top the one half with ham slices (folded, if you like, for a pretty presentation) and the watercress. Slice the Brie to fit on the sandwich, and then layer over top.
4. Cook the panini over medium heat in a panini press or pan until the bread is crisp and golden and the cheese has begun to melt. This will take generally 6-8 minutes, depending on your cooktop.
5. Slice crosswise and enjoy immediately!
It was scrumptious, ah mon Dieu! At risk of offending my French heart, the one thing I would change is the bread. Perhaps this is not so much an issue with a panini press, but stamping down a baguette in a pan is very difficult. I think I am going to try the pan method with a ciabatta next time around, so I will let you know how that goes.
Otherwise, absolute perfection! The sweet ham and spicy mustard worked so well together, the watercress added a fresh crunch, and the apple butter was the game changer. It was the great equalizer. It balanced on the tight rope of fresh and sweet, so it acknowledged the ham's flavors while still creating a delightful tension with the spicy mustard. Ooh yeah. Unfortunately for the apple butter, anywhere Brie goes it steals all the attention. A Queen needs to be adored at all times. The rich, sweet cheese dripped down the panini, all the way to the bottom slice of baguette, and tied the whole meal together. Scroll through the photographs below and check out that drip!
Anyway, I would like to congratulate all of us. We made it through the worst month of the year, yet again!
A couple weeks ago, I had a contemplative moment on my train ride home. I feel like the winter chill lends us to introspective moments. This one concerned the career game, fresh out of the college gate. I think it is so funny how we approach job growth. It is really easy to get stuck in disappointment about your own career, where you are now, where it will lead, and what steps you should be taking so you can bring yourself where you want to be. Then you see all your old classmates in their new positions, in industries ranging from media, finance, medicine, teaching, etc. and it is so impressive! We are all doing such cool things and it is really exciting to see where people are going. The problem is, while we are wowed by everyone else, we sometimes exclude ourselves. I think it all boils down to the fact that you only see where your old classmates are now without knowing their future goals, but you can't look at your own life without recognizing where you plan to be, and acknowledging that you're not there yet. The tea is, we are all doing exciting things, and it is very doubtful that any of us have met our finish line. I mean, we are only in our early twenties. How boring would it be if we were already at our preferred finale? We would have nothing to look forward to! Lucky for us, we are still figuring our lives out and we have so many cool routes we can take. We have everything to look forward to. No, not every entry-level job is exciting. They can suck, they can be boring, they can want for a challenge, blah blah blah. That's just part of the story though. Doing the grunt work will make us better CEOs when we get there, and we will get there.
These jobs are just the beginning, and they are only a step on our path to a fantastic life. So it's really cool that that one girl booked an ad with that super well-known clothing brand, or that your old friend got their writing published in a notable journal. It's also super impressive that the girl who lived across from you freshman year is now traveling through Europe teaching English, or that the cute guy from Philosophy is working for that super famous firm. Celebrate them, but also celebrate you, because your grad school program/ apprenticeship/ assistant position is just as cool. It can be hard to see at times - like when you're stuck underground in an overcrowded subway car while swaddled with millions of layers in a futile attempt to combat the freezing weather - but it's true.
I believe that we are all going to live incredible lives, and I cannot wait to see it ❤️
XX,
MK
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