Strahs - The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook: More Than 200 Perfect-Every-Time Recipes for Making Panini - and Lots of Other Things - on Your Panini Press or Other Countertop Grill

The Harvard Common Press
www.hmhbooks.com

Text and photographs copyright 2013 by Kathy Lipscomb Strahs

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Printed on acid-free paper

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Strahs, Kathy Lipscomb.

The ultimate panini press cookbook : more than 200 perfect-every-time recipes for making paniniand lots of other thingson your panini press or other countertop grill / Kathy Strahs.
pages cm
Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-55832-792-4 (pbk. : acid-free paper)

1. Panini. I. Title.

TX818.S77 2013
641.76dc23
2013001298

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eISBN 978-1-558-32793-1
v1.0913

For Grandma

I knew what was inside the box from my sister the moment it arrived on my doorstep.

Ever since Oprah Winfrey raved about a panini press as one of her Favorite Things that year, I had been on the hunt to buy oneas a holiday gift for my sister-in-law, actually. But, as tends to happen, once this particular panini press received the green light from Oprah it sold out in stores immediately. I looked all over, but I couldnt find one anywhere. I ended up buying my sister-in-law a different model, which she tells me she likes.

And then this package arrived.

After all the effort that my sister put into procuring this panini press for me, I felt as though Id better do something good with it. It would be a shame to see it collect dust on the upper, out-of-reach shelves in my pantry, which had been the fate of too many other small appliances. Not this time. I wanted to see what this thing could really do.

Then I had the idea to start a blog. I would create and share recipes for the panini press with others who, like me, were looking for ways to get the most out of this machine. I put up my first post on PaniniHappy.com on January 14, 2008, and thus began a panini-grilling odyssey thats brought me more creative challenges and triumphs than I ever could have imagined.

One of my favorite stories about my early days in the kitchen takes place in a cooking class my sister Julie and I attended one summer, when I was twelve and she was almost nine. Our assignment one day was to bake chocolate chip cookies, a task wed helped our mother with countless times at home (my mom devoted several years to perfecting her chocolate chip cookie recipeits the best). Rather than bake the two dozen cookies that the recipe called for, we opted to ratchet up the fun meter at our cooking station and produce six gigantic cookies insteadsix gigantic cookies that turned out raw in the center and burnt around the edges. Judging from the stern talking-to we got, the teacher didnt appreciate our creativity, but Julie and I couldnt have been more pleased with ourselves. We may not have gotten it right, but it was exciting to push the limits. For me, this is where the true thrill of cooking exists.

To this day, I view food with a passion for discovery. What will this taste like? How can I make that? Why didnt it come out right? Experimenting in the kitchen from an early age, taking the opportunity to taste all kinds of foods as often as I can, and becoming part of a vibrant community of food enthusiasts (lets not say foodies, okay?) through blogging have not only made me a better cook but also given me a forum to share this opportunity for discovery with others.

My parents basement is full of handicrafts from my childhoodthe Garfield the cat piggy bank I carved and painted in seventh-grade wood shop class, the medieval costumes I sewed for my Cabbage Patch Kids, latch-hook pillows, the papier-mch model of Bernarda Alba from the book we had to read in Spanish my senior year of high school. I have always loved to make stuff. I think I get that from both sides of my family. My mom taught me to knit and crochet when I was a little kid, and she always kept my two sisters and me supplied with arts and crafts materials. The walls of my grandmas house are adorned with decades worth of elaborate needlepoint and quilt projects. My dad has become a self-taught oil-paint artist in recent years, finding plenty of inspiration in the colors of desert sunsets. My own two preschoolers are proving to be budding visual artists as well, if the profusion of construction paper hats around our living room and chalk murals on the backyard patio are any indication. Making stuff is what we do in my family.

Today I look at the panini press in the same way I viewed the pasty strips of my childhood papier-mch projectswhat will I make with this? My goal is to create recipes that I not only can grill on the panini press, but that I should make on this machine because it tastes better or cooks faster or frees up space in the oven or saves me from having to heat up the entire houseor all of the above.

This cookbook is for everyone who wants to put their panini pressor George Foreman grill or any other type of indoor grillto work. I will show you the simple techniques for grilling restaurant-quality panini as well as a huge variety of non-sandwichesmeats, vegetables, desserts, and breakfasts that will become go-to recipes for your everyday cooking. Let your creativity soar and see where it takes you.

I am beyond thankful to everyone who has supported me and cheered me on during this nearly two-year cookbook creation process.

My PaniniHappy.com readers are those for whom I first began creating panini press recipes, and they continue to encourage and inspire me week after week. Thank you for proving to me and to the world that a blog about sandwiches wasnt such a crazy idea after all.

I can hardly begin to thank my husband, Mike, for his unwavering support for me, whether I am behind a corporate desk or a panini press. I may have been the author of this book, but he was the chief taste tester, crazy idea generator, child wrangler, dish washer, photo evaluator, and kind word giver throughout the project. Thank you for making this possible for me. Love you more.

Mike and I have been blessed with the two sweetest little kids we could have ever asked for. Their verve and enthusiasm motivate me every day to reach higher, live a little louder, and find fun in every day. Mommy loves you so much, buddies!

Thanks to Jo Arazi for dress-up, puzzles, crafting, and trains, making it possible for me to carve out time to write this cookbook. My little guys thank you, too!

If my sister Angela hadnt given me that first panini press as a Christmas gift, none of this would have ever happened. Look what you started! My entire family has taken part in this cookbook project; they helped me test recipes, came up with chapter titles, and provided a steady stream of inspiration. Id especially like to thank my parents, James and Nancy Lipscomb, for their unconditional love and support. I love you all!

Ill always be grateful to The Harvard Common Press for the opportunity to branch out from the blogosphere into the print world. Special thanks to my editor, Dan Rosenberg, for never saying No, but rather Lets talk about it. Ive appreciated every piece of wisdom and thoughtful advice youve shared with me. Thanks also to Bruce Shaw, Adam Salomone, Roy Finamore, Virginia Downes, Pat Jalbert-Levine, and Karen Wise for all of the decisions, designs, and notes that have made my first cookbook one of which I am truly proud.