Ham & Cheese Panini

We've been on a panini kick lately, at least the last three days.  We have two different types of grills that can serve as panini grills.  This really is like making a sandwich, except that you grill it and a panini grill allows you to smash the sandwich down and grill both sides of the same time.

If you don't have this but like the grill marks, you can use a real grill or a grill pan and set something heavy on the sandwich (like a pan on top of the sandwich with a wrapped brick in it to weigh it down).  And, I think a George Foreman grill will work, too, which I have one of those, too, but haven't tried making panini sandwiches on that.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 loaf of French bread
• 6 oz of ham
• 1 medium tomato sliced thinly
• a slice of cheese (I just used a Kraft singles)
• lettuce
• Garlic, Avocado, Cilantro Dressing

Directions:

• Pan fry meat in pan on medium heat until slightly browned (not using an oil) - I use a non-stick ceramic skillet.

• Cut half the loaf into halves again and spread the Garlic, Avocado, Cilantro Dressing on each side of the bread liberally.

•  Add the pan fried meat on both sides of the bread (top and bottom).

•  Top one side with lettuce and the other side with the tomato slices

•  Top the tomatoes with a slice of cheese.

•  Place the top of the sandwich over the bottom.  And I learned that it's better to do one sandwich on the grill at a time, at least with my grill otherwise with this tall bread, it can slide off and make a mess (which it did for me).  You might want to use tongs to help you hold it in place as you bring the lid down, being careful to keep the sandwich together.  In my case, the top of the lid on the outside is very hot, so you want to be careful and use an oven mitt or something when adjusting this to help flatten the sandwich.

•  There is something about this that is so delicious.  The bread is nice and toasty on the outside while the bread in the middle is soft.  Yummy.  Great flavor!  Enjoy.