Sandwiches...

This weekend we had two wonderful sandwiches. Of course if I don't write them down, I will promptly forget them, so I decided to post them here. No pictures though, sorry. Blogging them was an after-thought.

Grilled Portabella Sandwich
Portabella Mushrooms--large pieces, 1 or 2 per sandwich
Ken's Steakhouse Lite Casesar salad dressing
fresh mozzarella, sliced
Roasted red peppers
red onion, thinly sliced
boston lettuce leaves
tomato slices
Good quality white or whole wheat bun
extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt
clove of garlic, peeled

Marinate the mushrooms in salad dressing for a couple of hours. It's not very environmentally sound, but I love ziplock bags for marinating. Preheat grill. Grill mushrooms 8-10 minutes until cooked through. Place mozzarella on top of mushrooms and let cook until starting to melt. Grill bun just until toasted. Immediately brush bun with olive oil and rub with cut side of peeled garlic clove. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Layer mushrooms, roasted red peppers, red onion, lettuce, and tomato. Serve.

Summertime Grilled "Panini" w/chicken, prosciutto, mozzarella, basil and tomato
Thinly sliced chicken breasts
vinegar and oil salad dressing
salt, pepper
ciabatta
extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt
peeled garlic clove, halved
tomato half
fresh mozzarella, sliced
prosciutto--thinly sliced
basil leaves--lots to cover bread
thinly sliced red, ripe tomato
balsamic vinegar

Brush chicken breast pieces with the oil and vinegar dressing, season with salt and pepper. Slice ciabatta loaf horizontally. Preheat grill. Cook chicken breasts 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Set aside. Lightly toast cut sides of bread on grill. Brush with olive oil, rub vigorously with cut side of garlic clove, rub with tomato half and sprinkle with kosher salt. Leave one side of grill on low.

Layer chicken breast, mozzarella slices, prosciutto, basil and tomato onto prepared ciabatta. Drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put top of ciabatta over all. Brush outside of ciabatta with olive oil and grill two or three minutes until outside's lightly toasted and cheese is starting to melt.

Cut into sections and serve.

Hope you enjoy these if you try them. We will be enjoying them often until the weather shuts us down, then I'll have to break down and buy a good stove-top grill pan and keep making them. They're that good.