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Jennifer Stone
By Anne P. Braly
Food Editor
Credit Jennifer Stone for introducing panini to Chattanooga. When she opened Stone Cup Coffee House in 1997, she wanted to serve something besides coffee, but sandwiches didn't exactly fit the plan.
"I didn't want to do that choose-your-own-meat-cheese-and-bread thing," she said. "Everyone was doing that."
Then she remembered seeing panini while traveling through Washington, Oregon and Europe, where these variations on traditional sandwiches were already popular. These Italian creations -- "panini" roughly translates into "sandwiches" -- can be served hot or cold, vegetarian or with meat. They often are grilled on a panini press to give them their distinctive markings.
"I wanted to keep my menu simple with a focus on coffee but felt bringing something original (to the city) would make my place unique, something you'd remember Stone Cup by," she said.
Now, other local restaurants are following her example.
"I've seen some great places that have added panini to their menus, such as Cafe MiAroma and Main and Mocha, as well as some of the big chains," Ms. Stone said. "They're a concise way to eat a sandwich. It's a departure from the deli sandwich. They both have their niches, but panini use less ingredients while a deli is more meat-and-cheese oriented."
The Stone Cup Panini, the most-popular dish at Ms. Stone's Frazier Avenue eatery, has layers of kalamata olives, kalamata olive spread, cream cheese and tomatoes on grilled slices of European country loaf bread.
Panini come together simply, she said, but choosing complimentary ingredients is key.
The bread
Bread, according to "Panini, Bruschetta and Crostini" by Viana La Place, is what separates panini from the regular sandwich. It's "crucial to the success" of a panino, the singular version of panini, Ms. Place says. "It must be the best bread available. And when it is combined with ingredients such as fresh mozzarella, creamy gorgonzola, rosy prosciutto, sweet-smelling basil leaves and pungent oregano, brilliantly colored peppers and glossy black olives, the results are exciting."
Ms. Stone uses a white country bread from Bluff View Art District, whose breads also are sold at Bi-Lo stores. Most any crusty rustic breads or rolls can be used, but they should be of medium density.
"If the bread is too moist, it will burn," Ms. Stone said. "It shouldn't have much sugar. A lot of wheat breads have sugar or molasses in them, so a white bread really is the best to use, like ciabatta. And some people use flat bread."
Fillings
Panini typically are thin, but the flavors are robust, thanks to the different ingredients that can be used between the bread.
"There are no rules," Ms. Stone said.
In addition to the signature dish, the coffeehouse serves a colorful vegetarian version full of peppers, lettuce cucumbers, tomatoes and Havarti cheese. Havarti also is used in a panino with smoked turkey. For the heartier diner, there's one with ham, turkey and cheddar.
"I've even made one with chocolate and bananas," Mrs. Stone said. "It's messy, but it's so good."
Cooking gear
A panini press or grill is key for making a good panini, said Heidi Swartz, owner of Mia Cucina on Gunbarrel Road. In fact, the Cuisinart Griddler, an all-in-one panini press, grill and griddle, is the store's top-selling appliance, she said.
"In my view, panini is best cooked slowly so that the ingredients meld together and the bread crisps and toasts beautifully," she said.
And, she added, don't underestimate the importance of grill marks, which separate panini from ordinary grilled sandwiches.
"Those grill marks are what makes panini look so good and taste good, too," Mrs. Swartz said.
If you don't want to go the expense of buying a panini grill, Mrs. Swartz said a bacon or panini press used with a cast-iron grill pan achieves similar results.
Ms. Stone suggests using two cast-iron grill pans. Put the panino in one pan, and set the other atop the panino. The weight of the cast iron is needed to press the panino down, and the intense heat will meld the ingredients together.
"You can even use a George Foreman grill," Ms. Stone said.
Now that you have the panini basics down pat, try your hand with these recipes.
Chicken and Cheese Panini
Pizza dough is baked, then grilled with a savory spinach and chicken filling in this delicious hot sandwich recipe.
1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
1 (9-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
1⁄4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
4 slices Havarti cheese
Heat oven to 375 F. Unroll pizza dough and place in an ungreased 15- by 10- by 1-inch jelly-roll pan. Press down on dough until it reaches edges of pan. Bake 10 minutes until light brown and set. Cool completely.
In small bowl, combine well-drained spinach, mayonnaise and garlic salt. Mix well, and refrigerate.
In small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until crisp tender. Add sugar and vinegar, then reduce heat to low. Simmer this mixture for 3 to 5 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed, stirring often.
Flatten each chicken breast half by placing between two pieces of wax paper. Gently pound chicken with a rolling pin or meat mallet until about 1⁄4 inch thick. Remove paper and sprinkle chicken with thyme and salt. Spray large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium high heat, then add chicken. Cook chicken for 8 minutes, turning once, or until chicken is browned and thoroughly cooked and juices run clear.
Cut cooled pizza crust into 4 rectangles. Remove rectangles from pan and spread each with 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture. Top 2 rectangles with chicken, onion mixture, cheese and remaining crust rectangles to make sandwiches.
Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place sandwiches in skillet. Place smaller skillet on top of sandwiches to flatten them as they cook. Cook 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp, thoroughly heated and browned, turning once halfway through cooking time. Cut each sandwich in half to serve. Makes 4 servings.
Source: www.busycooks.about.com
Spicy Roast Beef and Brie Panini
Take the lowly roast beef sandwich to a new level with brie cheese and crispy fried onions. Grill it with a garlic herb compound butter for even greater gastronomic heights. This is good enough for dinner, and you can scale it up or down, depending on the number of guests.
1⁄4 cup (about) butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed between palms
8 slices Italian bread, sliced 1-inch thick
1⁄4 cup horseradish mayonnaise
3⁄4 pound thin-sliced deli roast beef
1 cup (about) crisp-fried onion strips (canned are fine)
1 (about 14 ounces) wheel of brie cheese, sliced into 1⁄4-inch thick strips across the diameter
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Mix together butter, garlic powder and oregano. Spread one side of each slice of bread with the butter mixture. Place 4 slices, buttered side down, on a cutting board to build the panini sandwich. Spread unbuttered sides with horseradish mayonnaise.
Pile roast beef on top of mayonnaise. Sprinkle with the crisp-fried onion strips and top with brie cheese. Spread Dijon mustard on the unbuttered sides of the remaining 4 slices of bread and place on top of brie. You should have 4 sandwiches with buttered tops and bottoms. Heat panini grill or griddle. When hot, place sandwiches on grill and cook until golden brown on each side. Cut panini in half and serve. Makes 4 panini sandwiches.
Source: homecooking.about.com
E-mail Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com
