Panini Sandwiches

Dun Lost My Mind

It’s the first week of school—which is awesome. But it’s also the first week of school—which is this crazy haze of work, meetings, practices, driving here and driving there, signing this form and signing that form, and Oh by the way we need a check….

It’s a miracle I made it to work today, and can hold a meaningful conversation. The fact that my shoes actually match is a bonus. Adding fuel to the dumpster fire that is this week, my other half is in Asia on business. And I am unable to clone myself.

The other night, when one of my boys asked me what was for dinner, I laughed hysterically at him (okay…it may have been a witch-like cackle), as he backed away slowly, his eyes as big as saucers.

This week, they are on their own. The good news? The kids are actually pretty capable in the kitchen (my daughter especially). They won’t starve, though I am pretty sure my other son will be face down in a mixing bowl full of cereal. You go, boy…

If I have to guess what they will be making themselves for dinner, it would probably be panini sandwiches. My panini press is one of the hardest working appliances in my kitchen. Everyone is a big fan, and the kids love to make their own combinations. You can be sure they will always be overloaded with cheese.

The nice thing is you can make panini sandwiches with or without a press. You only need something to weigh it down. On a personal note, I like to use the Herb Slab bread we get from Semmifreddis for my panini sandwiches. It comes out so crispy. Yum!

This is a recipe blog, so you expect a recipe? (cackling) You will have to look for one yourself! However, here is a great resource from The Food Network, a list of 50 panini recipes with every variation you could dream of. Or check out my Summer Panini post from last year. Read more…

Grilled Cheese BLT

No More Pencils, No More Books…
This week marks the last week of school for a lot of folks, and for those of us who have been experiencing end of school year burn out, it can’t come too soon. It’s not just the kids who get burned out, it is also the parents, and I’ve reached my limit.

For the next 10 weeks there will be no lunch-making, no did you do your homework?, no why aren’t you ready to go?, no why didn’t you tell me about this project sooner?, no what time is practice? and no can you pick up this kid, because I need to pick up the other kid halfway across town, in afternoon commute traffic?.

For the next 10 weeks I might actually get to enjoy a cup of coffee before I get to work. For the next 10 weeks there is a better than average chance that someone will do a load of laundry (folding optional). And I know without question, that for the next 10 weeks my sons (and most likely their cousin) will be eating a legitimate lunch (meaning not just cereal straight from the box), only because their younger sister will make it for them. She has been known to encourage their couch potato/sloth-like habits by making up a “Summer Menu” for them. This helps me out because I now have a ready-made list of shopping items to have on hand for Zee Chef. See? Win-win for everyone. It will be dark times though, when she is at camp…

Although the menu has not yet been set, one item that will certainly be on there is grilled cheese. We’re all grilled cheese fans. How can you not be? It’s bread and cheese. (Word!) So it would not surprise me if this is the most popular meal, whether it be the traditionally grilled version or hot off the Panini press.

I like to experiment with my grilled cheeses. Use different cheeses or adding veggies and spreads to them. Irish Dubliner and some thin sliced green apple is one of my favorites…Brie works too.

So here’s to the start of Summer and to a quick grilled cheese meal to get you out and enjoying the most fun time of the year!

Making a Great Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Everyone knows how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, right? You need bread, you need butter, and you need cheese. Then you cook it in a flat, oiled pan until brown on both sides. Here are a few tips to make yours extra-delicious—and also a few of the infinite variations for customizing this favorite comfort food.

Texas Sheet Cake

You Say It’s Your Birthday…
Once again, it’s birthday week. My boys, my daughter and I all have birthdays. Of course we also have standards testing, baseball, choir, and student council campaigns. At some point I will have to scale the side of Mount Laundry, too. On top of all that, I am still required to come to work…if I expect a paycheck. I know. Crazy, right? So any birthday celebrations are most likely going to be quick and to the point.

My kids are pretty easy to please. As long as there is a donut cake in the morning, they’re good. Just in case you are wondering, a donut cake is a dozen (or so) donuts artfully arranged on a plate with candles sticking out of them. It’s a tradition. We have a donut sugar bomb breakfast while the kids open their gifts. Breakfast of champions.

I am a little more fickle. I don’t really have a favorite celebratory birthday dessert. I like birthday cake, but I also like birthday pie, and birthday pudding. Birthday crisp is pretty good…and don’t forget birthday waffles or pancakes!

This year, I want one of these beauties for a few reasons. First, making a Texas Sheet Cake is easy. Second, I have been harboring an insane craving. Third? Pecans, baby…

Now seems like as good a time as any to make one, though it’s pretty easy to come up with an excuse. You just need to make sure you have others to help you eat it—because a Texas Sheet Cake feeds a crowd.

Texas Sheet Cake
Yields on 18“ x 13” cake
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Lemon Rosemary Cornish Game Hens

Miss Manners

Lately, I have been thinking about table manners. I’d like to believe that I handle myself pretty well at the table. I know where my napkin goes, I know which fork to use, and I try not to talk with my mouth full. (I’m a mom. Sometimes you gotta say what you gotta say, even if you just took a bite!) I am confident that I will not embarrass myself or others when we go out to eat. As for my kids?

I noticed that my kids lack a certain basic knowledge when it comes to eating at the dinner table. Just to be clear, it’s not like they are total savages. They do know the proper way. But, it was while watching my son eat his dinner, crouched on the bench seat like Gollum from Lord of The Rings, that I realized perhaps a refresher course is in order.

When I was a kid, we went out to dinner relatively frequently—and when I say out to dinner I mean white tablecloths not “Do you want fries with that?” Dining out was how we celebrated birthdays and special occasions, and my sister and I were expected to act accordingly. It wasn’t always easy. The biggest test was when my dad’s parents were in town and we had to go to a place we called The Morgue. It was a white table cloth kind of club for, shall we say, an older generation—and not, frankly, an appropriate place to bring your young children for dinner.

Kids are going to be kids. Of course my Dad wasn’t always helpful. He once gave my very young cousin a Fireman’s Helmet with a siren as a gift for his birthday during dinner there. You should have seen the reaction when my cousin lit off that siren! It’s amazing how marble can amplify sound. Still makes me laugh.

The short version of the story is that I learned good table manners early on and I have apparently been remiss in the education of my children, at least as it pertains to the less well-known stuff. If I asked them the difference between a salad fork and a shrimp fork I would get a blank stare, but they do know the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork. Baby steps.

Certain foods can be difficult for anyone. Case in point: Game Hens. On a recent outing for my Mother’s birthday, my daughter and I both ordered the roasted game hen for dinner. It was very tasty. It was also a challenge to eat without flinging food everywhere. We muscled through it, and I later found myself looking online for the proper way to eat a game hen which put me back on the manners thing.

I’m starting a Manners Boot Camp at home and this is the first lesson…

Lemon Rosemary Cornish Game Hens
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