Perfect Pesto Panini

I've often found that I don't eat three real meals on Sundays. It usually ends up that I'll have brunch around 10 or 11 and then snack until I get hungry enough to make dinner. Today I tried to remedy the meal conundrum by making a panini that would fill me up (and Adam) and end the cycle of Sunday snacking.

I have to admit, I was a lucky ducky in that I had a very well stocked fridge when I got this idea. Yesterday I made a stop at Cossetta's in St. Paul and came home with some beautiful, thinly sliced sopressata and prosciutto. If you've never had sopressata before, it falls somewhere between a salami and prosciutto in the spectrum of yummy Italian meat. Since both of those meats are fairly high in fat content, I knew I couldn't just make a panini with those. Using my contact electric grill (since it's too wet outside to actually grill) I cooked up some zucchini and yellow squash, then threw some chicken breasts on. An added bonus from cooking on the electric grill was that the balsalmic vinegar that didn't stick to the veggies ended up carmelizing and sticking to the chicken for some added deliciousness. After heating up half a loaf of take-and-bake ciabatta bread I layered up the goodness and threw the panini back on the grill. They turned out delicious and managed to have a healthy amount of veggies in them, too. The best part of this sandwich, though, is that you can add or subtract ingredients to really make it your own perfect panini.

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches)

• one medium zucchini
• one medium yellow squash
• 2 tbsp balsalmic vinegar
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt (I used seasoned sea salt)
• 4 thin boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to a uniform thickness
• italian seasonings (your favorite blend)
• red pepper flakes (if you like added spice)
• garlic salt
  
• 1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced into 4 sandwich-sized sections and cut open
  
• 1/3 lb provolone cheese, thinly sliced
• pesto (approx. 1 tbsp/sandwich, but more or less is okay too!)
• 8 slices sopressata, prosciutto, or your favorite salami

Directions

1. Slice the zucchini and squash diagonally into 1/8 inch wide slices.
2. Marinate them in a bowl with balsalmic vinegar, salt, and olive oil while you preheat the grill.
3. When the grill is hot, arrange one layer of squash/zucchini and grill 5-7 minutes until soft but still slightly crunchy. Repeat until all the veggies are cooked. DO NOT clean the grill after this step.
   
4. Pat the chicken breasts dry, then season with garlic salt, italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
5. Cook the chicken on the grill for 5-7 minutes depending on thickness. Wipe down the grill after this step.
   
6. Allow the chicken to rest. This is important so that some of the juices drip out and your sandwich doesn't end up soggy.
7. Spread pesto on both sides of the bread, then layer on the veggies, chicken, italian meat, and cheese.
8. Grill the sandwich until the cheese is melted and the outside of the bread is toasted.