Chicken Pesto Paninis

I'm happy that I do not live in the age of old, where if you wanted meat for your family you went and rung its neck... I am mortified of getting chicken blood on me when I open a nicely sealed package from the grocery store, so I can't imagine plucking feathers and ... well, whatever else you have to do to prepare it for cooking.... I honestly don't want to know!

I cycle in and out of absolute disgust of animal products, in fact. If I have to skin it first, ain't no way I'm gonna eat it! If I have to eat it off the bone, I'm probably not going to ... or I'll be so disgusted that I won't eat meat for several weeks afterward. I don't think I could ever be a chef! I love watching all these fun cooking shows, but when then de-bone a quail or hack up some ribs, I am convinced that I wouldn't even make it through culinary school! Not to mention the smells of raw chicken and meat! ... Not that you really needed to know any of that...... =)

One of my favorite ways of cooking chicken is roasting it in a crock pot. It's tender, it's a lot of meat for several meals for little money, and it's just yummy. But, I have to pick it off the bone. Usually, when the roast is ready, my husband is kind enough to pick all the meat off the bones for me. But the timing just didn't work out and I've been picking the meat off for each meal this time. Even though the chicken tastes great, I've been skittish to eat any of it. So I found recipes that either hid the chicken or flavored it up in a great big fun way!

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I'm pretty sure I changed a couple of things... But anyway, here's what I did =)

WHAT YOU NEED:

Olive oil for sauteing

1 organic red bell pepper (I think orange or yellow would've been better, actually)

1/4 red onion (Frenched)

1 lb. focaccia bread

4 tsp. pesto

12 thin slices provolone (Sargento is terrific!)

4 oz. roast chicken

Butter for toasting

HOW TO:
Saute bell pepper strips and onion in olive oil in medium-high heat to the color/texture of your desire. I like mine on the crispy-crunchy not-too-overly-cooked side for this dish =)
Cut focaccia in quarters, then slice them in half horizontally for sandwiches.
Spread pesto on the inside of one slice of focaccia + 1 slice cheese. On opposite slice place 2 slices cheese. And, same for all 4 sandwiches.
Add chicken, bell pepper, and half of the onion to sandwich. Reserve other half of onion for topping.
Ok, I know this sounds weird, but it's one of Alton Brown's tricks and I LOVE it!!!!! So, in a pre-heat skillet, melt butter, and place sandwiches in pan. Now, place a hot cast-iron skillet ON TOP of that, turn heat off, and let sit cooking for five minutes!!! MAKES A PERRRRRRFECT grilled cheese/panini =)
On my focaccia (which I bought from our grocer's bakery) there were onions and cheese, so I put butter on top of my sandwiches, the other half of the onion, and then foil so that the hot skillet on top wouldn't stick to the panini.

This was a GREAT sandwich and I didn't think about eating a dead bird once while eating it =)

COST: About $11 for 4 servings ($2.25/panini)

What's YOUR favorite chicken recipe? Or, better yet, what's THE most disgusting thing about cooking to you???? Leave me a comment!

Best darn Panini I've ever made!

Ok, so it's the only panini I've ever made... And it was really just a big grilled cheese... But hey, it was amazzzzzzing!

Do you like Rye bread? Me neither. So, suck it up and try it anyway. Everything on this sandwich goes together better than you can imagine!

Slow cook a whole chicken over night in a crock pot, with carrots, celery, the juice from one whole large lemon, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and a super-heaping tablespoon of Penzey's Spices "Sunny Paris" seasoning. Sunny Paris includes: purple shallots, chives, green peppercorn, basil, tarragon, chervil, bay leaf, and dill weed.* Oh yeah, also, one of Penzey's Turkish Bay Leaves, and at least a quarter-cup of Penzey's Minced White Onions.

In the morning, turn your crock pot to "warm", so that it's not actually cooking anymore, but keeping your food warm enough until lunch. About an hour before you're ready to eat, take chicken out of crock pot, and let "rest" for at least 15 minutes on a cutting board, out of reach of any big nosy family pets... and crazy one-year-old children you might have running amuck in your household.

And here we go:
1. De-bone chicken and slice for sandwiches.
2. Break out that amazingly sour Sourdough Rye Bread with large bits of caraway seed swirled into it, and brush olive oil onto the side of each piece of bread that will be on the grill/skillet/baking sheet. Preferably mix in some fun herbs to your olive oil first.
3. On the inside of one slice of bread place sliced Provolone, chicken, shredded Asiago cheese, and a handful of spinach. Place in skillet.
4. On inside of other piece of bread spread on a tablespoon of Breanna's Asiago Caesar Dressing, and a slice of Swiss cheese. Place on top of other half, and you've got yourself a sandwich ready to be cooked and consumed.

You'll love it! Even if, like me, you normally despise anything Rye.

*If you've never heard of Penzey's Spices, and can't find one in your area, go to www.penzeys.com -- it's WORTH it!!!! I am slowly weeding out all of my grocery store spices and replacing them with Penzey's. It's really the ONLY way to go!!!