Pepperoni Pizza Panini and a Cookbook #Giveaway

by Dorothy Reinhold on September 12, 2013


Print This Post Print This Post Pepperoni Pizza Panini on Shockingly Delicious

When a cookbook is so right, so right on, so of-the-moment, it can solve all your problems.

What’s for dinner? What should I read to entertain me? What will be a fun gadget to work with in the kitchen? What might reinvigorate my love of cooking? And most importantly, what do I want to eat right this very minute?

The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook by Kathy StrahsThe answer is to all of the above can be found in “The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook,” by Kathy Strahs (2013; Harvard Common Press; $19.95).

Strahs, creator of the website PaniniHappy.com, has since 2008 been creating more than innovative melty sandwiches on her panini maker.

Sure, she tempts us in the book with 200+ recipes for things I can’t wait to try — sandwiches such as Turkey Panini, Marbella-Style (after the famous Chicken Marbella recipe of “Silver Palate” fame), Brie, Basil, Bacon and Blue Cheese Panini, or a Greek-Style Caprese Panini. Or a meaty-without-meat Portobello Patty Melt Panini. And her photos make you want to swoon with hunger.

But believe it or not, there are also a myriad of other things to be made on the panini grill.

What can you do on the panini grill that is not simply a sandwich? Lots, it turns out:

  • Salmon in foil packets (no muss, no fuss!)
  • Roast garlic
  • Caramelized fresh peaches
  • Grilled fennel
  • Grilled tomato soup (I’ll wait while that idea sinks in)
  • Seasoned grilled tortilla chips
  • Grilled brie wheel with honey and almonds (genius!)
  • Homemade ice cream cones (really!)
  • Mini layer cake with chocolate buttercream (again, really!)
  • Apple turnovers
  • Peanut butter sandwich cookies

I need to take a deep breath and rest now. All those desserts are making me woozy.

Kathy Strahs on Shockingly DeliciousStrahs says her goal was to create recipes that she not only could grill on the panini press, but that she should make on the machine because it tastes better or cooks faster or frees up space in the oven or saves her from having to heat up the entire house – or all of the above.

Amen, sister, and let’s plug in my George Foreman so we can make Pepperoni Pizza Panini, which she perfected using flatbread or naan so the sauce doesn’t make it soggy. See, right there, you have a solution for tonight’s dinner.

Giveaway: And stay tuned right beneath the recipe for a giveaway of this cookbook! It would make a wonderful gift for anyone with an indoor grill, a college student or young adult, or how about bundling it WITH a panini press for a special gift for someone?

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Panini

Summary: Flatbread solves the problem of soggy bread in a Pepperoni Pizza Panini, and has a crust-like texture.

Ingredients

  • 4 flatbreads, such as naan or pita
  • 1⁄2 cup marinara sauce
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • 4 ounces sliced pepperoni
  • 8 fresh basil leaves, torn

Instructions

  1. Heat the panini press to medium-high heat.
  2. For each sandwich: Cut the flatbread in half across the diameter, creating two semicircles— these will become your top and bottom halves. Spread a layer of marinara on both flatbread halves. Top one half with a thin layer of cheese and arrange pepperoni slices to cover the cheese. Scatter some basil pieces over the pepperoni and top with more cheese. Close the sandwich with the other flatbread half, marinara side down.
  3. Grill two panini at a time, with the lid closed, until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, 5 to 6 minutes.
  4. Makes 4 panini.

Source

Recipe and photo © 2013 by Kathy Strahs and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: Italian

Cookbook Giveaway!

 

Update 9/20/13: Sarah M. from Swannanoa, NC is the winner of the cookbook. Congrats, Sarah, and thanks to all of you for playing! Stay tuned because I’m always on the prowl for more great giveaways for ShockD readers. 

The publisher, The Harvard Common Press, is giving away a copy of this book to one lucky reader of Shockingly Delicious. To enter, simply do any or all of the following: 

  1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite panini is.
  2. Like Shockingly Delicious on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did.
  3. Follow Shockingly Delicious on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did and what your Twitter handle is.
  4. Put me (Dorothy Reinhold) in your Google+ circles and leave a comment telling me you did and what your Google+ name is. You can find me on Google+ here.
  5. Follow Shockingly Delicious on Instagram and leave a comment telling me you did.
  6. Follow my boards on Pinterest and leave a comment telling me you did.

To participate in the giveaway you may do any of these, and each is considered a separate entry, so leave a separate comment for each one you do.

This giveaway is for one winner of this cookbook from the publisher.

  • Open to those with mailing addresses in the USA only.
  • Deadline: Submissions will close at noon Pacific Time on Thur., Sept. 19, 2013.
  • Winner will be notified via email within 24 hours of the close of the giveaway, and given 48 hours to respond. If I do not receive a response in 48 hours, I’ll need to draw a new winner.
  • There is more legal fine print here.

Ready, set, GO!

Disclosure: I received a copy of the cookbook for review, and the publisher will send a copy to my winner. All opinions expressed in the post are my own. 

 

{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }

Natasha September 15, 2013 at 1:19 pm

My favorite panini is nutella and strawberry!

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Tamara Coleman September 14, 2013 at 10:08 am

I love my panini maker! 🙂 Perfectly warm & melty flatbread sandwiches

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Louis S. September 13, 2013 at 4:23 pm

Grilled cheese with extra sharp cheddar and tomatoes on pumpernickel.

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Meryl September 13, 2013 at 4:21 pm

My favorite is turkey, gruyere, tomatoes and olives.

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Jeffrey September 13, 2013 at 11:56 am

I follow you on Pinterest.

Reply

Jeffrey September 13, 2013 at 11:55 am

Your on my Google+, Jeffrey Lammers.

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Jeffrey September 13, 2013 at 11:53 am

I like your Facebook page.

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Jeffrey September 13, 2013 at 11:52 am

I follow you on Twitter.

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Jeffrey September 13, 2013 at 11:54 am

with the handle @FireRunner2379.

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Jeffrey September 13, 2013 at 11:51 am

I like turkey breast, brie and raspberry preserves!

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Sondra Elizabeth King September 12, 2013 at 7:37 pm

I’m definitely a pesto chicken girl!

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Sondra Elizabeth King September 12, 2013 at 7:33 pm

Brownies in the waffle iron sound so yummy too…can’t wait to try some new recipes!

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Donna September 12, 2013 at 6:28 pm

I am new to this but I have had fontina cheese, basil, turkey and a couple of others. The ones that include figs and cheese sound so good. Just got a panini press two days ago from Macy’s on line. Haven’t used yet. Looking forward to it. I have already dug out all my Thanksgiving recipes. Was thinking I could find something that was fixed on the Panini Press and then cut up for appetizers before dinner.

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Barbara Bradford September 12, 2013 at 5:38 pm

My favorite Panini is Turkey with Swiss, and Guac but after reading the recipes from The Ultimate Panini Press, I think it will be Portobello Patty Melt Panini.

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Barbara Bradford September 12, 2013 at 5:35 pm

I follow @Shockinglydlish on Twitter

Reply

Barbara Bradford September 12, 2013 at 5:34 pm

I follow Shockinglydelicious on Facebook

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Barbara Bradford September 12, 2013 at 5:33 pm

I am following you on Pinterest

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vaishali September 12, 2013 at 9:17 am

Pesto chicken panini with mozarella

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beverly deutsch September 12, 2013 at 9:11 am

I would love to explore the recipes in your cookbook on my new panini press

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Lynda Bacon Lawlis September 12, 2013 at 8:43 am

Great blog! I love paninis, my favorite is chicken breast with pesto but it sounds like I have been limiting myself. Hope I win the cookbook. Now following you on Pintrest.

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Sue September 12, 2013 at 8:05 am

My favourite panini is made with homemade dill/onion/hemp/ww bread with turkey, mayo, cucumber, avocado and brie…delicious and at the cottage neighbors travel just to share one with us.

Reply

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