How to make a panini without a press

Last Friday night we tried go to Arnie's because Chris was itching for a panini and hey, we had a coupon! Unfortunately, the Arnie's on Leonard isn't reopening until June. So we got subs and Chinese and ate dinner by at Riverside park and walked on the blue bridge, which was a much better option for the boys anyway. It was so fun, we plan on doing it again.

Anyway, when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.

Chicken and Bacon Panini with Spicy Chipotle Mayo
(From eat-drink-love.com)


For the Spicy Chipotle Mayo:
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (If you don't care for spice, use the sauce, not the pepper, or skip altogether.)
1/2 cup mayo
juice of 1 lime (I forgot this, but it was still delish.)
1/2 tsp. adobo seasoning (I skipped this.)

For the Panini:
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast (I used chopped grilled chicken from the freezer)
4 slices of cooked bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tomato, sliced into 4 slices
2 tsp. olive oil
salt
4 slices of bread (I used Italian)
butter

Instructions


For the Spicy Chipotle Mayo
~Mix mayo ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth  (I used my blender.  A food processor would probably work better, but use whatever you have.)

For the Panini
~The original recipe called for roasting the tomatoes in the oven, but I skipped this step.
~Heat your grill pan to medium heat.  I brushed it with a little olive oil.  (I found this cast iron grill pan for 6 bucks at Goodwill!)

~Butter one side of each piece of bread and place bottom slice in the pan.
~Pile on the toppings!  I did it in this order:  chicken, tomatoes, bacon cheese, mayo.

I had another cast iron pan I was going to put on top, but the bottom is nasty so I just used this skillet and pressed down.  Seemed to work pretty well.

~Cook for a few minutes until golden brown and you get some nice grill marks.  I flipped and then used my skillet to press down on the sandwiches.

My husband said this was the best panini he has ever had.  High praise from a man who has quite the discerning palate.  :-)


Oh, and I didn't make these for the boys, they had grilled cheese and were as happy as hogs in mud.