The Panini Monthly: July (a little taste of Italy)

Nine months ago we were in Italy... In Rome, at this point. For some reason, latelyI have been spending alot of time thinking over our time there. I like to re-remember things to keep the memories fresh in my mind so that I don't forget them. 

Anyway, spending so much time thinking about these things has made me want to recreate it a bit. So last night  I decided to do a few items that were regularly on our menu while on our trip. The first thing wasn't a panini. Jordan was welcomed home with a cappuccino (as well as I could make one) and a couple of chocolate croissants (brioches). In Italy, they were generally filled with Nutella, but I got as close as I could get without making them myself. 

For dinner, I planned to make Caprese and Prosciutto Paninis.

Prosciutto is a very salty meat which was available in just about everything in Italy. Jordan ate the most of it... in fact, I'm not sure I ever had it, because we were never sure if it was safe for the baby.(It is a salt cured meat and not actually cooked. It was labeled raw ham everywhere when it was in English.) Anyway, the paninis I made were not the same as those in italy, but I used an italian puligese bread and fresh mozarella.

 I layered mozarella with two pieces of prosciutto and two slices of fresh mozarella on each bread, then drizzled lots of olive oil on the bread and grilled it! Mmm! 

The Caprese is simply tomatoes sliced and layered with fresh mozarella and basil. I drizzled olive oil and salt over the whole dish. It was all quite excellent! 

 The fresh basil especially brought back memories. When we were in Amalfi, we stayed in a little flat with a kitchen and a basil plant. I went out every day and picked fresh basil for our meals.... its amazing how a smell can bring back so many memories!

Now, for a little comparison.... this was what we actually had. 

Brioche and Cappuccino in Rome 

Prosciutto Panini in Verona

Caprese in Venice

Such good memories! 

Hope you are all enjoying July....