Sizzling Sandwiches

Momma has a friend who calls because her son is bringing home some college friends for lunch before they go to a game and she does not know what to make, what will they eat and drink ?

( they all must be 21 to be served any alcoholic beverage and be responsible as to intake.)

Momma Explains: If college age or mid twenty something boys are coming over just take your refrigerator and dump the contents on the table. No, Momma is kidding but those boys like to eat and they like to eat hearty, meaty food. They like to drink too, beer and believe it or not wine is now very popular amongst the younger set. They will wash all of it down with water and/or soda. I try to keep a supply of water and soda but you can always ask them to pick it up on the way over. Hey, you never go anywhere empty handed !
I like to serve a red wine with these meat sandwiches, a very well balanced, great buy is one from Chile. Fundo Los Naranjos, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007. This wine can be shipped to order too.

Sizzling Sandwiches
These are my version of a panino, an Italian grilled sandwich. (Panini is plural) You MUST use a grill pan , if you lay these flat in a regular frying pan they will soak up all the olive oil and be too greasy. Go to the bakery or a good market that has the large hard crusted loaves of Italian bread. The loaves look like footballs or domes. The bread is sliced to your desired thickness and brushed with olive oil. Place greased bread, greased side down on some wax paper or similar and load with meat, veggie, and cheese combos. Listed are two of my families favorites.
Panino Prosciutti Place a large slice of good mozzarella to fill 2/3 of bread, layer a few slices of Prosciutti, roasted red pepper and a large basil leaf or two. Put the panino together and follow the instructions on your grill. Panini grills are available or use a grill pan and put a heavy pot to press down on sandwich. Oil your grill pan as well as your bread.

Panino Meatball( okay you need to have meat balls in the house, for Italians that's like having eggs in the refrigerator, but you could make a batch and freeze some for such a case.) Slice meat balls into 1/2 inch slices, I make meat boulders so mine go pretty far when sliced. Then layer with sliced provolone and spinach leaves, you can spread some red sauce on top and cover with remaining sandwich half. Grill as instructed.

The guests often love to create their own sandwiches but if you are feeding several big boys, I would make these in advance and keep them covered and warm in the oven. If you start out with your ingredients at Room Temperature, they will grill quickly so you can make several sandwiches in a short time. Try the wine I recommended from Chile and remember to serve it at
about 60 degrees. If you need to put it in the fridge for a half hour or an ice/water bucket, do that. I am going to speak to wine temperatures in my next Wine and Food Harmony blog.