The Not So Teeny Weenie Panini

I’m all about a good sandwich.  Subway is one of my favorite “restaurants”.  My favorite sandwich at Subway is the 6 inch roast beef on wheat bread with american cheese, jalapenos, onions, green pepper, and extra pickles.  Don’t forget the oil and vinegar, too.  I can NEVER recreate the deliciousness that is Subway when I’m at home.  But I digress.  One of my favorite kind of sandwiches is the almighty panini.  We got a panini maker several months ago and I was all kinds of thrilled.  I didn’t use it for the longest time because I didn’t have any great panini recipes.  What was I thinking?!  When I found this recipe on Pinterest, I about fell out.  Roast beef, onions, and horseradish all wrapped into one?!?!? SIGN.ME.UP!!!!!  I couldn’t make this fast enough and y’all…it did NOT disappoint!!  Amazingly mouth watering good. 

ROAST BEEF PANINI WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND HORSERADISH CHEESE SPREAD

adapted from The Perfect Pantry

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp olive oil plus a little bit more for brushing on the bread

1/4 cup shredded cheddar

2 tsp horseradish sauce {I used Heinz}

Sourdough bread, 4 slices

Roast beef, 8 slices

First on the list of dinner to-do’s…thinly slice your onions. 

Throw them in a large, nonstick skillet and toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook on medium heat.

When the onions start to caramelize…they’ll be a lovely golden brown….remove them from the skillet and set aside.  You might want to sample a few.  And then a few more.  And don’t forget the mouthwash if you plan on kissing your significant other.

Now it’s time for the horseradish cheese sauce.  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t follow directions very well.   I’m a skimmer.  I skimmed over the original recipe and didn’t realize I needed prepared horseradish, not horseradish sauce.  I got a little excited.  So here’s my adaptation and I gotta say…it was pretty dang good!

I took a couple of tablespoons of horseradish sauce and added it to a microwavable bowl.  I tossed in 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar and nuked it until the cheese was melted.  I added another squirt of horseradish sauce to the mixture just to give it more of a “sauce” texture.  YUMMMMMMMM.  Now set this aside.

 

I like experimenting with all different types of breads when I make paninis.  Sourdough just happens to be one of my favorites.  Especially when it’s paired with roast beef. 

Take two slices of sourdough and brush one side of each slice with olive oil.  On the opposite side of one slice, spread a generous amount of the horseradish cheese sauce on top.

Now top it with a layer of caramelized onions.  The more, the better.  Trust me.

Now top that with 4 slices of roast beef.  I just used roast beef straight from the deli.  Spread the opposite side of the other slice of bread with more horseradish cheese sauce and then place that on top of the roast beef.

Make sure your panini maker is fired up and ready to go and set the sandwich inside.  Press until it’s nicely panini-ed :) 

Slice and serve.  And prepare for the angels to sing.

Trust me when I say that you want this in your mouth immediately.  It’s the next best thing to Subway, for sure :)