Antipasto panini

I just had some friends over for a movie night and decided to make an antipastio with fresh Italian bread.  It was so delicious.  I had a ton of left over meats and bread so I decided to create a new sandwich. I call it the antipasto panini.  It contains all of the wonderful ingredients of an antipasto platter on a sandwich, which is then pressed to warm, gooey perfection.  This is a very flavorful dish.  For a large crowd, I would use an entire loaf of italian bread, cut in half .  When you heat it in the oven, place foil-covered bricks on top of it.  This will melt everything together.  Serve on a big platter and allow your guests to cut their own slice.  Voila! You have a spectacular presentation and a yummy creation.  Good luck and Enjoy.



Yeilds: one sandwich


2 slices italian bread
2 slices provolone cheese ( or sharp provolone pieces )
2 slices proscuitto ham
2 slices hard salami
2 slices pepperoni
2 slices sopressata
2 T. red sauce ( any jar of your favorite sauce is fine for this )
2T. olive oil
2 petite artichoke hearts ( from a jar in juice, not oil )
4 pieces fresh spinach
sliced onion to taste
calamata and green olives to taste
2 peices of roasted red peppers
italian herbs ( oregano, basil, parsley, ) and kosher salt and fresh ground  pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
1 t. garlic

Put olive oil in small bowl, add a pinch of italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic. Mix together. Using a pastry brush brush this mixture onto both sides of your bread. Brush on red sauce to one side on each piece of bread.  Now start to layer starting with cheese on the bottom, next, layer the proscuitto, then add the onion, spinach and red pepper,  add the sopressata, artichokes and olives. Finally, add the pepperoni and hard salami.

If you have a panini press than put it on the press and cook until crispy and the cheese is melted.  If you don't have a panini press, you can make as you would a grilled sandwich.  The only difference is you want to put a weighted pan or foil covered brick on top of the sandwich to press it down.  Cook and serve.  Enjoy!