How to Make a Simple Panini On-the-Go

I am a self-confessed food lover (it is actually obvious with how my body looks like as of this writing). Aside from my love affair with the taste of chicken, I also drool on the goodness of sandwiches and I like it loaded with generous serving of any kinds of meat(prefer ably processed ones), crisp veggies, scrumptious sauces and thick slices of cheese. Speaking of cheese, this dairy product is my weakness and anything with the hint of it will surely be consumed in less than 10 minutes.

When I worked in Ortigas, I discovered a hidden gem hiding inside a food court called “LASAPIN” where inexpensive and home cooked meals can be availed. Aside from the usual carinderia value meals, a sandwich stand called “The Sandwich Guy” got me smitten. Yes, I admit, I fell in love with a “guy” and “it” tasted really good. What I like about TSG is you can have you pressed sandwiches customized. You can choose you own sauces that ranges from cheese, wasabi mayo, lemon mayo, garlic mayo, mustard, tomato catsup and others. Not to mention, their sandwiches are packed with heaping amount of meat, fresh lettuce leaves, slice of cheese squashed in between whole wheat bread (which makes it good for health conscious people out there).

Truly, every variant of pressed sandwich in TSG are worth more that you paid for. Speaking of Panini, there are several kinds of it that people can feast on. But what is good about this is anyone has the liberty to create his/her own sandwich recipe that they can eat or their own or serve for sharing. However, before we head on to talks about TSG, let me entice your appetite with a sandwich recipe that you cannot resist. Dive into the yummy taste of temptation as I serve the easy steps in making my own Panini-on-the-go.

• Bread (English Muffin/French Bread/Ciabatta/Rosetta or any types of bread would do)
• Ham
• Bacon
• Salami
• Mayo Mustard
• Fresh Lettuce
• Tomato Slices
• Cucumber
• Cheese
• Olive Oil

• Chopping Board
• Panini Grille/Sandwich Grille
• Mixing Bowl
• Napkin
• Knife
• Thong

Step One. Prepare your bread. Split it to two if needed.

Step Two. Grease your grill with olive oil and place your bread, close the top plate for a minute or two. This will give your bread appetizing grill marks and crispy texture.

Step Three. Slice plumped tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers and prep your crisp lettuce on the side. Just remember, you should not slice lettuce leaves using a stainless steel knife. It will only give your lettuce dark edges. I suggest using your hands in picking a lettuce leaf from its head.

Step Four. Assemble your Panini on the grill. Start with the bread at the bottom and spread mayo mustard or any sauce that you prefer. Layer bacon, ham, salami, cheese and veggies according to your desire and top it off with the other half of your bread. Close the top plate and grill for another three to four minutes.

Step Five. Use a thong and take the hot and freshly pressed sandwich on a clean chopping board and slice your sandwich into two and eat it while it's hot. If you would bring it to the workplace and sell it to your colleagues, place each slice on a customized napkin and seal it.

These are the easy and no sweat steps in making my mouth-watering pressed sandwiches that you can enjoy while watching movies, picnics and other recreational activities. Making your own Panini is the representation of you. Indeed, every ingredient of your sandwich says something about your personality. Thus, if you want to feed the people you love the most, give them you personalized sandwich. Every bite will be a single step in getting to know who you are.