I love my panini sandwiches!

I haven't made a panini in awhile but this was another way to use leftover turkey.  So I pulled my griddler out of storage and went to work.

Here's what I used:

Pain de Campagne bread fresh from Wegman's bakery
turkey
fresh spinach
fontina cheese
sliced tomato
marinated artichokes

I slathered melted butter on the outside of each slice, let the griddler do its job and in a few minutes I had a wonderful sandwich.

You have to try hard to ruin a panini, short of leaving it in the griddler too long and it burns.  I learned from the cheese counter at Wegmans that you can use any mild cheese because it melts quickly.  I had always used sliced mozzarella but today I went with fontina.

Use your imagination in deciding what to put in it. . . avocado, any sliced meat, whatever you like.

If you have a favorite panini that you make, I'd love to hear about it.

The white stuff

A noise woke me up in the early morning hours.  It is unusual for a big truck to come down our street at this hour.  Opening my eyes, I saw the unmistakable sight of a rotating light. . . the snow plow.  There isn't enough to plow, but it was making "a salt run."

Ugh.  Can I just roll over and pretend this isn't happening?  I really thought we'd get through November without this nuisance.  Just last week, people were walking around in shirt sleeves, even a few in short sleeves.

But this is Western New York, adjacent to that big snow machine, the Great Lakes.

This is Bailey's first snow!  Like any other puppy, first she stared at it, then sniffed it, then ran with unbridled joy!

Depending on which "authority" you want to believe, we will have a mild winter or one with above average precipitation.  I think we deserve a mild winter.  The last two have been brutal.

Garlic Mushroom Quinoa dish

I try to incorporate more quinoa into my diet since quinoa has so many health benefits.

Here is a recipe I found that is good.  It would make a light lunch or a side dish to a meal.  I like to use Bob's Red Mill tri-color quinoa.  It makes an attractive dish.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Cook the quinoa in the water until it is absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Let stand covered.

Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms and prepare the garlic cloves.  Combine with the thyme.

Pour the olive oil into a heated skillet.  Saute the mushrooms, garlic and thyme for a few minutes.  Mix in the quinoa and cook, stirring another 2 or 3 minutes.

At the table, add the salt and pepper and Parmesan.

As a side note:  In my opinion, you can never have too much garlic!  The recipe calls for 5 cloves. . . I used 7.

Enjoy.