Pesto Chicken Salad

A couple of days this week I've had pesto chicken salad sandwich on focaccia with roasted red peppes and goat cheese for lunch. It was one of the sandwiches where I thought, "OH. SO GOOD." after every bite. I love those.

Every time I make pesto I wonder why I don't make it all the time. It's really - truly - easy. Whirl fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil* in the food processor. The last bit I made I poured into ice cubes and froze until solid. Then I put the ice cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer, ready in small portions for when I have a hankering for pesto.

Like for lunch this week. I thawed out two cubes of pesto and added the pesto to a spoonful of mayonnaise, about 1/3 to 1/2. I mixed it up and added some shredded chicken breast we'd cooked on the grill Sunday night. I refrigerated it overnight and daydream about it during the day.


* Mark Bittman cautions against adding the Parmesan cheese if you're going to freeze the pesto. He says when you're ready to use the pesto, thaw it and then add cheese.

Paninis at Home

Ever since I had the best sandwich ever a couple of months ago, I've been experimenting with paninis, particularly ones with grilled vegetables on nice, crispy, toasty bread. Nom nom nom nom

I've roasted eggplant and portabella in the oven, which works very well - just brush the veggies with a bit of olive oil. I've used leftover grilled asparagus. Several times I've used leftover vegetables from the vegetable fajitas at the local Mexican restaurant (It seems curious to me that they use lots of broccoli and squash in the fajitas. It's that strange or is it just me? Somehow, I would expect only peppers and onions.)

Always included is roasted red peppers and goat cheese. Something about the combination of those two, combined with heat that melts the goat cheese, surrounded by crispy yummy bread, equals magic.

Love the panini.

I don't have one of those panini presses, a grill pan on the stovetop works fine.


I just spread one slice of bread with butter while the grill pan is heating over medium heat. Fill the sandwich with veggies and use a cast iron skillet to press it all down. I cook it for 2 to 3 minutes each side.

I've typed panini so many times it doesn't look right anymore. Panini panini panini