Product Description

Panini are little sandwiches that are put through a press that warms up the filling and gives the bread a delicious grilled flavor. Ten years ago, you would have had to get on a plane and gone to Italy to enjoy one, but today you can find panini everywhere--in Italian restaurants, restaurant chains like Panera, even higher-end supermarkets are selling panini in their take-out foods sections. Because its popularity, the panini press (think a small George Foreman Grill) has become the hottest selling small appliance on the market. Everyone is selling them. Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table carry brands like LeCreuset, All-Clad, and Krups, while Target sells a Hamilton Beach model for less than $50 and Wal-Mart a Breadman version for $39.95.

Panini Express contains easy recipes for 70 deliciously different sandwiches you can make using your panini press. Panini Express does not confine itself only to authentic Italian Panini recipes, but instead will explore a world of flavors (like the Catskill Cubano with ham, turkey, Swiss, and a hoisin-lime dressing). In addition to the sandwich recipes, there are recipes for four homemade breads if you want your sandwiches completely from scratch, as well as for mayonnaises, spreads, and other tasty sandwich slathers to up the flavor quotient.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100197 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-26
• Released on: 2008-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 152 pages

From Booklist
Although Americans have always been partial to grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches, tastes have matured with exposure first to the French croque monsieur and now to Italian paniniWhat make panini special are both the grill and the bread. Unlike commonplace, white-bread-based cheese toasties, panini start with substantial bread, preferably artisanal ciabatta rolls, focaccia, or baguettes. These are layered with all manner of meats, cheeses, and vegetables in any combination the chef deems tasty. Then the panini toast within a heavy press to thoroughly heat the filling and score the bread with grill marks. An accomplished baker, Leader offers recipes for breads that make foundations for great panini. Fillings include classic combinations, such as turkey, bacon, and cheddar. More adventuresome stuffings run to barbecued chicken, blue cheese, and celery (a riff on buffalo wings) and corned beef, Muenster cheese, and wilted cabbage (cousin to the Reuben). --Mark Knoblauch

Review
"I have long admired Dan's commitment to Artisanal bread making. In Panini Express, he shows that his passion for the perfect sandwich goes far beyond the bread."
-Chef Terrance Brennan, author of Artisanal Cooking

"Panini Express celebrates the delicious combinations of warm bread, melted cheese, and a global array of fillings--the results are mouthwatering."
-Rick Smilow, President and Owner, The Institute of Culinary Education

You know a food has really arrived when they start writing books about it. Case in point: “Panini Express: 70 Delicious Recipes Hot Off the Press” by bread maven and former Western New Yorker Daniel Leader, author of “Bread Alone,” and Lauren Chattman (The Taunton Press, $18.95). This time, Leader takes a more popular approach. His book features glorious food photography and very simple recipes for fillings and spreads. But just in case you’re feeling energized, he tells you how to make the bread for the panini, too. --The Buffalo News (NY)

All too often, when I think sandwich, I think tuna salad or mustard, mayo and meat. In summer, I expand to include the classic BLT, but the reality is that I lack sandwich-imagination. When I opened "Panini Express: 70 Delicious Recipes, Hot Off the Press" ($18.95, Taunton), I realized my problem: A sandwich isn't just something with bread, it's an entire meal wrapped in bread. Inside this thin handbook are recipes for placing on bread a host of dinner-worthy menu items; asparagus, prosciutto and Taleggio; filet mignon, mushrooms and red pepper-garlic mayo; tuna, fava beans and Asiago; grilled chicken with Asian slaw. What's nice is that even though the book provides recipes to bake my own bread, authors Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman openly admit that there are plenty of shortcuts to a great panini. There are several recipes for hopping up the flavor in store-bought mayonnaise, a baba ghanoush recipe that can be made in 5 minutes, even a 20-minute ratatouille recipe. --Contra Costa Times (CA)

Known for his artisanal bread bakery, Daniel Leader tells what fillings are worthy of his loaves. There are French classics (the Croque Monsieur), meatier sandwiches, poultry offerings (try the Smoked Chicken, St. Andre and Pear-Apple Compote) and still plenty to satisfy vegetarians. We gravitated to the Grilled Italian Hero Sandwich. A tastier cousin of the cold-cut version, this panini had an extra kick from sliced pepperoncini and arugula. If you're still hungry, Leader includes dessert sandwiches and other sections on making your own bread and condiments. --Allentown Morning Call (PA)

About the Author
Dan Leader was one of the earliest proponents of artisanal bread making in this country and continues to run his bakery Bread Alone, which he founded in 1983. His book Bread Alone is a classic on the subject and won the IACP award for best baking book.

Lauren Chattman apprenticed under Francois Payard at Restaurant Daniel and was pastry chef at Nick and Toni's in Easthampton. She is the author of six cookbooks and co-author of two. Her recipes have appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Cook's Illustrated, Vegetarian Times, The New York Times, and Redbook.

Customer Reviews

Same pictures reprinted dozens of times, are you kidding me?
I received a panini press for a present and couldn't wait to get this book to try it out. The book is very pretty with nice, in-color photographs. I think the food photographer, Ellen Silverman, did a wonderful job of capturing the feel of the sandwiches, spreads and such. However, the editor fell down on the job. The same picture is printed on pages 19 and 61 and another same picture is printed on pages a and 23. Yet another same picture is printed on pages b & 57; 2 & 17; and 24 & 93. The exact same picture! Are you kidding me? Someone didn't notice they were using all the same pictures?! They're very pretty pictures but all the same ones? I quit comparing but there are many other duplicates as well. Please get that fixed on the reprint of this book. The authors of this cookbook need to get an apology for that glaring mistake.

Now for the meat of the cookbook. The first section gives recipes for making your own rolls, baguettes, flatbreads and such if you are so inclined. They are made by hand, not using a bread machine to start the dough. If you know how I guess you could convert them to a bread machine to save yourself some effort.

There is a section on making your own sauces, compotes, etc. The red pepper-garlic mayonnaise is delicious. Make sure and drain the roasted red peppers well otherwise the mayo was too runny. The watercress mayonnaise was a little bitter but perhaps it's just my taste or the fresh watercress (it's not the season right now).

The section on making your own sandwiches gives instructions for making your own breads and compotes (recipes are included) or offers store bought alternatives. In addition I like that the authentic version of the italian panini is listed but then a cheaper american version alternative is also offered. It gives you the option so you can lower the price or find the needed ingredients. My example is comte cheese vs. swiss; prosciutto vs. ham.

The corned beef and cabbage panini is excellent. It will make an excellent dinner on St. Patrick's Day. Add some black and tan beer and the evening will be perfect.

My next tries will be the Cubano and the Italian Hero. You won't be disappointed in this cookbook. It's worth having. There are even dessert panini's but I haven't tried those yet...it gives me something to look forward to!

I rated it a 3 even with the glaring picture misprints because the cookbook itself is excellent and I wouldn't want others to not purchase it because of that. The Taunton Press Co. needs to hire some new employees who know what they're doing but otherwise this cookbook is worthy of purchase. Just don't give this version as a gift wait until the next edition.

Great Resource
Yes, this is this is by the Daniel Leader who wrote Bread Alone and Local Breads, two incredible books on authentic artisan bread baking. This sandwich book is a wonderful resource for home bakers and non-bakers alike. The recipes for the spreads and chutneys are fantastic and can be used for dishes other than sandwiches.

You might think, "Doesn't everyone know how to build a sandwich??" Well, yes, but Leader's combinations are particularly delicious. Some are obvious, but are still excellent inspriration for when you have leftovers you do not know what to do with.

I definitely recommend this book. Unfortunately, there are numerous typographical errors. Fortunately his formulae are reliable. (Local Breads is full of similarly annoying and distracting errors, so hopefully Leader's editors will become more vigilant in future editions and for future books).

My husband the picky eater
My husband is a hard sell on cheeses. He's a hard sell on weird combos as well. This book was given to us as a christmas gift. We LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. We have made at least half the recipes. The flat bread recipe is simply nummy. We always make a double batch of it so we can eat some right away with hummus. My husband who is scared of cheeses and weird flavor combos has come to really enjoy BOTH those things from this book. He was afraid of it at first, and the more we tried, the more he loved. The avocado shrimp is just amazing. The garbanzo bean with yogurt we've made a couple times. The apple and gorgonzola is so yummy. Almost every page is newly inspiring. Things I'd NEVER think to put together are just amazing. This is one of my favorite cook books and we try and make a new sandwich every week. There is so much more to making a panini then just heating stuff between bread I learned. The order matters. The temp matters. The bread matters. And it really brings it to the next notch. Very good guys.