I didn’t realize how much more enjoyment I stood to derive out of panini by expanding my cheese horizons! You might remember I used a goat cheese called Humboldt Fog on those Burger Mini-Panini Sliders a few weeks back. I’m telling you, from the first time I tasted Humboldt Fog I knew it was far and away better than the cheaper, mass-market goat cheese I’d been using for years. Humboldt Fog was so much tangier and more flavorful – until another good one comes along, this is going to be my go-to goat from now on!
To complement the tangy Humboldt Fog in this panini recipe, I went for some sweet peaches, grilled on the panini press, and a little bit of mint on a multigrain baguette. A wonderful sugary, caramel aroma filled the kitchen as the peaches sizzled away on the grill. I decided to use just the center sections, mainly for aesthetics – plus the scraps were a great little snack as I was waiting for the sandwiches to finish grilling! This sandwich definitely had more “grown-up” flavors than the ones I typically make – particularly with the mint – but it was quite tasty nonetheless. Next time I think I might use basil rather than mint, but I’ll leave that decision up to you. Great minds think alike – I just saw yesterday that The Kitchn was also inspired to do a grilled peach and goat cheese sandwich!
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“Oh, really?!?” they exclaim, and their necks get a little straighter. “Panini…like the sandwiches? A blog about panini? Hmmm…”
This is the reaction I got repeatedly on the elevators at BlogHer in San Francisco this past weekend when the inevitable question, “What do you blog about?” came up during the 30-second rides. I was pretty much like, “Yup – I make ’em and I write about ’em.” Then their floor would come up and we’d part ways. Niche as it may be, I’m glad I decided to blog about panini – there’s no shortage of inspiration for sandwich ideas, plus I get to raise a few eyebrows every now and then. 🙂
The best aspect of the conference was, without question, the opportunity to meet up with a whole bunch of fabulous food bloggers in person. It was so great to finally meet the real folks behind so many of the blogs I already followed – like Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen, Elise from Simply Recipes, Sean from Hedonia, Andrea from Andrea’s Recipes, Amy from Cooking with Amy and Claire from Cookthink. I also had the chance to get introduced to a host of “new” (to me!) food bloggers – like Shuna from Eggbeater, Lydia from The Perfect Pantry, Biggie from Lunch in a Box, Susan from Food Blogga, Janice from Meal Makeover Moms, Genie from The Inadvertent Gardener and Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy.
Now that I’m back home, it’s time to start firing up the grill again and get working on some summery new panini recipes. Stay tuned…I’m feeling inspired!!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
4 large yellow peaches, pitted and sliced into 1/2″ slices
4 oz. goat cheese (I recommend Humboldt Fog!)
Mint or basil (optional)
Multigrain baguette, sliced crosswise into 5″ sections
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the panini grill to medium-high heat (375 degrees).
Place the peach slices onto the grill (depending on the size of your grill, you may need to do this in batches) and grill for about 2 minutes until the peaches are caramelized. Remove peaches from the grill.
Turn off the grill, allow it to cool down and carefully clean off the grates. Once clean, reheat the grill to medium-high heat (375 degrees).
For each sandwich: Slice the baguette lengthwise to create top and bottom halves. Layer 1/4 of the peaches (you might want to only use the larger, center-cut slices), a few of the mint or basil leaves to taste and 1/4 of the goat cheese in between the baguette halves. Grill the sandwich for 4-5 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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This looks SO DELICIOUS! I love peaches and putting it in the panini is just genius!
They look wonderful! I can smell them just from looking at the pictures 🙂
yum!
Goat cheese with just about anything and I’m there. 🙂
It was great to meet you too and chat over dinner!
It was wonderful to meet you at BlogHer, and I’m so happy to discover your blog! Panini is one of my guilty pleasures, and as I’m a melted-cheese fanatic, I’m looking forward to discovering new combinations to make in my panini press.
Wowzer….sounds like a panini for me! Just beautiful!
This panini sounds really good! Great use of the in season peaches. I look forward to reading more about your panini adventures.
That panini looks great! I love Humboldt Fog and who doesn’t love grilled peaches! I’m getting out my Gridler now!
What a fabulous combination! It looks delicious.
Hi Kathy, just letting you know I left you an award on my blog!
I am an avid reader and user of your recipes. However, I am disappointed at the comments everyone seems to leave. A statement that says “it looks great” means nothing. If they have tried the panini and have a comment that is what I want. If they haven’t tried it it would be better for me if they did not even comment rather than say “it looked good.” That way I would not have to waste me time reading.
Dick – Thanks so much for your loyal readership and for taking the time to voice your opinion on the community aspect of the blog. I really appreciate the opportunity to read and respond to comments, whether they’re about how the panini actually taste or just how they look. I actually take the “looks great”-type ones as compliments on my photography (which I’m always trying to improve)! But you bring up an interesting point. I’d definitely encourage folks to come on back again after you’ve prepared the recipe and let us all know how you liked it, what you did differently, and so on.
mmm…it looks great. (that’s for you, dick.)
seriously though, i can just imagine taking a big bite and having luscious peach juice run all down my chin. nice. 🙂
Oh wow! This panini is just what I need right now. mmmmmm…
Fruit and cheese were just made to be together, weren’t they? I love this idea, and I do think basil would be fantastic with the peaches! I’m so hungry!
I am inspired by your grilled peach and goat cheese panini. What a combination:D
what an insanely great sounding panini! humbolt fog is among my favorite cheeses and goes so well with peaches! all of your photos are total food porn kathy! i don’t know how i escaped learing about your blog for so long… and you’re in san diego no less! 🙂
Wow! Peaches on a panini-I love it! I have never had humbolt fog, I’m going to look for it.
I’ve just made some of these and am eating one as I type! I added some ham though. It’s scrumptious!
I LOVE Humboldt Fog…this looks delicious! Your blog is great!
Love your picture of humboldt fog and choice of serving tray whose lines are similar to the line of ash. Very picturesque.