My Inner Granny: Roasted Garlic Aioli And Egg Plant Panini

My trip to the Cheesecake Factory in OKC inspired the idea behind this sandwich. The main difference was that my sandwich in OKC was on a really great hamburger bun, but I wanted to use my new Panini Press, hence the flat sandwich.

My little story behind my first attempt, it's sort of like a pancake or crepe, they never turn out how you want them the first time. Match that up with unexpected company (who I love, but really, not on days when I haven't showered, and really wanted to get down to work on a new recipe) and I ended up in a not so very good mood for about a half hour. Then they all migrated outside and I was able to concentrate in the kitchen in peace. Just me and my Panini Press. What more could a girl want?

So anyway, back to today's Sandwich and my first foray into Panini making.

We'll start with the roasted garlic.

Cut about a quarter inch off the top of your garlic (make sure the outer layer is peeled off, just leaving the one casing holding the garlic cloves in). Drizzle the exposed top with olive oil, and cover with foil.

Some people wrap the whole thing in foil, and throw it in the oven. I put mine in a cup cake tin to make it easier to grab. You want to roast the garlic for about 1/2 an hour at 400 degrees, or until it's really soft on the inside. If you take a fork and kind of poke it, and the fork slides right in, you've got garlic goodness right there. You could roast it longer for a more spreadable garlic consistency, but I didn't need that today.

Next up, the mayonnaise. No, it's not traditional Aioli, but since I didn't feel like pasteurizing any eggs, store bought mayo will do in a pinch. No one will complain, trust me. Place a cup full of mayo in your blender along with the roasted garlic (which I just squeezed out of their cloves) and about 1/2 a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Add the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper to taste and....

Blend away.

I think I stopped blending after about 2 minutes, maybe less.

It's such an exacting science.lol.

Not.

My new Panini press is pretty awesome. You can grill things on it, flip the plates over to the flat surface and fry up some eggs or something. I love it. I sliced up one egg plant and one red onion. Drizzled some Extra Virgin Olive Oil on them, and grilled until the vegetables were tender to touch.

Next up the Sandwich. I would show you pictures of how I prepped it, but there were too many people in the kitchen, and it's kind of difficult to take my time and do what I like with eyes on me. The first and second try, I didn't keep the sandwich in the press long enough, so they didn't turn golden. I also added tomatoes and lettuce, but I think it made the bread a little too soggy instead of crisp. So for my final attempt (after the one butt kitchen became just one butt again) I decided to keep it simple.

Spread your garlic mayo (aioli) on both sides of your bread. Be generous. You want to really taste it after it's grilled up. lay down a piece of the grilled eggplant, your grilled onions, and cover with fresh mozzarella cheese. Take your sandwich to the panini press and cover until your bread turns golden brown.

The picture below shows how messy it can get. Or maybe that's just when I cook.