BMT Panini

Happy Friday!!  Now that we planted our garden, I have plenty of basil for my all time favorite summer sandwich - Basil, Mozzarella and Tomato Paninis.  So simple, but sooooo good.  Now we just need for those tomatoes to hurry up and ripen :)

Basil, Mozzarella and Tomato Panini

Ingredients
loaf of unsliced Italian bread, cut into 1 inch slices
2-3 large tomatoes, sliced 3/4 inch thick
large bunch of basil (or 3-4 leaves of basil per sandwich)
1 pound fresh sliced mozzarella (or 2 slices fresh mozzarella per sandwich)
butter
mayonnaise
fresh cracked pepper


Directions

1. Preheat grill pan to medium-high heat
2. Lightly butter one slice of bread and place butter side down on plate
3. Lightly spread bread with mayonnaise
4. Top mayonnaise with slice of mozzarella (or two), two slices of tomato, fresh cracked pepper (to taste)
5. Add basil leaves and second slice of mozzarella
6. Lightly spread second slice of bread with mayonnaise and place atop sandwich, mayo side down
7. Lightly butter top of sandwich
8. Gently place sandwich onto griddle pan and immediately top with panini press, large skillet or foil wrapped brick
9. Let sandwich cook for 2-3 minutes until bread is golden brown and toasty
10. Remove the press/skillet/brick and gingerly flip sandwich; Replace press/skillet/brick on this side
11. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown
12. Repeat Steps 2-11 for all sandwiches