July 26, 2005 (IJ)

I'm sorry to not have anything spectacular to write. I guess the only thing I can really write is what the panini of the day is. I found some left over tenderloin in the walk-in and sliced it. I caramelized some onions and put that with the sliced roast beef with Swiss cheese on top and served it with a spicy mayo. It wasn't anything exciting, but a good chunk of our customers today ordered it. I just put some cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt and pepper in the mayo (and a touch of cumin) and it turned out pretty good. Paninis are delicious and really easy to make. You don't have to have a fancy Panini maker from Williams-Sonoma. If you have a George Foreman grill, that will work just fine. I would recommend experimenting with different ingredients. You can be entirely creative with paninis. The joy of cooking comes from creativity and experimentation. For me, anyway. I like this quote by Julia Child: "Non-cooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet."