Cranberry, provolone, basil, turkey paninis

Last night James and I received the sad news that our play date for today was not going to work out on account of pink eye (yes, please stay home, we will catch up with you once the antibiotics have kicked in) and we realized we were facing a whole day with no plans at all. Worse than that, a rainy, cold, windy day with no plans at all. So, we deemed today would be an eating-cooking-baking day. Those are the best kinds of days anyway.

We changed out of our pjs and into our comfy pants (cute little Addidas warm-ups and yoga pants, respectively), and we vowed to leave the house only once to go to the store and collect more eating-cooking-baking supplies.

All I had to show for myself at the end of what was going to be a super-productive-in-the-kitchen day is one loaf of whole-wheat chocolate chip walnut pumpkin bread for moms group tomorrow (already wrapped and out of sight on top of the fridge, don't tell my husband) and dinner, which was paninis made on homemade whole wheat foccacia bread.... Oh wait, scratch that, the foccacia bread stuck to the baking sheet. (Am I repeating myself? Has this happened once before? Maybe twice? Perhaps it is time to invest in better bake ware?)

So we used store-bought ciabatta. Oh well. 

I really love paninis. Like a lot. I mean cheese melted on bread with other good stuff in the middle and then brushed with olive oil and grilled, how could you go wrong? 

This particular combination comes from a cafe I worked at in college. I love basil a lot too, and it is perfect during the holidays when paired with the sweet-tart of the cranberry sauce. I am already planning to stock up on basil so that I can make the ultimate after-Thanksgiving panini with left over turkey, my husbands amazing cranberry sauce, and plenty of cheese. Maybe a little garlic mashed potato pile on the side for dipping? After all, tis the season.

Cranberry, provolone, basil, turkey paninis
(Does this really need a recipe? I am copy-and-pasting from the last panini recipe I posted.)
loaf of good, fresh, artisan bread (I used ciabatta), cut into thin slices
olive oil
turkey lunch meat (I used peppered turkey)
provolone
basil leaves
cranberry sauce (I used the canned kind, what a cheater)
Turn a pan or stove-top grill to medium heat. Lightly brush one side of a slice of bread with olive oil, then set it down, oiled side down. Layer meat, then basil, then cheese on top. Slather another slice of bread with cranberry sauce, then place it over the cheese, and lightly brush the side facing up with oil. Place on grill, then press down with another pan on the top of the sandwich. Grill about three minutes, or until grill marks are present and cheese is melting. Flip and grill, pressing down, on the other side about three minutes. Enjoy.