Name: Apple Brie Panini
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: Baguette, sliced into 6 equal pieces, each sliced in half; 6 ounces brie cheese, thinly sliced; 1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced; 2 cups arugula; 6 slices turkey; Mayonnaise; Dijon mustard; Butter, preferably unsalted

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This quick and easy Apple Brie Panini is a great recipe for getting a hot, healthy meal on the table in just 10 minutes!

Hello, 2017!

I’m working on goals for the year. Not resolutions, because those don’t seem to stick properly; and because goals seem to be increasingly important in my ever-busier life. I’m not very good at it, though. It tells you something that today is January 3, and I’m only about 75% of the way through putting my goals together. I’m a work in progress.

One of my goals, like the vast majority of Americans, involves eating–and cooking–healthier. I think it’s important here to acknowledge that “healthy” is both a loaded and somewhat undefined word. After discussion with Robby, my “healthy” will focus on two things: 1) more vegetables, and 2) more unrefined carbs (and likewise fewer refined carbs). The first shouldn’t be too hard; the second… I did some research to find out what exactly unrefined carbs are. Essentially, they’re things like beans, peas, whole grains, fruits and veg. I’m not really a fan of beans or whole grains, so I’ve got a lot to teach myself.

Side note: it’s one of my aims to never use the words “guilt-free” or similar here. I’ve begun to realize that we have a damaging tendency to assign morality to food. Chocolate mousse is “sinful,” truffles made with dates instead of sugar are “guiltless.” The problem with that is when we internalize that certain foods are bad, and we are bad for eating them, i.e. we are guilty for eating real chocolate. It’s actually one of the things that can lead to eating disorders. Isn’t the world hard enough without laying into ourselves for being hungry?

Apple Brie Panini

Anyway. All that to say that this sandwich is healthy but still delicious. (It also was not made with whole grains, although a quick bread swap could change that.) I’ve learned that the best sandwiches have at least 5 ingredients, but they don’t have to be complicated. This one calls for a little prep and a little patience in cooking, but it’s simple to assemble and the payoff is delicious. A quick layer, a trip to the panini press, and you’re done! If you don’t have a panini press, do like a grilled cheese, but use a second (heavy) skillet to flatten the sandwich, and turn it once so both pieces of bread get toasted.

Best part? It only takes about 30 minutes to make a full plate of hot sandwiches (less if you get creative with the space in your press). Winner, winner, weeknight dinner!

A riff on this recipe.