Steak Paninis

I always seem to have leftovers. I make an inordinate amount of food that can’t possibly be consumed, whether it’s just for me and the hubs, or for a party of 20 plus. I blame this trait on my Middle Eastern background. It is ingrained into every fiber of my being that food should be varied, tasty, and in enormous quantities. Not one person must leave the table (or the house) hungry, even comfortably satisfied doesn’t cut it.

You. Will. Be. Stuffed. Period!

That same philosophy goes for wine, or any other beverage you fancy. My goal is to let no wine glass go empty. You will be poured more elixir of your choice before you finish the one you have, like it or not. Can’t drive home? Have no fear, Ubers or Taxis are on the way, because if you’re coming over you’re having a good time (like it or not!)

This philosophy in theory sounds good, right? Everyone goes home full and happy and sleeping like a baby with a bellyful of food, or maybe it’s the wine that does that? Anyway, I also have another trait that works in direct opposition to my overcooking obsession. I hate throwing food away. Let me repeat…no food in the trash ever! It’s not the cost of the food, or even the time I spent in the kitchen cooking away; I just can’t stand throwing away food when so many people go without. So what to do….what to do.

I have a few options.

One – take the food to work for my co-workers to enjoy. Food in my office disappears like a magic act!

Two – freeze it, but it just doesn’t taste the same after a stint in the icebox.

Finally Three – find an inventive way to make a different meal from said leftovers.

I like option three the best, so I tend to implement “meal makeovers” in my kitchen weekly.

For this particular week I had an excess of ribeye steak (freaking yums!) and it is one of the easiest leftovers to “re-make”. You can literally change the flavor palate of steak if you season it simply on the first go round, which we usually do because who doesn’t love the taste of a nice fatty ribeye?!? Sorry my veggie and vegan friends, I’m not trying to offend, but I love me some marbled steak!

So what did I turn to? I wanted a tasty and yummy dish, and something that wouldn’t further cook the perfectly medium rare rib eye, so I turned to my trusty maker. I sautéed some mushrooms and red onions until they were translucent. I then buttered both sides of sourdough bread, added the sliced rib eye, onions, mushrooms, and topped it with provolone cheese. Into the panini maker it went and after about 3-4 minutes I had a crispy delicious cheesy rib eye sandwich that tasted like a first meal, not leftovers. As a side note I’ve had my Krups panini maker for years and it works so great. It’s a bit hard to clean because the grill components don’t come out, but it cooks so well that I’m wiling to spend more time with cleanup.

The great thing about this recipe is that it can be totally customized with what you have on hand. Last week I had leftover chicken breast so I topped it with roasted red bell peppers, pickles, and cheddar cheese. Into the maker it goes and 3 minutes later dinner is served. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like sandwiches? It’s one of my guilty pleasures that I allow myself to indulge in once a week.

Wine to pair?

Well for the steak sandwich I went with a Petite Syrah out of Lodi, California. It is a bit bigger and can stand up to the meat and cheese. The particular wine was a 2016 Petite Petite “a Michael David Joint“. A friend of mine introduced me to his wine and it’s a great wine with solid value. Also, I love the labeling. It’s like a mad circus of sorts. Check him out for the bottle design alone. Cheers, and enjoy your meal makeover!