Working Eater Series: Apple and Gorgonzola Panini Sandwiches

Looking for an uncomplicated way to enliven your monotonous brown bag lunches? Try this refined, bourgeois version of the ubiquitous grilled cheese sandwich.

Start with a freshly-baked loaf of herbed panini (focaccia) bread. Slice the bread into individual-sized sandwich servings. Then, use your fingers to evenly distribute crumbled gorgonzola cheese over the bottom slices of the bread.

Meanwhile, wash, core, and cut a red delicious apple into thin slices. You may also use fuji or gala apples or a bosc pear, but I'd advise against using Granny Smith apples because of their tartness. Of all the apple varieties, I like using red delicious apples the best because of the classic red color. Nestle the slices of red delicious apple into the gorgonzola crumbles.

Next, cover the sandwiches with the top half of the panini bread and place the sandwiches in a panini press or non-stick grill appliance, such as a George Foreman grill.

The sandwich should be heated on the medium setting of the grill for about five minutes or less, depending on the strength of the panini press or grill.

After five minutes, there should be parallel grill marks impressed into the surface of the bread and the melted cheese will be oozy and supple. The apples should have retained their crispness and will provide a delicate sweetness and freshness to the final grilled cheese sandwich.

This sandwich goes well with fresh fruits, such as juicy red strawberries and purple clusters of red grapes.