June 12, 2026
Friday happy hour @Vanaprastha. Turkey Caprese Panini. Thumbs up! Stories and recipe tomorrow on my Substack. Thunderstorms blowing through. Praying for rain.
We’re having a heat wave. Although we ate outside on Wednesday evening, hosting a neighbor and friend for steak dinner, it was too hot to enjoy eating on the deck last night. Even the dogs didn’t want to be out for long, no matter how much they love running the mountain. The threat of storms clinched our happy hour, location decision. Yes, it rained, though not enough to measure.
The heat also changed the menu. Originally, I had assembled ingredients for Chicken Parmesan Soup, which I’ve been wanting to try since I purchased the broil-proof bowls for French onion soup in February. Maybe next week.
At any rate, that explains why I used thick shredded mozzarella—not too messy—instead of slices. And I didn’t have mayonnaise with olive oil on hand, so I added a bit of the latter to the sandwich spread. We’d roasted turkey recently, so I used fresh roasted. Much better than deli turkey, in my opinion.
This panini recipe was well received, compared to the turkey pesto panini I made last September. Keith didn’t care for the pesto. But that bite of basil from our garden and the tomato I purchased from Dickie Bros. Orchard in Afton yesterday afternoon. Absolutely nothing beats fresh picked!
Turkey Caprese Panini
Prep Time: 10 mins; Cook Time: 5 mins Total Time:15 mins Servings: 2
Ingredients:
· 4 slices Artisan bread or similar
· 2 tbsp Mayo with olive oil – used regular mayo with a splash of olive oil
· 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
· 1 vine ripe tomato, sliced
· 4 leaves of fresh basil – from the garden
· 4 slices of fresh mozzarella – slices preferred; used thick shredded on hand
· 6 slices of fresh turkey – deli or roasted—the latter, preferred if on hand
Instructions:
Heat the panini press.
Combine mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl; whisk until combined and smooth; spread in-side each slice of bread. Divide remaining ingredients and place inside the sandwiches. Put sandwich sides together, place dry side down in panini press, and close. Cook until cheese melts and outside crisps. Cut and serve.
That’s it for today. See you next week! -C.D.
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