BBQ Chicken Panini with Cheddar Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 Yellow Onion
• 1 Celery Stalk
• 2 Mini Baguettes
• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 3 oz Elbow Macaroni
• ½ oz Mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. Vegetable Seasoning Blend
• 3 oz BBQ Sauce
• 2 ¼ oz Cheddar Cheese Slices
• 1 ½ oz Shredded Red Cabbage
• Olive Oil
• Salt Pepper
• Halve and peel onion. Slice halves into thin strips.

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook Within: Don’t care to press the panini? No problem: just warm them in minutes, or until cheese melts. Making a “trench” in baguette allows more room for fillings and makes panini easier to eat as well.

2. 2

   Prepare the Ingredients: Halve and peel onion. Slice halves into thin strips. Trim and cut celery into ¼” dice. Halve baguettes lengthwise. Use your fingers to hollow out baguettes slightly to make a ¼” deep trench. Rinse chicken breasts, pat dry, and season both sides with ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Caramelize the Onions Return pan used to sear chicken to high heat. Add 2 tsp. olive oil and onions to hot pan. Season with ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and tender, 6-9 minutes. Transfer onions to a plate, wipe pan clean, and return to medium heat.

3. 3

   Make the Pasta Salad: Add macaroni to boiling water and cook until tender, 7-9 minutes. Drain in colander and run cold water over pasta until cool. Shake colander to remove as much water as possible, then transfer pasta to a blend, celery, and ¼ tsp. pepper to bowl and toss to combine. Refrigerate pasta salad until plating. While pasta boils, cook chicken.

4. 4

   Assemble and Press Panini: Brush baguette insides with BBQ sauce. Assem- ble panini in this order: bottom half of roll, onions, chicken, cheese (halve to fit roll), red cabbage, and top roll. Lightly coat tops and bottoms of panini with Place a heavy pan or pot over panini and cook until crisp and toasted, 1-3 minutes. Repeat on second side. Remove to cutting board and halve on an angle.

5. 5

   Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium-high: heat. Add 2 tsp. olive oil and chicken to hot pan and cook until browned, 2-4 minutes per side. Transfer reaches a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees, 4-5 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting into ⅓” slices. Reserve pan; no need to wipe clean. While chicken roasts, caramelize onions.

6. 6

   Plate the Dish: Place panini on plate and serve pasta salad on side. recipe–it has bigger grains and is easier to pinch than table salt, allowing more control over flavor. If using regular table salt, reduce measured amounts • Watch onions closely and stir as directed to prevent • Using a heavy pan to press panini helps them toast evenly and melt cheese. the recipe before you start–we promise it will be time • Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil • Place a colander in the sink