My friend Lisa came over today for lunch with her friend Lisbeth, who just moved to NYC from Belgium. She has a daughter the same age as Harper so the kiddies played while the grown ups ate. (Well, that was the plan but the kiddies never actually sit quietly and play when you want to eat.)
So, it's always a little hard cooking a meal for someone you never met before. What if you ended up making something that they don't eat?
I decided to pull my panini maker out of the closet and put it to good use. I figured that's a pretty safe bet along side a cold pasta salad. Perfect!
I got ciabatta rolls, chicken cutlets, fresh mozzarella, pesto, red peppers and olive tapenade. I got thin sliced chicken breasts. I seasoned them with salt and pepper and grilled them on the stove top.
I cut the rolls in half. On one half of the roll I put the sliced mozzarella, roasted red peppers and sliced grilled chicken. On the other half of the roll I did either pesto or olive tapenade.
Put the buns together, brushed the tops with some evoo and ready to be grilled!
Finished product turned out A+
The mozzarella cheese was oozing out the sides and the grill gave it a nice crunch.
I wanted to do something simple alongside the panini's. I decided on a Greek Orzo Salad. It was so simple to make and tasted delicious. I cooked a box of Orzo. When the orzo was done I drained it and immediately added fresh spinach leaves while it was still hot, so it cooked the spinach. I sliced up kalmata olives and tossed it all together with some olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Once the orzo cooled to room temperature I added in crumbled feta cheese.
To cap off the meal I made a fruity iced tea. Boiled water with a few bags of green tea. I added in frozen raspberries and peaches and a little agave necter to sweeten it.
It was the perfect refreshing drink to accompany lunch.
Cheers to a fabulous lunch and meeting new friends!
