Ham & Cheese Panini's with Pears & Spinach

Welcome to Monday! 

I often stumble upon crazy, interesting things in life and over the weekend, while preparing this post, look what I found out - November 3rd is National Sandwich Day.  Who knew?  OK, it's not earth shattering or anything but, it's kinda fun.  There really was an Earl of Sandwich, and let me say, "Thank You, Your Lordship, for putting those first 2 pieces of bread together with other stuff in between!"  

So, I thought I'd share a little something I put together for the family last Thursday night and oddly enough, sandwiches were on my mind.  It took me about 5 minutes to run through a list of things that all 4 of us like and I narrowed it down to these top 5...

Fresh bread, Virginia-baked ham, Provolone cheese, pears and spinach.

I stopped by the bakery, then the market and rolled in just in time to get the kitchen fired up before the boys arrived.  With a little prep and set-up, dinner was on the table.  

We all loved how these sandwiches turned out and really, let's be honest, is there anything better than something sweet and savory with gooey cheese on bread, grilled with butter?

I sliced my pears - really thin, washed and dried my spinach.

I also made a "sauce" to hold everything together:

1/3 cup mayo

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons of grated onion

salt and pepper

Spread the sauce on both pieces of bread.  Then, build your masterpiece!  Here's my way...

bread, sauce, spinach, cheese, ham, pear, sauce, bread.

Some things in life need to be in order, just saying...

Butter the outside of both sides of the sandwich.  Place on grill pan - cover with a lid for 3-5 minutes or until the outside is toasted.  Flip to other side and continue grilling.  Remove from grill when toasted and cheese is melted.  Let "rest" for 2 to 3 minutes, then slice.

So, there you have it!  The Southern Soul "EARL" Panini...ENJOY!

Congratulations to Brittany the winner of a $25.00 Target Gift Card!  I hope this is a little extra treat for you and your family at Halloween.  Thanks for hanging out with me at A Southern Soul...