Balsamic Marinade and Its Many Possibilities

Here's another shameless plug for an EatingWell recipe. I hope they appreciate the free advertising on our obscure blog.

The recipe in question is for a versatile balsamic marinade.

Balsamic Marinade

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic or 1 clove shallot*, minced
1 tbsp dry Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp salt

Mix and use as desired. Makes 1/2 cup or enough for about 4 servings of the dish of your choice.
*I fell in love with shallots the week I first tried this recipe. Oh the memories.

Like many other marinades, there are dozens if not hundreds of great applications. Just choose ingredients that are in the right flavor profile and you're good to go. So far I have grilled chicken and many vegetables with this marinade. All turned out fantastic, especially the mushrooms! Eventually I'll try it with different cooking methods, but it's still warm enough to grill so it may be a while.

Tonight I made grilled vegetable and feta panini using this marinade. It was so fabulous and filling that my 5-year-old son and I had no desire for dessert. (Of course, it's possible he might not like coconut that much, but we'll say it was because the sandwich was so fabulous.) And because we liked it so well, I'll share the idea with you here. I'll write it as a recipe, but really it's more of an idea for you to adapt to the ingredients that you have and like. I do highly recommend the portabello mushrooms though. They have great flavor and a meaty texture (for those of you who, like me, were always put off of mushrooms by their texture). They're pretty much the mushrooms that are helping me to finally like mushrooms.

Grilled Vegetable and Feta Panini


2 extra large portabello mushroom caps, stems removed
2 6-8" zucchini sliced 1/4-1/2" thick lengthwise
4-6 small sweet peppers (or 1 large bell pepper), stem and seeds removed and sliced in half lengthwise
3 slices of red onion (all layers still together so it's still a disc)
1 recipe Balsamic Marinade
3 oz or so crumbled feta cheese
2 cups mixed spinach and baby kale
4 torta rolls from Costco (like ciabatta)
extra virgin olive oil as needed

1. Spread prepared vegetables in a pan. Using a heat-stable pastry brush (mine is silicone), brush top side of vegetables with the marinade. Place this side of vegetables down on a heated grill and then brush the other side. Flip and re-brush as needed until vegetables are cooked and delicious. (Don't forget to slice and use the portabello stems. They might not make it on the sandwiches, but they came out crisp, meaty, and delicious all by themselves.)

2. Once vegetables are cooked, remove from heat. If possible, peel the sweet peppers. Slice the mushrooms into strips. Cut down any vegetables that are too large for the bread into smaller pieces.

3. Slice rolls in half. Brush outsides with oil.

4. Assemble sandwiches with layers of various vegetables, crumbled cheese, and leafy greens. Turn grill to low and place sandwiches on the grate. Press sandwiches firmly with spatula or place a weighted pan on top of them. Flip once bottom side is crispy and browned but not dark. Repeat on other side.

5. Serve and enjoy.

Rosemary