Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini

Last May, my sister, Melanie, introduced me to the wonderful world of paninis. Then I tried out Katherine's delicious recipe for Tomato, Pesto & Mozzarella Panini, and it was amazing. Last night I made my own version of a panini:

This panini has pesto spread on the inside of both pieces of the Italian bread (I used a Neo-Tuscan Boule). Then I layered grilled chicken (I grilled mine with some lemon pepper on it), tomatoes, avocado, roasted red peppers, and fresh mozzarella cheese (the kind that comes in a ball). I spread a little butter on the outsides of the bread and then grilled it in a George Foreman-type of grill for a few minutes. I served it with a romaine salad and fresh corn on the cob. So good!

To make roasted red peppers, half the bell pepper and remove seeds and stem. Place face down on a sheet of tinfoil (crease the edges up so the juices don't run off), and place under the broiler. Broil until the skin is black all over, about 8 or so minutes. I covered the tops of the pepper with some tin foil when it got black and continued to broil it so the remaining sides could blacken. (You could also put the whole pepper under the broiler and rotate it as it blackens.) Once the skin is black, fold the tinfoil around it to seal in the heat (or place in a bowl and cover with seran wrap) and let sit for 20 minutes. Then rub off the black skin and cut into slices.