Buttercrust Bakery is killing me. They recently changed their hours, and now they’re only open Saturdays. I really hope it’s not a sign that they’re losing business, and that they’re just working on their corporate kitchen orders during the rest of the week. I think Brookings really needs a decent bakery, and for the past year and a half, Buttercrust has been it. It’s just selfish on my part–I’ve been really spoiled since they opened, because they truly are that good. And it’s the only place in town where I can get Burbach’s Milk! With their change in hours, they’re making more types of bread in larger quantities, which means Brioche for me!
And since I now have a whole loaf to munch during the week, I had to come up with ways of using it so it either doesn’t mold or go stale. The obvious first choice was French Toast, which we had for Sunday breakfast. I also decided to make myself some croutons, since it’s been ages since I’ve had homemade croutons.
But I had another idea. I’d already settled on making BBQ pulled chicken in the crock pot for Sunday. While at Buttercrust, I also picked up some buns, thinking we’d just have regular sandwiches. Then I had the brilliant idea (after seeing 8 bajillion variations on grilled cheese and paninis on food blogs over the past couple days) to make paninis with the remaining brioche and the chicken. Throw some cheddar on there, and Voila! Perfection in a sandwich:
The Cheddar BBQ Chicken Panini on Brioche.
Crisp bread, melted cheddar and juicy chicken surrounded by a tangy, slurp-worthy homemade BBQ sauce. Yes, I said slurp-worthy.
It’s that good. I made some simple potato wedges to serve alongside. Preheat a panini press. Combine the shredded chicken with the BBQ sauce, mixing well. Place 4 slices of brioche on a work surface. Top each slice with about 1/2 C of the chicken-BBQ sauce mixture, spreading it out to cover the bread's surface. Top that with 1/4 C of the shredded cheddar, also spreading out. Top with the other 4 slices of brioche, then brush the top slice with olive oil. Place oil-brushed side down on the preheated panini press, and brush the other side of the sandwich. Close the press, and cook until the sandwiches are crisp, golden, and heated through, and the cheese has melted.
Cheddar BBQ Chicken Paninis on Brioche
Ingredients
Instructions
It was a nice way to start off the week. Tax Day is always a little nutty. I am glad it’s over–And it wasn’t even that bad this year!
Sounds yummy and I hope you don’t lose your favorite bakery. :)
Thanks. I hope they don’t close either–Otherwise, I have to go back to baking my own bread! ;)