Grilled Pear, Humboldt Fog, and Mint Panini

This year, Mikey got a panini press for Christmas and, to be honest, I think I was more excited about his gift than he was, ha ha. A few weeks ago, we tried it out for the first time and it was a overwhelmingly successful venture! I made Mikey a panini with grilled chicken, sharp cheddar, bacon, homemade chipotle mayonnaise, and spinach, served up with some creamy tomato soup. And for myself, a panini with dry coppa, arugula, and fontina cheese. I also had to sneak a tiny bowl of the tomato soup because man, this boxed stuff is incredible! It was Pacific Natural Foods Creamy Tomato and I seriously thought it was out-of-this-world good. It has this amazing subtle sweetness to it. I immediately went out and bought 3 more boxes of the stuff along with a box of nearly every variety they make. I might be a bit obsessive...
Anyways, the paninis were scrum-diddly-umptious and I basically couldn't wait to use the press again.
I found this wonderful blog called Panini Happy while looking for flavor combinations and came across a Grilled Peaches and Humboldt Fog Panini that sounded really tasty. Since peaches aren't in season at the moment, I decided to switch it up and use pears! The sandwich turned out SO good! The creaminess and pronounced taste of the Humboldt Fog paired with the sweet, grilled pears was simply delightful- another success for the panini maker!
I served my panini up with a handful of baby spinach dressed in a simple vinaigrette, and some creamy pumpkin soup. The recipe for the soup can be found here!

Grilled Pear, Humboldt Fog, and Mint Panini

recipe adapted from here

serves 1

ingredients:

• 1 large pear (I used Bosc), sliced into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 ounce Humboldt Fog goat cheese
• fresh mint
• 2 slices of bread (thicker works better, I just used what I had on hand which was Pain du George- a whole wheat bread)
• a small amount of butter

1. Preheat the panini grill to 375 degrees.
2. Place the pear slices on the grill and grill for around 2 minutes, until they are caramelized. Remove from the grill and set aside.
3. Butter one side of each of the bread slices with a bit of butter.
4. Layer the pear slices onto a slice of the bread (not the butter side) and top with some mint leaves and then the cheese. Top with the remaining slice of bread and press for around 3 to 4 minutes (make sure the butter sides of the bread are facing the panini press), or until the cheese is melted. Serve!