My roommate Amber Robinson and I both love fall and holidays and wanted to do a Halloween themed party…but we didn’t have time to do all of the work Test Nest style. I was looking through a booklet of Panini recipes and it hit me…lets do a Panini buffet…so the 1^st Annual Panini BOOffet was born. Yep, it was that good and easy that it will become a yearly event. We had a great time, everyone brought an ingredient and we made Pumpkin Chili and Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake to go along with it all. We even had orange and black soda in the bottles to add to the effect. While we were hoping to find dry ice so that it would look like the smoky caldron pictured here, we weren’t able to find that very easily…so next year! We had a selection of breads like Ciabatta, Artisan Whole Grain and Italian Rye.

Here is a list of all of the fabulous Panini options. All of these could be assembled with the following ingredients (and of course guests made their own creations as well):

Cheeses: Brie, Mozzarella, Cheddar, Manchego, Fontina

Meats: Ham, Turkey, Bacon

Fruits: Pear and Apple sliced

Sauces: Dijon-mustard, Nectarine Chutney, Plum Sauce, Apple Butter

Other: Tomato, Basil, Dates

Apple – Manchego (5 Stars)

Brush some plum sauce on the bread. Fill with apple and manchego cheese slices. Season with salt. Press and cook.

Bacon – Pear (4 Stars)

Brush bread with nectarine chutney. Fill with bacon and pear. Season with salt and press.

Bacon – Date (4 Stars)

Brush bread with brie cheese. Fill with dates and crisp bacon. Press and cook.

Apple – Brie (4 Stars)

Spread Dijon mustard on the bread. Fill with sliced brie and apples. Press and cook.

Three Cheese (5 Stars)

Brush the bread with apple butter. Fill with mozzarella, fontina and cheddar. Press and cook

TBM – a classic (5 Stars)

Put mozzarella, tomato and basil on bread. Press and cook

Brie – Turkey – Pear (4 Stars)

Spread mustard on bread. Fill with Brie, Turkey and Pear. Press and cook.

Ham – Fontina (4 Stars)

Spread apple butter on bread. Fill with Ham and Fontina. Press and cook.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheescake (5 Stars)

This was a great recipe (Junior’s cheesecake cookbook). Key items – gingersnap crust (1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnaps, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 stick butter melted) which I switched out from the Junior’s sponge cake crust. I’d suggest making a pumpkin swirl cheesecake 1-2 days in advance so that the flavors meld stronger together. I also used pumpkin pie spice which was a perfect mix of spices. I’ve seen other recipes with just nutmeg or cinnamon, I think the full mix gives the best flavor.

Pumpkin Chili (4 Stars)

A friend of mine posted this recipe on facebook. I liked the idea but I wanted to use real diced pumpkin rather than pumpkin puree.

Here is the recipe:

lb Ground Turkey (or beef if desired); 1 Large Onion; 1 Green Bell Pepper; 1 can Kidney Beans, drained; 1 can Great Northern Beans, drained (can use all Kidney Beans if you prefer); 1 46 oz can Tomato Juice; 1 28 oz can Peeled & Diced Tomatoes; 1 cup Pureed Pumpkin; 1 1/4 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice; 1 tbsp Chili Powder; 1/4 cup Sugar

In a large pot over medium heat, cook turkey until brown. Stir in onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add beans, pumpkin, diced tomatoes, and tomato juice, stirring after each addition. Season and simmer for 1 hour. Garnish with cheese, sour cream, etc.

We found that it was sa litttle to blah – here are my changes: add half of a medium pumpkin diced (about 4 cups), 2 cloves garlic, 1 more onion, another T. chili powder, 1/2 T Cumin, 1/2 T paprika, more salt and black pepper. The pumpkin got a little too soft so add it in 30 mins in.