The tomato-basil-mozzarella panino

        So I've thought about it and there's no way I can really recreate the panino that  I mentioned in the earlier post, cause the stuff is just bett...oops, different over in Italy. So this is how I make it when I'm here. (I've added little tips for those who are not familiar with Italian products.)
Ingredients:
* Fresh Tomatoes
        tip: get cluster tomatoes still on the vine or grow your own they just taste better.
* Mozzarella cheese 
        tip: If you can find it fresh, get it, if your asking yourself "What's fresh mozzarella?" don't worry about it just get some sliced mozzarella from the deli. Fresh mozzarella in Italy is like a soft ball of heaven, whatever you buy here won't come close. It has to be eaten within a few days and they sell and store it in little bags or containers with water ( kinda-sorta like tofu here).
* Pesto
        tip: pesto is like a spread of concentrated basil goodness that is usually used for making pasta dishes (we can get to those later) It should be green, you can find it in the Italian or International section of the store.(or you could make it from scratch, it's not hard, we'll talk later)
* Italian bread
       tip: go to the bakery or deli section of your store, they have lots of different breads to choose from. Focaccia is good, too. I get the one in the deli section, it's big and round and already sliced, can't remember the name.
* Mayo, olive oil and salt
       tip: anytime I say olive oil, I mean extra virgin olive oil by default, cause you don't ever want to use anything else (and don't skimp, get the good stuff)
Preperation:
       Take two slices of  the bread, cut about 3/4 inch thick, spread one of the interior sides with pesto, the other, sparingly, with mayo. Put 3 or 4  thin slices of tomato and a couple slices of cheese in the sandwich.(you could also stick a little shaved ham in there, too, if you want) You just don't want to over fill it cause it won't cook right or stay together. So go easy on the fillings. Brush exterior surfaces of bread with olive oil. Put it into a *panini press for about 6 -10 minutes or until the bread has golden brown stripes and the cheese is melted. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Enjoy with a hearty beer or a nice glass of white wine.Mmmmmm it's good, molto buono!

* Ok, so what's a panini press? You've seen them advertised on tv, kinda like a waffle iron that closes on top of the sandwich. It heats it from both the top and bottom. Your George Forman will work fine!