Panini's and Sweet Potato Fries

Funny story. While Alex's grandmother was in town, we decided to make panini's. Sounds harmless right? We bought some cibbatta bread to make the panini's. After 'grilling' the sandwiches up, we cut them into two. The moment I went to cut them in half I heard a loud crunch! Instantly my heart went into my throat. I was worried the sandwiches would be too hard for Alex's grandmother and her friend. Being the gracious, wonderful people they are, they ate them up! I just got a new panini cookbook (Panini by Melanie Barnard) and I already love it! I like to mix up my sandwiches when we make panini's and this cookbook helps us do just that. I found a recipe for Rustic Turkey with Brie and Apples. I know, apples on a sandwich? YUM! Not only do they add a fun sweet flavor, they also give an additional level of crunchy texture. The Brie is awesome!

Rustic Turkey with Brie and Apples:
2 tablespoons Walnut Oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Whole-wheat country style bread - or your favorite bread for panini
Brie cheese thinly sliced (I just spread the brie over the bread)
Smoked turkey
Granny smith apples cut into thin pieces
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper

The recipe in the book goes into detail of how to make a well manicured sandwich...I just throw it all together and cook it up. Giada de Laurentis turned Alex and I on to drizzling a little bit of oil on the INSIDE of the sandwich instead of the outside. It makes it FANTASTIC! I spread the brie on each side of the bread, placed the turkey and apple slices on the sandwich with the thyme and pepper. We cooked the sandwiches for 5-7 minutes until the cheese was a soft and warm.
The sandwiches looked so wonderful and tasty, I didn't get the chance to take a picture of the final presentation...we just devoured them!To go with our ultra fabulous panini's we made sweet potato fries that I scored from sarahscucinabella.com. This recipe was pure simple and PERFECTION! I'm not sure why anyone would ever eat regular potatoes after eating these babies! They were soft and flavorful. Skip the french fries and go for sweet potato fries. If you know how much I LOVE french fries, you would understand this comment speaks volumes!
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries:
Serves 4-6
1 - 1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (preferably the easy release kind).

Peal the sweet potatoes. Cut into strips that are about 1/2 inch wide on each side.

Place the sweet potatoes into a sealable plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries.

Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.