Eggplant Panini

Isn't that what the gourmet-types call a grilled cheese sandwich? A panini?

I seem to be the only person in my family who likes eggplant, so I don't buy them often, but I really do enjoy a good eggplant sandwich every-so-often.  This Sunday at church someone with a more-productive-garden-than-my-own had generously left a large box of summer squash and eggplant in the lobby.  I snagged a small eggplant and after church I made grilled cheese sandwiches: standard cheddar for the rest of the family,   eggplant and Rosemary-Asiago for me.

I sliced the eggplant on the diagonal and fried it in olive oil with one crushed clove of garlic.  Then I sandwiched the eggplant and sliced Rosemary-Asiago cheese between two slices of Tuscan-style bread* and cooked it like a standard Grilled Cheese sandwich.  Crispy buttery bread; creamy, soft, garlicky eggplant; nutty, sharp cheese.  I can't imagine a better lunch.

*Both the cheese and the bread were from Trader Joe's.