Emergency Dessert

I must credit my good friend and chef, Donatella Trotti, as the inspiration for this dessert. She owns a restaurant in Ft. Worth, Texas called Nonna Tata. If you are ever in the area you must go eat there. But be warned: they only take cash, check, or Euros; they are closed on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday; dinner service begins at 5:00 p.m.; they don't take reservations; and the only have five small tables. But her food is the best Italian food in the area, possibly in the state. It's the real deal.

(Donatella Trotti)

In an earlier post last year I wrote about a dinner I had there with my best friend. We can eat like it's nobody's business and she stuffed us beyond belief. When she sent our desserts (three of them) to the table, one plate was covered with Nutella panini.

So we had already done a fair amount of damage here but you get the idea.

It is no coincidence then, that I grabbed a jar of Nutella while grocery shopping the other day. You know, just in case...
The great thing about this dessert is that you probably only have to buy the Nutella. Everything else you will have on hand.

See? EVOO and bread. If you don't have those two items on hand then we need to talk.
The preparation is simple. Spread some Nutella (don't skimp but don't overdo it as you don't want it to run out the sides when it cooks) on a slice of bread. Top it with the other slice of bread so that you have a Nutella sandwich. Spread EVOO on the top slice and place this side down on a preheated griddle. Spread the new top side with EVOO.

Place a weight on top of the sandwich while it cooks. I use a small cast iron pan but any weight will do. A tea kettle full of water, carefully balanced, will work too. This helps to compress the sandwich. If you are fortunate enough to have a panini press then you can use this instead. Sadly, I am not fortunate; I am old-school.

Don't forget to grill both sides. When the sandwich is done carefully cut it in half, sprinkle it with powdered sugar, and serve immediately. You can even serve it on a fancier plate than the paper plate I am using for the picture.

I was lazy and didn't sift the powdered sugar so it looks like it is covered in meth. Sorry about that.

Remember, this is just like making a grilled cheese sandwich so you can't really screw it up. Unless you burn it. So keep the heat under control and we'll all get out in one piece. Consider using a bread with a fairly tight crumb. Something with big, gaping holes (like ciabatta) isn't a good idea because the Nutella will run out of the holes while it cooks. That would be bad. Other than that any old white bread will work.

This would make an okay breakfast, too. Hell, it would be better for you than biscuits and gravy. Or doughnuts. Or bacon and eggs. I mean, this panini is cholesterol free. Now you have a really good excuse to eat one anytime.