A hot, cheesy sandwich with tomato, roasted red pepper, a few capers, and a healthy slather of olive tapenade. Delicious and, inevitably, messy.
This month Cook's Illustrated had a great tip for making hot sandwiches in your panini press without any such mess. Wrap your sandwiches in parchment paper before putting them in your press; it'll create a little envelope for messy cheeses and oils and keep them off your machine!
A Few of Our Favorite Panini:
• Two Cheese Panini With Tomato Olive Pesto - Food and Wine
• Prosciutto and Pesto Panini - Martha Stewart
• Chocolate Raspberry Panini With Mascarpone - Bon Appetit
Related: Make Ice Cream Cones in Your Panini Press
(Image: Megan Gordon)
TW Salt Mill by Wil...

Love this tip!
Holy environmentally unfriendly, Batman!
Look, if you're taking your sandwich somewhere, then sure. But please tell me you wouldn't do this at home and then throw the paper straight in the bin, just to save 30 seconds wiping the sandwich maker.
Wouldn't this steam the sandwich, not grill? Soggy bread on a panini?? :(
Personally I prefer the Teflon coated Parchment paper, that I can wipe down and reuse
Parchment can be wiped off and re-used. So just designate it your "panini" parchment sheet and use it as many times as you can!