Italian Panini Recipe

1 red bell pepper
1 eggplant (sliced)
2-3 portobello mushrooms
1-3 cloves garlic (crushed, raw or roasted)
1 loaf focaccia bread
3 TBS vegenaise/mayo
2 TBS butter/oil
provolone or mozzarella cheese

Slice and oil eggplant. Roast eggplant on both sides until light brown and bell pepper until charred on all sides. Remove vegetables from oven, peel skins off when cooled, core and remove seeds from bell pepper and cut it into strips. Saute mushrooms in oil and butter until soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. Pat any excess water from mushrooms. Depending on your preference, either roast garlic and then add it to mayo or crush fresh garlic and add it to mayo. Dress the bread with the garlic mayo and layer peppers, eggplant and mushrooms onto bread. Wrap sandwiches in plastic and place under a cutting board weighted down with canned goods. Let sit for two hours. (If you use vegenaise, you don't have to worry about the mayo going bad.) Unwrap sandwiches and add cheese. You can broil them open faced to melt cheese and then close them up to eat or microwave them. Yum! They are even better the next day. If the edges are a little soggy, just toast the sandwich on both sides under the broiler.