sharon moore recipes: Buffalo Chicken Pita Panini

Quick! Say pita panini 4 times fast.
Yeah I can't either... oh well. On to the food.

Since it's been so hot I've been relying on our Cuisinart griddler. You know the one that has both griddle and grill plates. Yep that one. It's literally been a lifesaver. Stan and I were both getting burnt out of take out. I mean don't get me wrong... Pizza and wings are my favorites. In fact I honestly think they should be their own food groups. But even I can only take so much. Back to the griddler. It's the best! It works for soooooooooo many recipes. Some of which I will be sharing with you.

I love buffalo wings and Stan LOVES buffalo wing sauce. So much so that we bring most food from restaurants home so he can add Frank's Hot Buffalo Sauce to it. He literally puts it on everything.

This recipe was created as something a little different for Stan to try. And for me to make on the griddler... a pita panini. Tell me you don't love that name! And since it's so hot I didn't feel like boiling chicken like I normally do so I bought a rotisserie roasted chicken and pulled all the meat off that. Who doesn't love a good juicy rotisserie chicken?

Buffalo Chicken Pita Panini
Serves 4

1 store bought rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off
1 bottle Frank's Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
2 tbsp. butter
1 large white onion, sliced into rings
2 tsp. sugar
4 6-inch pita/flat breads
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Pull chicken. Place into pan on low heat. Pour and stir as much buffalo wing sauce as your spicy taste-buds can handle. Let sit to warm thoroughly.

Heat butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Saute onions until soft, about 12 minutes. Stir in sugar and continue to saute until onions are caramelized, or another 10 minutes or so. Set aside.

If you haven't already turn panini grill on to medium high.

Microwave each pita for 15 seconds (do this to keep pitas from breaking). Assemble the sandwiches with the onions first. Cover caramelized onions with buffalo chicken. Sprinkle with blue cheese. I also added spinach to mine to help balance the heat. Stan of course wanted cheddar and tomatoes.