Caramelized Onion, Gruyère, and Sausage Panini

 I absolutely love panini's.  What's not to love?  Everything your taste buds desire is right there in front of you. For this panini I used Al Fresco Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage with pure maple syrup ,Finlandia Imported Swiss Cheese and Landsberg German Hot Mustard. I only made two panini's so I cut everything in half.
( If you don't have Apple Brandy, you can use concentrated apple juice instead).
This recipe can be seen on finecooking.com  and was submitted by Samantha Seneviratne.


Ingredients: 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (8 cups)
1/4 cup Calvados (apple brandy)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
4 cooked chicken sausages
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
4 oz. Gruyère, very thinly sliced
Eight 1/2-inch-thick slices of crusty, rustic bread

Instructions:
Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil and the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, 3 Tbs. of the Calvados, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden-brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. Calvados and the thyme and cook about 1 minute more.

Meanwhile, in another 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 Tbs. of the oil until hot. Add the sausages and cook until browned and heated through, 5 to 6 minutes. Cut in half lengthwise. Keep warm.

Heat a panini press. (Alternatively, heat a nonstick grill pan over medium heat.) Meanwhile, spread the mustard on the bread and assemble four sandwiches, distributing the onions, cheese, and sausage evenly among them.

Brush the outside of the sandwiches with the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Cook them in the panini press until browned and crisp, 3 to 6 minutes. (If using a grill pan, put a heavy pan on top of the sandwiches and cook, flipping the sandwiches once.) Serve immediately.