Next comes some creamy, buttery Brie cheese, topped with fresh strawberry slices, fresh basil, and smoked turkey.

Fresh Ripe Strawberries

Use really fresh, juicy strawberries, the kind you get at a local farm or farmers’ market. When heated in the Panini press, their flavors are really intensified and they almost taste like jam. The juices from the strawberries ooze out onto the warm brie. Fruit and Brie is always a wonderful combination, so you know you’re not going to go wrong with this sandwich.

With the bright red of the strawberries and the vibrant green of the basil, this sandwich is a beauty. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and savory and will brighten up any spring meal.

Recommended Equipment

Panini Press– this Cuisinart Grill and Panini Press is great for making sandwiches and for cooking chicken breasts.

I don’t share a whole lot of personal stuff on this blog, but I wanted to share an article about my sonthat was published in our local newspaper. He was diagnosed with Stage 3 Testicular Cancer last November. After 3 months of chemo and 2 surgeries (3 if you count the removal of his port), he has just gotten his life back to normal, including playing tennis.

Testicular Cancer is a very treatable cancer, but it is also a very fast growing cancer and it is very important to catch it early. My son’s had spread to his abdomen and lungs. The only symptom he had was a swollen testicle. He didn’t really think much of it and waited a number of weeks to tell us.

Testicular cancer is most common in men who are in their 20s and 30s. After Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer and went so public with it, the percentage of testicular cancer cases caught at an early stage increased. I worry now that he is no longer much of a public figure, awareness for testicular cancer will go down. Testicular cancer is a fairly rare cancer and there aren’t that many cases in teens, but please be sure your teenage sons know the symptoms. I know it was something that totally was not on my radar screen.