For this, the First Anniversary of the Steemit Culinary Challenge, the theme, chosen by our master guest judge @allasyummyfood is APPLES! What a perfect choice for this wonderful Fall weather.

I've already made some apple desserts this year, so to balance things out, I went a bit savory with the apple this week, and used it in several ways and forms to create an apple panini sandwich that I will model all future panini sandwiches after.

Like I mentioned, I tried to get our theme ingredient, the apple, into many parts of this meal. To start, I incorporated apple into the base of the sandwich by baking APPLE CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD.

Then, I stacked the sandwich with several fillings, including APPLE CIDER-CARAMELIZED ONIONS and slices of crisp and tart GRANNY SMITH APPLES.

To complement the apple theme, I added thick slices of a soft triple creme cheese, one of my favorites, Saint Andre. When the sandwich hit the grill pan, the cheese became melty on the sides and stayed creamy in the center. Yum!

To this tower of a sandwich, I also added baby kale, pomegranate seeds, and a drizzle of honey, all flavors that worked together to create a sum total of an awesome panini.

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Apple cinnamon swirl bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c apple cider
• 2 1/4 t yeast
• 2 c all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 T cinnamon
• 2/3 c raisins
• 2/3 c walnuts
• 1/2 c rolled oats

• 2/3 c unsweetened applesauce (I used applesauce that I made and canned a couple of weeks ago by simmering peeled, sliced apples with cinnamon - I'll post on this soon!)
• 2 T honey
• 1 t cinnamon

Directions

• combine the yeast and apple cider in a small bowl
• in a separate large bowl, combine the flours, salt, cinnamon, and oats
• once the yeast and cider is bubbly, stir it into the flour mixture until combined
• knead the dough for roughly 5-7 minutes, until smooth and tacky but not sticky. Add flour or water as needed to adjust moisture.
• allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes, and then incorporate the raisins into the dough.
• I decided at the last minute to add walnuts as well, so incorporate nuts at this point if you want an extra crunch to your bread.

• Allow to rise on the counter, covered with a cloth or upside down bowl, for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• combine the applesauce, cinnamon, and honey mixture
• Once the dough has risen, roll it out to a large rectangle, and spread the applesauce mixture on the flattened rectangle.
• Roll the dough (like a cinnamon roll)
• Cut the roll the long way to expose the layers and applesauce swirls (NOT like cinnamon rolls!)
• Just twist up the two pieces and plop it into a greased loaf pan.
• Bake for about 60 minutes at 350F.

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Apple cider caramelized onions

Ingredients

• 1 white onion, sliced into rings
• 1/2 c apple cider
• 1 t olive oil

Directions

• Start by browning the onions in olive oil over medium-low heat.
• Stir them fairly often to prevent them from burning and sticking.
• Once the onions are softened all the way through, add the cider to the pan and continue to cook until the cider has thickened and is caramelized.

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Putting it together!

Ingredients

• apple cinnamon swirl bread, sliced
• 2 slices of saint andre triple creme cheese, cut to about 1/3 inch thick
• thinly sliced granny smith apple
• baby kale
• caramelized onions
• pomegranate seeds
• honey

Assemble!

Once you're ready, carefully transfer your sandwich to a grill pan set to medium-low. Because the bread contains sugar from the apple cider and applesauce, it will burn if the heat is too high. Low and slow for this one!

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This sandwich is not dainty by any means, but what it lacks in clean lines is made up for by the combination of flavors and textures - A perfect brunch sandwich panini!

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A big thanks to goes our host @woman-onthe-wing for bringing this uplifting and engaging challenge to the community, as well as our worthy guest judge @allasyummyfood, and our generous sponsors @gringalicious and @sirwinchester. This awesome challenge wouldn't be possible without all of your support!

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All content and images by @jaymorebeet, taken on October 20, 2017 with a Canon 7D Mark II.