My husband surprised me with a new panini grill last Friday evening! We've had electric sandwich makers in the past meant as a substitute for cast iron sandwich makers for use on a campfire. They electrical sandwich makers were inexpensive ones that did not last well. After the last one went I decided to go back to my trusty fry pans. From time to time I mentioned getting a panini press but never acted on it because the beds on most models were family sized not couple sized. Well apparently this one was on sale that met what I wanted so he bought it.
A panini grill differs from a regular sandwich maker in several ways. There are no pre-determined compartments to limit the resulting sandwich. A floating hinge allows you to grill thicker sandwiches. The lid is quite heavy to give different results that a regular sandwich maker, more of a pressing action. A panini grill gives beautiful, distinctive grill marks on the outside of the sandwich without the use of butter reducing fat content. It also presses the sandwich more than a sandwich maker would.
This panini press (grill) is made by Toastess International. It has a smaller bed size for making two sandwiches at a time rather than four just perfect for two people. Watch for a lot of great sandwiches coming from my new panini grill. Here's one to get your mouth watering.
The first panini sandwiches to come out of the panini grill were the classic turkey and ham with Swiss cheese panini. Notice the deeper grill marks from the press. To make a panini sandwich all you have to do is put the filling between two slices of bread and pop it onto the panini grill. There is no need to butter the outsides of the sandwich. Now that doesn't sound like a lot but if an average grilled sandwich used 1 tbsp of butter on the outside, using a panini grill eliminates 1 tbsp of butter right off the bat! The end result is a sandwich that is hot a juicy on the inside without all the extra fat on the outside. It is a very different result than that of a sandwich maker.
I love Panini's and that grill press looks great.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted a grill press. I don't have enough counter space or storage space to justify it. I don't think I would use it that much, but they sure do look yummy.
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