anyone use a sandwich maker?

[vacuumfreeeke]

I just got a T-fal Avante waffle iron/sandwich maker from Target for like 30 bucks. I mainly bought it because the waffle iron a friend gave me was missing 1 leg and it just wasn't easy to use... it kept falling over! I could have done some pretty funny skits all the times the silly thing tipped and waffle goop ran down the counter down to the floor. Or the time I got the "bright" idea to JB Weld some wooden spools on the bottom of the thing... worked great until they melted. I knew glue would met, but JB Weld... come on!

The new one actually makes decent waffles, though they are square and I like round ones better! There's no temperature control on it, but it still does fine... the best part is that the platens are removable and dishwasher safe!

The thing is that it comes with a sandwhich maker set of plates as well. I don't know what else to do besides make a grilled cheese! Can I use it to make stuffed french toast or anything fun like that? I remember my grandmother using one when I was a kid, but I don't remember what she used it for!

Any ideas/recipes?

http://www.cooking.com/products/shp.../www.niftykitchen.com/site/339522/page/790419

 

[aquarius1984]

Hahahaha

I bought a vintage Breville in Cardiff a few weeks ago and cant get enough "Toasties" as us Brits call them.

I will take some pix of mine and post them but here are a few ideas for you.

Use Puff pastry rolled out instead of bread, add filling of your choice and toast for 6-7 minutes for a pastry snack.

Tuna, Salmon and Dill and chicken in mustard mayo are my favourites ATM.
Also baked beans and smoked sausage is pretty darn good but let them cool before you eat or you will feel real pain!

Use a good variety of bread, took me a while to get out of using white bread as thats all we used when I was a child and I felt nothing else would be good.
Brown Malted makes excellent toasties especially where the bread crimps and it goes so crunchy!

Real better on the outsides of the sandwich please. So much nicer than that shite they call margarine or "I can believe it really is a shitty substitutute that tastes so foul" spread.

Use a vaiety of cheeses and spreads, smoked cheeses, different hams and sliced meats, even Charcuterie.

The list is endless.

Rob

Pics to follow as soon as I have had a shower and put some dinner on.

 

[petek]

I have a Breville Panini maker, a fancy term for sandwich maker LOL. Most "Panini" makers have ribbed plates but mine has the flat ones which is what I wanted. I really like it because it's sturdy built, has a good cord with a neat plug on the end for pulling out of the socket.. and best of all it has a lever on the side that lets you adjust the top plate from flat against the other to about 3 inches above so you can make open face melted sandwiches and grilled cheeses etc without squishing them.

 

[aquarius1984]

Breville

My grandmother has this model which now resides in their holiday home.

 

[aquarius1984]

Breville next to its modern cousin electronic toaster

 

[aquarius1984]

3,.. Nice bit of tasty cheddar

 

[aquarius1984]

dont spare the Lurpak

buttered on the outside and not the inside makes the best Toasty

 

[aquarius1984]

now SLAM THAT LID DOWN! FIGHT WITH IT TIL IT SHUTS!

Await 3 minutes!

 

[aquarius1984]

Golden brown, texture like sun

Done

 

[aquarius1984]

Trim the edges where the bread was too big for the plates and dish up.

Non stick, yet so hard to clean. has to be the worst gadget I have for cleaning.

 

[sudsmaster]

I plugged in a sandwich maker at Walmart and waited an hour.

Still don't have that sandwich.

What a rip.

 

[xraytech]

I have an older Dominion waffle maker with reversible plates that have a flat side, since it is a nice 10" square I like to grease the plates and make chicken quesidillas in it, I put some shredded chicken, diced onion, salsa, and cheddar cheese between two flour tortillas and press in the iron.
I also like to make grilled buffalo chicken sandwiches, for those I shred up some chicken breast and toss in some wing sauce and but on home made wheat bread with some tomatoe, dill pickle chips(sounds weird but really compliments the buffalo sauce) and sone finely sliced onion and lorainne swiss cheese and grill that. Of course you need to butter the outside of the sandwich or it will not brown well, I use oleo because that is what we were raised on so I prefer the taste of Blue Bonnet over real butter.
I also have the Rival Pizzelle Maker and Waffle Baker with Teflon II grids and I will use the pizzelle side of the plates in it if I want a pattern grilled on the toasted sandwich.
On both of my waffle irons there are tempature controls so on the one with flat plates you can also use it to grill fish or hamburgers and hot dogs. The possibilities are endless.

Sam

 

[petek]

Prefer marge over real butter? uggghhh
I'm old enough to remember the days when margarine was white and sold in plastic bags with an orange colored tablet in it. You had to squeeze the bag to dissolve the tablet and color the margarine orange. It was illegal to sell margarine the same color as butter way back when in many places.

 

[xraytech]

Yes Pete, I know it is odd that I prefer oleo over real butter, but since ther is such a price difference that is what my mother was raised with and it is whaty we always had. It was always Blue Bonnet and on occasion Imperial. Ebven now it is only oleo and when I buy it I buy 25-30 lbs of Blue Bonnet at 61 cents per pound.
Same goes wit that alot of people cringe that I prefer Miracle Whip over real mayo, but it is what we were raised with.

 

[mattl]

I'm with you on the Miracle Whip, but not the butter! Every few months butter is on sale for $1.50 lb and we all stock up. I usually pick up 10 to 12 pounds as do most of my cousins. Haven't touched oleo in a decade too many chemicals.

As to the sandwich maker, I've got the Cuisinart version and love it. It's a grill, panni maker and griddle with 2 sets of grates, ridged and smooth. I prefer my pancakes on a pan not a griddle so I don't use it for that, but it's great fro grilling chicken and steaks during the winter and the sandwiches I've made are excellent. The hinge allows it to accommodate thick items and remain flat on top of them. Worth the price.

 

[foraloysius]

Thanks for the inspiration, I will get mine from it's hiding place again. I have a Philips 3-in-1 waffle iron/sandwich maker/grill combo.

As for butter, I don't use it very often but when I use grass fed butter only. Yummie!

 

[foraloysius]

Oh, just wondering, has anyone ever made an Elvis sandwich in one instead of baking it in a frying pan in a lot of butter? I was thinking of making one but wondered if the banana wouldn't get too runny.

 

[petek]

Well for a BLT it has to be Miracle Whip or it's just not the same. It's really just mayo with sugar added I think.
Which reminds me I bought some Dutch Frit sauce a few weeks ago to try Louis. Here's a pic of it.. along with some vegetable spread for sandwiches made from eggplant or something. It's really good, from Slovakia or somewhere, great on deli type sandwiches.

 

[petek]

This is my Breville Panini maker. I've never made a panini on it yet LOL

 

[washerboy]

Apple turn overs

One of those co-workers you always preface anything about with "Bless their Heart"..does make this for our office several times a year..simple and a treat.

Butter 2 slices of bread
put on slice butter side down in the sandwich maker
spoon canned apple pie filling on top
place other slice of bread butter side up

close and let the sandwich maker do it's thing

end result is a apple turn over..they are fatting as hell I'm sure..some times my co-worker will dust them with powdered sugar.

 

[foraloysius]

Fritessaus

Pete,

Oh dear! You bought a bottle of water! LOL! Water is at the front of the list of ingredients. Still 25% oil in there though. It's meant for fries. We don't eat fries with ketchup but with mayonaise or fritessaus. Personally I prefer real mayo. The Calvé mayo is very creamy. I prefer the taste of Calvé mayonaise over Hellman's, good heavens the Hellman's is way too salt to my taste!

As for the spread, there must be more in there than egg plant, it is way too red. Bell peppers perhaps?

 

[petek]

I just looked at the list of ingredients and it is #1 water LOL. The rest just looks like mayo and sugar ingredients so it's a watered down mayo. It's not bad for a change but I prefer ketchup on fries over it.

That vegetable spread is listed as Peppers then eggplant then spices etc.. It really is good on italian type deli meat sandwiches on a good crusty bun with lettuce and tomatos etc.

 

[autowasherfreak]

I have a sandwich maker that I received as either a birthday or Christmas gift from a few years back. I've never used it, it's still in the box. I like the Xpress 101 that I see on TV once in a while, but don't think I will ever buy it.

 

[sdlee]

My fave recipie......

We had one that doubled as a hamburger maker too. Black,with ornage and avacodo green trimmings on it. Very 70s.

My fave sandwhich was a lyer of butter, couple layers of sliced cheese, a few more layers of your favorite meat, (roast beef or ham) about three pieces of already cooked bacon. Fold the maker over and heat until the chees is melted and all is nice and hot. Take it out and very lightly sprinkle some garlic salt on the outside of the toast. This was one of my favorite after school snacks....and I still make them but now I toast the toast in the toaster and throw it all together in the microwave. 2 seconds, its done.