My first grilled cheese sandwich had two slices of margarine-soaked bread with a tiny bit of melted mystery orange cheese in the center. That’s public school lunches for you. Grilled cheese sandwiches made a weekly appearance on the lunch menu, and I was none too pleased. The idea of melty cheese in warm bread may sound pleasant, but not when the bread is slathered with generous coatings of margarine. Don’t slap on that buttery spread to mask the awful taste of plasticky American cheese! School lunches ruined it for me. When I first heard about a panini, I approached it with caution. Is this just another public school grilled cheese with a few extra bits inside? I’m so glad I was wrong. The panini is a classier grilled cheese sandwich: toasty bread (without all the margarine), melted cheese (not the mystery orange cheese), vegetables, and meat all in one bite. The griddle marks on the sandwich is just the icing on a cake. Colder weather = more paninis. The lovely people at Cuisinart sent me this Griddler Deluxe for me to try (*affiliate link). Panini time!!! One of the biggest problems I have when I’m making paninis on the stove top is that I have a hard time flipping them over. Do you have that same problem, too? I like to stuff my paninis with a lot of vegetables (of course), which always fall out of my sandwiches when I try to flip and grill the other side. The Griddler makes cooking paninis a lot easier because I could just cook both sides of the sandwich at the same time. Oh, and did I mention temperature control?? In the front, you’ll see two buttons labeled “upper sear” and “lower sear,” and it is set to sear your food to 500 degrees F for up to two minutes. There are also two knobs that allow you to control the temperature of both plates. When making the panini, I like the upper plate to be hotter than the lower plate because it helps melt the cheese much faster. Aside from paninis, I also grilled chicken, fish, and made some of the BEST pancakes on this mini grill. Let me just say that the Griddler, hands down, has been my favorite tool for making pancakes!I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of pancakes that look as brown as black coffee. I have burned so many batches of pancakes while cooking on my electric stovetop because I never know the temperature of the pan. On the Griddler, I set the lower plate (flat side up) to 375 degrees F, and magic—fluffy pancakes cooked to perfection. Remember these pancakes? Cooked on the Griddler! Ready to learn how to make this? Here’s some of the ingredient’s you’ll need: First, you’re going to make the butternut squash spread. There’ll be so much of this delicious spread leftover that you’ll want to use it to dip your chips, carrots, crackers . . . ANYTHING. Then, you’re going to assemble this sandwich and press it like nobody’s business. While we’re at it, why not make some delicious homemade tortilla chips on the side, too? Friends, this is seriously one of the best paninis I’ve ever made. Just LOOK AT IT! Perfectly crispy bread, generous amounts of melted cheese, and a punch of flavor from the butternut squash dip. Guess what I’m making for lunch later today . . . What’s your favorite panini combination?
