Pannini Press


 

Thom H.

TVWBB Member
My wife thinks I need a pannini press to make sandwiches. I think it would be a "storage nightmare" to have another seldom used appliance. So, I'm thinking one of these things will show up for Father's Day, she's been keeping the Williams-Sonoma catalog close to her chair.

My question: Do any of you have one? Do you use it and like it? what kind of bread do you use to make your sandwiches?

T.
 
Alton Brown, I believe, suggests using a heated cast iron skillet on top. Might be cheaper and use less cabinet space than a rarely-used electrical device.
 
George, you destroyed me with your comment!!! I always thought that a pannini press ranked right up there with the salad shooter!!! I have a small Foreman grill that was a present that works great as a pannini press but it would be easier to store a brick.

Ben
 
I have a brick that I wrap in foil.

You can use Italian, French, Ciabatta, etc.

One of my favorite's is a "Cuban", smoked or roasted pork (or chicken) topped with ham, then some meunster, or swiss, pickles, sprinkle of BBQ seasoning, and mayo.
 
I use AB’s method all the time and it works great.
Heat 2 CI skillets (one that will fit inside the other) on high for about 5 min while you make the sammie. Turn off heat, Spray outside of sammie with EVOO and inside of one CI and outside bottom of the other, insert sammie between the 2 and wait a few min until done….
 
Yeah, I wouldn't clutter up my kitchen storage with another seldom used appliance. Foiled bricks are great mutli-taskers, ie, sandwich press, bacon press, garlic smasher, home burglar head smasher, etc...
icon_smile.gif
 
Originally posted by Stu M.:
One of my favorite's is a "Cuban", smoked or roasted pork (or chicken) topped with ham, then some meunster, or swiss, pickles, sprinkle of BBQ seasoning, and mayo.

Stu,

We just made "Cuban's" the other night....we use mustard rather than mayo, and the "secret ingredient" we finally figured out that was used by our favorite Cuban place when we lived in FL...try putting just a very thin "schmear" of braunschweiger on it
icon_smile.gif
We just use the cheapie Oscar Mayer tube stuff you can get anywhere....yummm !!!

FWIW, we use the 2 skillet method, too....I have a basement full of one-trick ponies already...

Dean...
 
Dean, that's funny.....a cross-cultural Cuban. I love braunschweiger. Maybe I can make a "German" with braunschweiger and a secret ingredient of a "schmear" or ground roast pork and roasted peppers.
icon_wink.gif


Actually, I like braunschweiger and green pepper sandwiches, so I'm partway there already!
icon_biggrin.gif


Rita
 
braunschweiger
Even after living in Germany for 2 years, I had to look this up.. Never heard of it.
4.gif
but now, knowing what it is (I love liverwurst), this has peaked my interest.
icon_smile.gif
How is this pronounced? With an ? or ? ?

Bill
 
Rita,

Well, ya gotta remember....FL was a "diverse" State long before the word "diversity" was even invented
icon_smile.gif
I never loved boiled peanuts or good "Southern" Q until I went "home" with a college friend to his parent's place in the Panhandle...

My wife (Scottish descent) likes thick slices on toast, with raw onion slices....

I think we'll stick with the "Cuban" version....much easier than making a schmear of ground pork and roasted peppers
icon_biggrin.gif


Bill : I didn't want to say "liver sausage" to avoid turning people off
icon_biggrin.gif
Anytime I see the word "liver", I move on (unless it's chicken livers wrapped in bacon, or turkey "giblets" in my Thanksgiving gravy) You should've seen me, typing my post with the tube in front of my keyboard, so I got the spelling correct....

No idea of the correct pronounciation ! From my high school German, I'd guess it's a long i....as a person of Norwegian descent <insert your own joke here>, we called it "brawn-schw-AH-ger"....I'll leave it to someone else to get you the definitive answer
icon_biggrin.gif


Dean...
 
Sorry Dean .. Didn't mean to spoil your party.
icon_wink.gif
Love the Norwegian pronounciation. LOL But, HEY !!! Everyone's from somewhere.
icon_smile.gif
I'm Scottish and Dutch (born in Holland) and my wife is German and .. uummm .. well, a mix.
icon_biggrin.gif


Love the thread! Thanks for your input!!
icon_cool.gif


Bill
 
Dean has it pretty close (IMO). Bill, my German parents always pronounced it "BROWN'-shhhhv"eye"-ger (with a V). "Braun" in German is pronounced "brown." I called my Braun coffee grinder "Brown" for the longest time before it was suggested that I use the English pronunciation.

Rita
 
Nope, I have to disagree with the brick fans here.

We got a Pannini press as a gift a few years ago, and we use it frequently. (And I'm not a big fan of unitaskers either)

But it's not really a unitasker, it's a safe way for the kids to make grilled cheese or grilled PBJs, we make more sophisticated sandwiches, and you can also quickly grill a flattened chicken breast or a piece of fish.

The thing is, the good ones are heavy, heat up fast, and are easy to clean up.

Much, much, much better than any of the homemade substitutes.

I never thought I'd want or need one, but now it's irreplaceable.
 
I won one of those little George Forman grills at a party last year and it works perfect and easy to store as well.
 

 

Back
Top