With grilled sandwiches, the right equipment makes the difference

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Growing up in the Northern California town of Burlingame, if Mom and I were shopping downtown when hunger struck, we’d head to our favorite little cafe on the corner of Primrose and Burlingame Avenue and order the Towles Grilled Special.

This was an unlikely combination of diced tomato, sliced black olives, and chopped onion, bound together with a bit of mayonnaise and partnered up with cheddar cheese between two slices of white bread. Not so impressive on paper, you say. Yet, when that humble sandwich was heated on the griddle until the cheese was melted and mingling with its co-ingredients, and the bread had developed a rich and toasty exterior, it suddenly transformed into a startlingly delectable repast.

Such grilled sandwich experiences placed me on an enlightened path early in life and I’ve been seeking out equivalent culinary experiences ever since.

Of course, having the right equipment helps. While it’s true that a generously stacked grilled sandwich can be produced on a single cooking surface, with the help of a foil-wrapped brick teetering on the upper side of the sandwich, bringing steady weight from above to the project, it’s a tedious and imperfect maneuver. Which is where the electric panini press comes in.

But my complaint with the average panini press or two-sided electric griddle is that the cooking surface is too small. Most are designed to handle only two sandwiches at a time. So if you are trying to feed family and friends, grilled sandwiches come to the table in batches, producing multiple “Oh-Don’t-Wait-For-Us” moments.

Enter Cuisinart’s Griddler Elite. By panini press standards, its cooking surface is extravagantly large. Practically commercial kitchen appliance size, without the horrific price tag to go with it. The Griddler Elite can cook 4 full-size sandwiches at a time. With that feature alone, I would be sold on this appliance.

But one of its snazziest features is the dual temperature controls, meaning the upper and lower plates heat independently of each other from warm to 450 degrees. If you want a greater blast of heat coming from the top plate, with only moderate or low heat emanating from the lower plate, just set each dial accordingly. I also love that the nonstick (and removable, and dishwasher safe!) grill plates have two cooking surfaces to choose from: one side is a flat griddle surface, the other side is a classic grill surface, which produces lovely grill marks on sandwiches, meats, and vegetables. Plus, those two-sided plates can be changed in one swift and simple motion (just don’t forget to let them cool down first).

There’s still enough time to put this on your Christmas Wish list. But be forewarned: you better have been more nice than naughty this year, because the suggested retail price for this beauty is $199.95. Well worth it if your budget will allow such an extravagance and have the counter or storage space to keep it accessible for frequent use.

Towles Friday Special

Yields 4 servings.

This is the sandwich I grew up on, as I described above, the Towles Grilled Special.

1 cup diced tomato

1 (2¼ ounce) can chopped olives, well drained

1 heaping tablespoon each: minced parsley; minced onion

¼ cup mayonnaise

8 slices mild Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (actually, the Towle’s version is made with American cheese, so if that’s what you prefer, be my guest)

8 slices whole wheat or white bread

In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, parsley, and onions. Stir in enough of the mayonnaise to bind the mixture, but don’t make it too soupy.

Cut the slices of cheese to fit the bread. Layer each of 4 bread slices with 1 slice of cheese, 1/4 of the filling, and another slice of cheese. Top each of these with the final 4 slices of bread.

Place the sandwiches on a lightly buttered griddle or panini press. Spread some soft butter on the surface of the top piece of bread. Cook the sandwich either in the press until the cheeses melt and the bread is brown, or on a griddle, over medium heat , turning once when the bottom slice of bread is golden brown and the cheese is beginning to melt.

Remove sandwiches from heat, cut on the diagonal and serve immediately.