My newest appliance

For Christmas, my sister Kelly got us a indoor grill. Kinda like a George Foreman grill, but bigger and nicer. Well, after having the thing take up space on my counter for the week after Christmas, I realized that I probably would never use the thing. I have a cast iron grill pan that I love and I just didn't think I would ever even take the grill thing out of the box. This theory was further supported when I cleaned out my pantry and actually found a George Foreman grill that I've never used. (The George Foreman went into the "donate" box for the next time the Blind or whoever comes by. See? I'm getting rid of stuff!)

So I lugged the thing back to the kitchen store at the mall where she bought it and exchanged it for this:

(It's a panini grill, if you didn't know.)

Tonight was our first visit to Planet Panini . I bought all the fixin's and made Reuben Sandwich paninis (because I love the ones from Haggens). First I slathered two pieces of rye bread with butter, then on the inside I smeared a little horseradish. Then I piled on the pastrami, which was of excellent quality (thank you Trader Joe's), some sauerkraut, thousand island dressing and some swiss cheese. The top went on and into the grill they went. It didn't take but about 4-5 minutes and our sandwiches were done. The outside was so crisp and golden brown and everything inside had gotten all toasty warm and melty. Hubby had taken his sandwich out to the living room to finish watching some show on TV and I kept hearing him say "Boy, this is good." Usually he wolfs down his food so fast I often wonder if he even tastes it so it was a treat to get positive feedback. And you know if he's stopping to comment during the devouring, it HAS to be good.

Already my mind is racing with the possibilities of what to panini next. The combinations are endless! I mean, think of all the kinds of bread that there are: different textures, different flavors, different crusts. Then there are the fillings: deli meats, cheeses, vegetables, spreads. A margherita panini? Fresh beefsteak tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, fresh basil. A pizza panini? Spicy pepperoni, olives, sauteed mushrooms, cheddar. A greek panini? Fresh basil, olives, feta, gyro meat. Oh holy night.

I daresay we're going to get a bit more use out of this panini grill than we would have the other one.