Making do.
Are you wondering what that is? That, my friends, is my panini grill. 😉 I know, it's not really a looker, but it does the job. My fellow blogger Katy's slogan is, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.", so I know she would be very proud of me for this.
My mom gave me a pan with grill-like ridges on it(someone else had given it to her), which I thought would be great for panini. Really, though, panini sandwiches are supposed to be squished. (that IS the official term for it, right??), and my griddle pan had nothing with which to squish the sandwiches. However, I remembered that I had a small, but very heavy cast iron skillet, and it occurred to me that it could be used as a squisher(another official term).
I do it like this:
And my not-so-much-a-looker panini grill turns out very respectable looking sandwiches.
I could save up and buy a panini grill, but I already have a workable solution that required no cash out-put. Plus if I got a grill, I'd have to find a place to store the thing in my not-so-spacious kitchen.
I think I'll stick with this.
I must say it's refreshing to see a proper panini in N. America!! We live in Ireland and yours bears the looks of the ones in the shops! Well done! =)
I love eating panini's. I think the squished togetherness adds to the fun. That and the warmth!! Yummy!
I love this!
I've been keeping an eye out for a cast iron grill pan. I saw one once in a thrift shop and stupidly didn't buy it. I did give one to my father-in-law a few years back for an Xmas present. (Pre-Compact.)
I have a George Foreman grill I received as a gift, but it doesn't have the proper "squish" factor.
I think I may need to revamp the search.
-Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
P.S. That cast iron pan look pristine. Do you not use it?
http://thenonconsumeradvocate.wordpress.com
Ok so I stumbled upon this site in my search for how to use my George Formena to satisfy my panini cravings. You can use the Foreman to get the squish, just set something relatively weighty on it, I used a bag of sugar and my ham-peperonni-egg panini came out wonderful! Bliss!
Well, I haven't been able to use it recently, because this house and my last house have had flat-top ranges. You're not really supposed to use cast-iron cookware on that type of stove, as it can scratch the stove.
So, I suppose my make-shift panini plan is extra good, because I'm putting something to use that would go unused otherwise. 😉
Do you turn the sandwich to get the beautiful toasted ridges on both sides?
this is a WONDERFUL IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so glad it was menitoned above that you are not supposed to cook with cast iron skillets on glass stove tops. I am trying to use my skillets more and have been wanting a glass top stove!! Guess I better decided which I want to stay with!!! lol
Oh my that looks great! Care to share the recipe for this one? 🙂
I have a glass top stove and on a rare occasion, I've been known to cook with my castiron. In fact, my hubby bought me a castiron grill pan for Christmas. I just make sure that I don't scoot it any.
Thanks for the awesome idea!
I've used a brick wrapped in aluminum foil for a panini press--works great, especially on camping trips. My Foreman grill ("The Forminator" as my husband calls it) works OK too for panini as long as I hold firmly down the top for about a minute or so at the beginning.
Hi,
this made me want to share what we do on our camping trips. We make "moutain pies", as my husband calls them.
We have an old pampered chef crimper and we take two slices of wheat bread, put canned blueberries/apples or whatever you like in between the two slices of bread. We crimp them together, cut off the excess bread. Butter our small cast iron pan and put it over the camp fire. Cook our pie til hot, and enjoy!