Yer doin' it wrong

[susandennis]

All my life, I've made grilled sandwiches - mainly grilled cheese and grilled peanut butter- the way my mother taught me. The WRONG WAY!!

I actually don't have them often because they are such a PIA. And only in Summer when the butter is soft enough to spread easily. But, in the summer who wants a hot sandwich??

My Mom always buttered one side of the bread and then, holding it precariously on her fingertips, built the other side - spread mayo or peanut butter or whatever while not getting the butter on her and then put it in the pan and then did the other slice the same way and topped it. Cooked one side, flipped cooked the other. Big mess.

Then I saw the first 15 minutes of the first episode of Girl Meets Farm.

She put the butter in the pan and melted it. And then put bread on top of the butter and 'toasted it', THEN she took the bread out of the pan, toasted side up, built her sandwich easy peasy - no balancing on fingers, no butter everywhere - spread what you want, add what you want, then put one toasted side on top of the other and back into the pan to do the other sides.

It make so much sense and make grilled sandwiches so easy! I've had about one or more a week since I made this discovery. Thankgod I didn't die first.

I'm guessing, if only by the nonchalant way she did this, that she did not invent the technique. Probably everyone in the world, except my mother (and her mother) has made grilled sandwiches this same way for centuries.

But, now I'm a member of your club and I'm delighted.

Comments

[spacefem.livejournal.com]

YAY I'm doing it right!

Except break down again for me how each piece of bread gets evenly buttered and toasted? Because that is a struggle. I put butter in a pan then put my sandwich in it, but then when it's time to flip the sandwich the bottom bread has soaked up the butter, so do I put more butter in the pan and let it melt?

I've done it another way, putting two pieces of bread in a buttered pan, let them dual it out for a bit, then make a sandwich on top of one and top it with one piece of bread that's got some butter in it, and it waits its turn to get toasted...

anyway I debate this a lot, crisis of life!

this is complicated, shoot we need diagrams!

[susandennis]

I didn't do a good job - I do need diagrams! Let see if I can step it out.

1. butter melted in pan
2. 2 slices into pan side by side w/ Side 1 and on the butter - toasting.
3. bread out of pan onto plate Side 2 on the plate side - now toasted Side 1 facing up
4. add innards to the now toasted side - Side 1.
5. slap Side 1 of piece 1 onto Side 1 of piece 2 with all the goodies in between
6. move constructed sandwich to re-buttered pan and grill Side 2
7. flop and grill other Side 2

EAT! That better?

[siglinde99.livejournal.com]

I make mine by assembling the sandwich, then buttering one side. I put it in the warm pan butter side down, and slap the last bit of butter on the slice on top. No messy fingers, but I do need to work quickly.

[susandennis]

I've tried that method and it just doesn't work for me. I like the inside of the bread toasted, too BUT the bigger issue is buttering the top - if the butter's not soft, it does not work plus even with soft butter, it's tricky. And the working fast is imperative!

[siglinde99.livejournal.com]

Toasted inside is a fundamental difference. I like mine super melty.

[meowmensteen]

I have a system where I butter both pieces of bread, and then put the two butter sides together while I put the filling in the sandwich. So rather than setting the butter side on the counter, I'm just setting it on the butter side of the top piece. This works well for me when I'm doing multiple sandwiches.

[susandennis]

interesting

[christopher575.livejournal.com]

I've been dying for a new cooking show to watch, thanks for mentioning this!

[susandennis]

She's got some unique ideas - Asian/Jewish/Minnesotan... Season 1 is in the can, Season 2 starts this week or next. Sadly, I no longer get the Food Network. So you will need to watch for both of us, k?

[christopher575.livejournal.com]

Watching her make that sandwich right now!

[susandennis]

:)

[eventidereverie.livejournal.com]

My mother made them the way your mother did. I made them that way up until last year sometime when I read a recipe that had them constructed almost as you described except the insides of the bread were not toasted. I must try them this way now.

[sweetmeow]

This is my method of making toasted cheese sandwiches:
1. Butter one side of two slices of bread.
2. Place 1 slice of bread, butter side down, on unheated griddle
3. Make sandwich -- cheese, ham, and whatever else.
4. Put second slice of bread on top, butter side facing up.
5. Turn on griddle and toast the first side to golden color.
6 . Turn sandwich over to do other side. (second side goes a lot faster!)

I don't like butter inside of the sandwich (where I put the cheese, ham, etc.). It just goes outside where it's toasted.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I do it this way, except I put the the first buttered slice in the pan to cook, then build the sandwich on the dry side while it’s toasting. Then I top with the second slice, butter-side up, flip, and finish cooking.

[sweetmeow]

Your way is faster! 🙂

[carriea31.livejournal.com]

I have never even thought to make a grilled peanut butter sandwich.  What else do you put in it...just peanut butter,  or jelly too? Or honey?

[susandennis]

Oh honey might be good but nope. Ours are just peanut butter grilled in butter. They were in rotation with regular peanut butter and jelly when we were kids. My Mom might have invented them.

[atlantisburning.livejournal.com]

I put out two pieces of bread side by side. Butter and mayo both sides facing up. Flip one buttered side down onto the other buttered side, put on my cheeses or whatever other ingredients, remove that top piece that's butter side down, put that in the hot pan, then take the butter side up piece, and place that on top of the cheese.

I've thrown butter in the pan first, but with already buttered bread, and it gives it such a wonderful fried quality.

[meathiel]

Grilled sandwiches definitely isn't a German thing and I've never made one!

[amw.livejournal.com]

I was completely bowled over when I started dating a Canadian and she made grilled cheese for me in the frying pan. I'd never seen anyone do it that way before.

Growing up we ate grilled cheese all the time, but it was literally made under the grill, i.e. the heating element on the top half of the oven. I think in America it might be called a broiler?

Anyway, you slap some bread in the oven, let it go for a couple minutes, flip the bread over and put cheese, let it go for a couple more, done. (Add tomato as needed.) It's an open sandwich, and butter was never, ever a thing. American-style closed sandwich grilled cheese with butter on the outside tastes much too oily to me.

I guess it's one of those cultural markers, like boiling water on the stove instead of in an electric jug.

[amw.livejournal.com]

Ah, I just found it on Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_on_toast I guess this is British style.

[maju01.livejournal.com]

It's also Australian style.

[susandennis]

ha yes... toasted cheese (also toasted peanut butter) is a different thing but also very delicious.

[maju01.livejournal.com]

I don't bother with butter. I put cheese plus, sometimes, Vegemite, between two slices of bread and put them in the toaster oven until the bread is browned on both sides and the cheese is starting to ooze out of the middle. This might not actually be a grilled cheese sandwich but that's what we call it.

My other method is to just use a jaffle maker, apparently also known as a pie iron: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_iron. With this you put one slice of bread, buttered on the outside or not, into the jaffle maker, add your fillings, then add the other slice of bread also buttered on the outside on top of the fillings, close the jaffle maker and cook for a few minutes.

[zippybeta.livejournal.com]

Here is another idea and you won't have to wash your pan https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/2-pack-grilled-cheese-toastabags/1041080757?skuId=41080757&&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenfoodprep_online&product_id=41080757&adtype=pla&product_channel=online&adpos=1o5&creative=224484706035&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&mrkgadid=3245665804&mrkgcl=609&rkg_id=0&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw5_fBRCSARIsAGodhk8vPhBXi0TQguvA2DubCeLvWIONxHchBiTMRGdhq3vR7kxJsmPxF4caAs7qEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[susandennis]

I actually tried those one time. Probably operator error but it was a giant total mess - not even worth trying to eat!

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

lol!

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

i'm so glad you discovered the easy-peasy way of making grilled sandwiches. =D