Obsession of the week~ Grilled Cheese

Everyday this week, I have had grilled cheese for lunch. Well, every day but Wednesday because my niece came to visit and I took her out for sushi. *Score*

Growing up, my mom made grilled cheese on the stove top, in a pan. She'd coat the pan in melted butter and the bread would get a beautiful golden brown and the cheese would be perfectly melty. When I've ever tried to make grilled cheese on the stove top, plop on the same butter, but somehow the bread would get burnt and the cheese would still be cold. Very disappointing. This frustration in my lack of culinary grilled cheese-ness, left me grilled cheese-less for many years.

Until recently. The invention of the George Foreman grill brought grilled cheese back into my life. But the George Foreman is made for meat, and it presses down and my grilled cheese would be flat as a pancake. Tasty, but deflated.

Then last year I bought Gordo a panini press for his birthday. It must have been our obsession with Panera Bread that made him want a panini press. Oh, and his obsession with the Cuban sandwich he gets every year in Miami. He quickly dubbed the panini press the greatest thing I ever did for him. No, not declaring my love for him, or saying "I do" or "Yes I'll bare your children". My $29.99 Target purchase of a panini press was my greatest accomplishment of our relationship, but it still flattened my grilled cheese.

Then one day, a month or so ago, the panini press died. It was a sad, sad day. But being the wonderful, caring, considerate and resourceful wife that I am, I remembered the gift card to Crate and Barrel we still had from our wedding over 2 years ago. And because I love my husband so, and wanted to keep his sandwich needs at the top of our relationship priorities, off to Crate and Barrel I went. $69.99 was the price tag on their only panini press. Thank goodness for whoever got us that gift card.

This is no ordinary panini press and that's where the grilled cheese comes in. This panini press has settings! You can melt! Or toast! Or press! This topped my first panini press purchase, and Gordo's love for me was once again restored! And my grilled cheese dilemma has been solved!

See how it's toasting, but not pressing down on the bread? It grills the bottom, then flip, then it grilled the other side. And by having the top down keeps everything warm and melty.

Look at the golden brown-ness. Its perfect. Golden on the outside, perfectly warm and melty on the inside. Yum.

And there you have it. The perfect lunch. My grilled cheese, my Parents magazine and my Snapple.

Yes, I like my grilled cheese with ketchup. I think that started years ago when I worked in a diner. It's tasty, try it! I mean, you'd have marinara with a mozzarella stick, right?

By the way, we are completely out of sliced cheese now. I have no idea what to have for lunch.

At some point I will try and post about something other than food, but really, that's where my mind's at. But really this was about the panini press, wasn't it?