best toasted/grilled sandwiches

[pistolabella]

My favorites are...

Bacon, swiss, tomato, and spinach, or

Double creme gouda and granny smith apples on grilled sourdough.

I also like almond butter & honey grilled on pumpkin bread. yum.

[judiu]

Grilled swiss, bacon and tomato on rye. Damn, now I'm hungry! Onion Rye is even better if you can find it!

[phong]

Grilled pastrami Reuben with chopped liver.

Best when it's my housemade pastrami, chopped liver, and Russian dressing, but Kenny & Zuke's in Portland is a pretty close second.

[Kerry Beal]

Croque monsieur. Some quality ham, dijon, a white sauce with lots of gruyere. Quick broil and it's ready to go.

Now - what is a cubano?

[judiu]

Croque monsieur.  Some quality ham, dijon, a white sauce with lots of gruyere.  Quick broil and it's ready to go.

Now - what is a cubano?

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A cubano is a sandwich featuring the following: a lovely loaf of cuban bread about a foot long which is sliced lengthways and after being spread with mayo and mustard, is filled with roast pork, swiss cheese, ham and pickle slices. It is then mashed flat in a "plancha" which is like a pannini press, but with flat plates, not ridged. Sometimes the crust of the bread is spread with a little butter, and it's toasted until crunchy and the cheese has softened and melted a bit. Food of the Gods! Put the same stuff in a somewhat smaller, slightly sweet egg roll, and it's called a Medianoche (Midnight) sandwich. Even yummier, to my taste!

[Dave Hatfield]

A slice of baguette cut crossways, then a smear of Dijon mustard, a thick slice of garlic sausage and a slice of cheese (cheddar, cantal or like) on top, a sprinkle of herbs de Provence over, then under the grill until the cheese melts.

Delicious!

[newbie]

For a quick lunch, one of my favourites is a regular ol' grilled cheese sandwich that has nothing more than a couple of buttered slices of bread and a slice of cheddar. That ooey gooey cheese is the ultimate comfort food.

If I am looking for something a bit more gourmet though, one of my favorites to date is the Prosciutto, Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil Panini from epicurious, which I grilled on the barbecue. It is D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!!

[LizD518]

I work in a cafe that sells pre-made sandwiches that are wrapped and kept in a cold case. Thanksfully we have a panini and will grill anyone's sandwich for them. I have found that nearly any sandwich benefits from at least a light toasting as it wakes up the flavors. Yesterday, I had a chicken salad on croissant that was grilled and it was great.

My favorite is when I get an Italian sub (with mayo, not oil - sacrilage!) and have that toasted1 The bread is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the peppers and the meats are all juicy and it is so delicious!

[Lior]

My sons (22 and 20) love half baguettes, spread with ketchup on one side, thousand island on the other, filled with cheese, olives, mushrooms, peppers, onions and a few french fries, put in the toaster that has a lid you bring down to grill and squash it all quite flat till the stuff oozes out. Then they eat it while dipping in more thousand island!!! Not my cupa tea!!! But they loooove it!!!

[Jaymes]

A well made Reuben is one of the all time great sandwiches. The bread should be well grilled and crispy.  I usually start both sides of the bread down with have the makings on each than flip them together for a final bit of grill time on each side to let thinks meld to gether.

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I could not agree more, with both the assessment of the Reuben, and with the production technique. In addition, I prefer to give the bread a generous dose of melted butter on the outside, and to start on a cold griddle over a medium-low flame. This seems to result in the best texture: shatteringly crisp exterior, and warmed through but still soft interior. I heat the sauerkraut separately to keep it from making the bread soggy.

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Right. But about the sauerkraut... To me, the best Reuben has to be grilled intact, so that the cheese melts into the sauerkraut and the entire sandwich seals itself together. Heating parts separately wouldn't achieve that.

But my sauerkraut never gets my bread soggy because I take out the appropriate amount, pile it onto a paper towel in a mound the approximate size of the bread, put more paper towels on top, and then squeeze the water out with either a rolling pin or handy bottle until it's dry.

No more soggy bread, but the Reuben comes out sealed together and crunchy.

Just how I like it.

[chappie]

Just wanted to note that "shatteringly" has become one of my favorite modifiers.

[chardan]

I've been playing with grilled cheese sandwiches lately, and I got to thinking "Hey! Nobody said that grilled cheese sandwiches had to be vegetarian!". So, I've been using duck or goose fat instead of butter: Major win. Renders the bread just amazingly crispy on the outside, without getting greasy.

I'm still playing with the cheese, but lately I've been fixated on raclette

with a paper-thin layer of Dijon and a little salt and pepper.

(Dang, now I'm hungry!!)

_ Jesse Williamson ;-};

[Margaret Pilgrim]

One I recently enjoyed at a sandwich shop was ciabatta smeared thickly with green olive tapinade, layered with sauteed zucchini and fresh chevre. Amazing combination. Thanks for reviving the happy memory.

[jaymer]

mmm this is all so inspiring.

ok - next question, HOW do you make your sandwich grilled/toasted? i always get a pan hot, butter one side of each piece of bread, fill in the sandwich between the unbuttered sides and then put the whole sandwich in the pan until it's brown and kind of crispy.

i know some people toast the bread before, some people grill it then fill it, etc. you?

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spread Mayo on bread instead of butter.

make sandwich exactly as you described.

much yummier - and easier to spread.

jaymer...

[emmalish]

Right.  But about the sauerkraut...  To me, the best Reuben has to be grilled intact, so that the cheese melts into the sauerkraut and the entire sandwich seals itself together.  Heating parts separately wouldn't achieve that.

But my sauerkraut never gets my bread soggy because I take out the appropriate amount, pile it onto a paper towel in a mound the approximate size of the bread, put more paper towels on top, and then squeeze the water out with either a rolling pin or handy bottle until it's dry.

No more soggy bread, but the Reuben comes out sealed together and crunchy.

Just how I like it.

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Brilliant! I'm going to have to try that...

[GordonCooks]

Ciabatta wiped with garlic paste on one side and anchovy paste on the other stuffed with Smithfield ham, soppressata, artichokes, kalamata olives, mozz, fontina, arugula, extra virgin Olive oil drizzle, and some balsamic onion jam. Watch the amount of olives and Anchovy paste and I usually bypass the hard cheese. This sammy can become overly salty very easily.