Can you make a grilled cheese sandwich in the toaster? Yes, yes, you can! My son and I were watching Food Network’s The Kitchen on a recent weekend, and it was their “Cheese, Please!” episode. I’m a huge cheese lover, although my son has parameters for fromage: on pizza, in grilled cheese sandwich form, and as queso. We were both spellbound when one of the products in the “Try or Deny” bit of the show was toaster bags to make grilled cheese sandwiches. It looked so easy on t.v. that we just had to try them. I logged onto Amazon, and found a “lightning deal” on ekSel Toaster Bags, three for $5.99. Sold!
Last night my son and I eagerly set out to make grilled cheese in our toaster. It’s easy enough to make it on the stove top, but I was hoping that these bags would allow my second grade kiddo to make his own, with minimal supervision.
We elected to lightly butter the outside of the bread, and use only one slice of American cheese. I’m sure you could use mayonnaise instead, if you subscribe to the belief that mayo makes a better grilled sandwich crust. The delicate part of the process is inserting the buttered sandwich into the bag. You are going to have buttery fingers, for sure.
I wasn’t certain our extremely basic toaster would have wide enough slots for a full sandwich, but I managed to slide it in, with a bit of a push. It wasn’t too tight, but it was snug. A bit of the top was sticking out of the toaster, but it didn’t make any difference in the long run.
Yes, my toaster has seen some use. Don’t judge me. I’m sure yours is just as dirty.
The little “tabs” at the top of the envelope make it easier to remove the hot, toasted sandwich. Here’s a peek at the finished, but still too hot to slide out, grilled cheese.
Plated, and sliced. Looks good, smells great!
The judge was tough. He wanted a crisply toasted exterior, soft and melty interior.
In the end, we deemed the grilled cheese toaster bags a complete success.
My son will still need a reminder that the sandwich will be very hot when he takes it out of the toaster, but who hasn’t lightly burned a finger snagging toast before? I’m deeming any toasted fingertips part of the learning experience of cooking for oneself.
The bags are easy to clean. I washed ours by hand, turning them inside out to get to the little bit of melted cheese in the bottom of the bag. I’m already thinking about grilled cheese with thinly sliced smoked turkey, and experimenting with different bread. The directions are vague, only saying to toast the sandwich at your toaster’s midway point. Thicker sandwiches, and heavier breads may need some trial and error on toasting time, and dial settings.
