Breville BGR200XL Variable Temperature Panini Grill

I got a big-daddy gift certificate from my sweet brother for my wedding gift from Williams Sonoma so I had my choice of any kitchen gadget I didn't currently have. I have owned a panini press in the past and wound up giving it away. It was bulky and just didn't cook like a professional panini press offering perfectly crisped edges and a flawlessly hot inside.

I had heard rave reviews of this press and I could not agree more. Yes, some out there opt for "marketability" over quality. What do I mean? With removable plates you simply are not going to get as quality of a cooking surface. Because you have to cover the hot elements underneath and then put the removable plates on top of that so that no one gets burned. By doing this, you lessen the heating ability and true wattage of the cooking sheets that touch the sandwiches or meat and you simply cannot get a true quality sear when you use it as a grill nor a perfect crisp when you use it as a press. Why should this not result in inconvenience? As a chef, I happen to know that a perfectly seasoned non-stick pan is not one that is put through the dishwasher. A perfectly seasoned cooking stone looks horrible and black. A good seasoning has nothing to do with spices. It means you build up the surface over time. This doesn't mean bacteria as a home chef may be prone to thinking in it needing to run through the dishwasher. Because when you cook with it each time it burns off that part of what is left behind and the particles simply result in this perfect non-stick surface where food slides right off. So no, for those reasons and from owning one of the panini presses in the past where you remove the plates meaning you actually have a double plated surface that can never properly sear meats, get seaoned, or perfectly crisp a sandwich, this one was made for the chefs, or anyone else who reads Bon Appetit and "gets it". LOL

I don't eat meat and my husband does but this pleases us both. You can set it to sear and lock in the juices of a steak and then cook it perfectly with beautiful grill marks or you can stuff some country slices of bread with vegetarian sandwich fixings, or mozzarella and basil and pasta sauce and eggplant or make perfect breakfast egg sandwiches or use your leftover turkey and dressing as I did for him after Thanksgiving for the world's best paninis. Not like the home paninis you may come across with some brands, but more like the kind you would order at a French cafe.

I highly suggest the book "200 best panini recipes" to go with it; you only brush the surface of what all you can do in sandwich ideas until you explore the thick cookbook. You could go almost a year making a panini a day and still feel like you have unlimited varieties. Plus I have found they spur ideas for other things. Your recipes will just keep flowing...and use new sauces and spreads to keep them interesting like cranberry chutney with turkey and cheese or roasted garlic mayo on a burger with sauteed onions and smoked cheese, chipotle mayo on portobello mushroom with caramelized onions, ( I just mix some chipotle in adobo in a blender to taste with mayo to make that.) roast beef with thousand island dressing on pumpernickle with kraut, jalapeno mayo with beef and cheddar...you get the idea. Sure it makes a wicked 3 cheese grilled cheese but you mix up a few ingredients and you wind up biting into gourmet good enough that you could serve it with a simple soup for guests and still get wows.

For best results, put your sandwiches or meats in the back part. Any extra sandwiches or meats go in front of that. It has the perfect weight to crisp them and make your cheese gooey yet leave the bread crusts perfectly pannini.

What else does it offer you might not see elsewhere? Some have a flat plate on the bottom saying you can cook pancakes. Bypass it. That won't make good panninis or offer a good grill. Why? You need the double waffle for a perfect panini and you need a slant to be able to have the fat of your meats run off. None of which you can get on one made to double as a pancake maker.

This one also has variable temps and variable thickness for what you are cooking should you wish to stack a burger high and not have all the ingredients totally squeeze out and so you can cook whatever you wish perfectly.

This is the one for picky chefs. Trust me, after a few uses you barely need to wipe it. It is seasoned perfectly with just a light wipe each time.

Some ideas you may not have thought of for dinner:

Roast beef panini with olive tapenade

flank steak, bacon, and tomato panini

steak, bacon, and blue cheese panini

turkey, avocado and spinach panini

roasted turkey, pear, and brie panini

shrimp, spainach and gouda panini

blackened tilapia with jalapeno mayo panini

fried catfish panini

tuna and swiss panini

refried bean and avocado tortillas cooked in panini press

stir fried mushroom and mozzarella panini

greek veggie with hummus panini on pita

goat cheese and sundried tomato panini

sundried tomato, basil pesto and parm panini on sourdough

spinach, goat cheese and sundried tomato panini

spinach, pear, walnut with pesto

crispy onion, barbecue steak with chipotle bbq sauce on hoagie buns panini

pot roast and horseradish mayo panini

French dip panini with au jus dipping sauce

fried bologna, american cheese and arugala panini

salami, prosciutto, and roasted red pepper panini

salami, mozzarella and fontini panini

summer sausage and pepper jack panini

pepperoni and mozzarella panini on ciabatta rolls with oregano and romano

ham, turkey, avocado and alfalfa sprout panini

classic club panini

You get the idea!

I bought this as a new product, as a gift to my wife. Upon opening it recently (my wife's grandmother died on Christmas Eve, so we were delayed in "celebrating" the holiday), we discovered the top was dented in several places. The item was in the original box, but the box had clearly been opened and the packaging removed. When I tried to return the item for a refund, the seller refused to accept the return and provide a refund. For $250, this is more than a small disappointment. Suffice it to say, we are sorely disgusted with this lack of service and seller integrity. I do not know if the item works. It was clearly not "new" and we hoped after seeing it to return the item without using it. Shame on Amazon for tolerating this shoddy practice.

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