For The Love Of Toasties

Halloween - Caramello Grave

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:07:00 +0000

Inspiration for today’s recipe comes from a relative of the modern toastie, the Toas-Tite (also known as a pudgy pie, mountain pie, flying saucer, etc). Toas-Tites are a branded camping (i.e. non-electrical) version of a toasted sandwich/jaffle maker.

Late last year, I read a post about a mud Toas-Tite on toastiterecipes.com – a recipe/tribute website dedicated to the Toas-Tite maker. This post was about a mud/dirt Toas-Tite that contained Oreos, hot fudge and caramel sauce. The odds of me finding decent hot fudge and caramel sauce at my local supermarket were slim. I decided to improvise and use Caramello Koalas.

It is up to you whether you dice your Caramello Koalas. I decided to leave mine whole, so as I am eating it I get a mouthful of dirt, then a mouthful of dead koala. This recipe is suited to using a jaffle maker rather than a toasted sandwich maker because the jaffle maker does not chop the Caramello Koala in half.

You can have all sorts of fun making grave toasties, by adding different fillings (e.g. raspberry) or ‘burying’ other types of confectionary, for example, gummy worms, snakes and frogs. Personally, I like the Caramello Koala’s – chocolate biscuits with chocolate and a little caramel, yummy!

Caramello Grave

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

2 fun sized Caramello Koalas
8 Oreos, crushed
4 slices of bread, crusts removed
butter

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the crushed Oreos onto the centre of the bread and top with a Caramello Koala.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.
Cover with additional Oreo crumbs (or dust with cocoa powder)

Theme: Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 06:09:00 +0000

We will take a short break from our bachelor foods, for a seasonal challenge. I love Halloween, even though it is not widely celebrated in our area. To be honest, while I was growing up Halloween was known more for throwing eggs and covering trees in toilet paper than dressing up and knocking on doors asking for candy.

Now that I have grown up, Halloween is more of an excuse to be creative in the kitchen and have friends over for a spooky dinner. Creating disgusting looking food is relatively easy. Creating disgusting looking toasties on the other hand, will be a whole other kettle of fish.

Wish me luck as I attempt to create something that looks like a harmless toastie on the outside, with a tasty Halloween twist on the inside.

Toastie Party - Creamed Corn With Jalapeños Relish

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 02:59:00 +0000

This toastie is just magical. To be honest I am at a loss for words to describe it. The lovely, yet occasionally bland combination of egg and creamed corn is brought to life by the tartness of the jalapeños relish. Or is it the other way around? Either way, I definitely recommend that you try this.

Inspiration for this toastie came from a Gourmet Traveller recipe – Poached eggs with creamed corn and green chilli relish. It did not take much to adapt this recipe for a toasted sandwich. It is exactly the kind of thing that I am looking to put on a toastie party menu. The addition of the relish makes me think of this as more as a cocktail party appetiser than a toastie. Brilliant!

Creamed Corn With Jalapeños Relish

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

2 eggs
3 tbsp creamed corn
salt and pepper to taste
Jalapeños relish
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the mixture onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Notes:

To make the jalapeños relish:

Combine 50 ml olive oil, 30 ml lime juice, 2 finely sliced pickled (aprox 2 tbsp) Jalapeños, 2 spring onions diced finely, 1 cove minced garlic, 2 tbsp coarsley chopped coriander.

Theme: A Toastie Party

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 06:53:00 +0000

Bacon, creamed corn and cheese

White chocolate, raspberry and
ricotta cheese

BBQ Meat Lovers Pizza

We were dining with our foodie friends Jo and Markus one night. Jo and I were talking in the kitchen, when I mentioned this blog. I was amazed to hear that Jo is a lover of toasties. Perhaps it was the wine or one of those wacky things you think of when it is late at night, but how unique would it be to host a toastie party.

I can see it now, a stack of old 80s movies, and a toastie maker sizzling away in the background.

Flipping back through the toastie recipes posted so far, there are some standout favourites suitable for such an occasion:

Gourmet tuna toastie with baby tomatoes and Tabasco sauce;
Tuna with lemon mayonnaise;
BBQ meal lover pizza;
Bacon, creamed corn and cheese; and,
White chocolate, raspberry, and ricotta

In order to be successful, we need a few more recipes. This month is dedicated to fabulous looking toasties, which taste great too! If you were to host a toastie party, what would you serve?

Desert - Strawberry Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 11:20:00 +0000

Who in their right mind would have through of making a cheesecake in a toasted sandwich maker? I would not have even considered it, if not for finding a recipe in my toasted sandwich maker user manual.

I can imagine you sitting there, reading this and trying to fathom what in the world this toastie would taste like. It tastes like warm cheesecake mix. It is warm and gooey.

This is a good toastie, a very good toastie. Definitely number two in my list of all time good desert toasteis. Whilst is not as good as white chocolate, ricotta and raspberry, it is a close contender.

Which desert toastie recipe do you prefer?

Strawberry Cheesecake

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

125g cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. finely grated lemon rind
1 1/2 tbsp. icing sugar
50g strawberries, diced
4 slices of bread
butter

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread.
Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoughrally.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the mixture onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.
Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Desert - Peach Surprise

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:13:00 +0000

MMMM desert toasties are fast becoming my favourite toasties. The crispness of the bread and the sweetness of the filling is just magical. The combination of mixed spice and sour cream complements the peaches beautifully.

I will definitely be making this again.

Peach Surprise

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

½ cup tinned peaches, diced
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. mixed spice
2 tbsp. sour cream
4 slices of white bread
butter
icing sugar for dusting

Method:

Combine the tined peaches, sour cream, mixed spice and sugar in a bowl.
Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread and remove crusts.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the mixture onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.
Remove from sandwich toaster, dust with icing sugar, and serve immediately.

Variations:

Replace peaches with another type of fruit or berry.

Desert - Apple Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 04:40:00 +0000

Apple pies are a wonderful, as are toasties. Today we combine the two. I must admit, I was surprised how good apple "pie" toasties taste, especially when served with ice cream.

Toastie apple pies remind me of McDonald’s apple pies. They are sweet, crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and most importantly, if you are not patient enough to let it cool down, you could easily loose a few layers of skin from the inside of your mouth!

Apple Pie

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1 apple
1 tbsp. brown sugar (or to taste)
½ tsp. cinnamon (or to taste)
1 tbsp. water
4 slices of white bread
butter

Method:

1 diced apple, 1 tbsp.
brown sugar, ½ tsp. cinnamon

Butter each of the four slices of bread and remove the crusts.
Peal the apple using a vegetable peeler. Discard peel.
Dice the apple finely. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they will cook.
Add the apple, brown sugar, cinnamon and water to a microwave proof bowl. Cover and cook on high for 2 minutes.
Preheat the toastie maker.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the apple mixture onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread onto the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 6 to 8 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.
Serve with ice cream

Variations:

Add ¼ cup of sultanas.
Replace bread with pre-rolled puff pastry.

Notes:

I tend to make these in a jaffle maker, so that they are more pie like.

Chocolate - Cherry Ripe & Ricotta

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:39:00 +0000

I must hand it to Cadbury’s marketing team. It has been years since we have had a family gathering where someone brought something other than a box of Cadbury favourites. For some reason, the last chocolates eaten are the Cherry Ripe. As I sat there looking at the small foil packet, I found myself wondering, “will it toast?”

Out came the toasted sandwich maker, loaf of white bread, butter and tub of ricotta cheese. I was still on a high from making White Chocolate, Raspberry & Ricotta toasties the week before. Whilst this does toast, its nowhere near as good as last week’s toastie *drools.*

Perhaps it is just a case of me not being a great fan of Cherry Ripe. I will leave it for you to decide.

Cherry Ripe & Ricotta

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

40g Cadbury Cherry Ripe, chopped
½ cup of ricotta cheese
4 slices of white bread, crusts removed
butter

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the ricotta onto the centre of the bread and top with half of the Cherry Ripe.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Chocolate - White Chocolate, Raspberry & Ricotta

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:02:00 +0000

Oh my nom, this is awesome. I did not expect this one to turn out so well. This is the best desert style toastie ever! The crispness of the bread really compliments the softness of the filling. I was tempted to use puff pastry instead of bread. I am glad that I did not because the pastry would have taken something away from the simplicity of this toastie.

The ratios between the raspberries, white chocolate, and ricotta are perfect. Whilst it is a desert toastie, it is not as sweet as you would expect. A slight dusting of icing sugar would make this dish look stunning, but to be honest, I do not think it needs the extra sugar.

White Chocolate, Raspberry & Ricotta

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

120g fresh ricotta
40g white chocolate, chopped
4 tbsp. frozen raspberries
4 slices of white bread
butter

Method:

Place the raspberries on top of the
ricotta and chocolate mixture.

Butter each of the four slices of bread and remove the crusts.
Combine the ricotta and white chocolate in a small bowl.
Preheat the toastie maker.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the ricotta mixture onto the centre of the bread and top with half of the raspberries.
Place the top piece of bread onto the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or the bread is golden brown.

Variations:

The variations to this recipe are endless. You could replace the raspberries with blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, passion fruit pulp etc. If you do not have fresh berries, you could use jams or other preserves instead.

Chocolate - Caramello Banana

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:54:00 +0000

Once upon a time, the toastie monster was known as the Caramello King. He earned this name by demolishing an entire fundraising box of Giant Caramello Koalas within one month.

Every now and then, Caramello Koalas dare to enter our household. Today, I managed to kidnap one.

Surprisingly, we also had a banana in the house. Caramello Koala and banana toasties had to be done. It was good, very good. I have seen people raving over banana and Nutella toasted sandwiches before, but I think the caramel makes it. Om nom nom.

Caramello Banana

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1 medium banana, mashed
2 fun sized Caramello Koalas
4 slices of bread, crusts removed
butter

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the mashed banana onto the centre of the bread and top with a Caramello Koala.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Bacon - Bacon, Avocado, Tomato & Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:11:00 +0000

The start of this month was a bit hit or miss. The bacon, avocado & lime toasted sandwich was a bit ordinary. I wanted to re-visit bacon and avocado to do it properly.

Today’s toasted sandwich was the welcome return to awesome that I was hoping for. It was nom-sational. Cheese and avocado are a brilliant combination as is the tried and tested pairing of bacon and tomato. When you make this toastie (and I highly recommend that you do so) do not forget to add a little bit of salt and pepper. Personally, I find that avocado needs a little bit of seasoning to make it sing.

Enjoy!

Bacon, Avocado, Tomato & Cheese

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

50g cooked bacon, diced
1 tomato, diced
½ an avocado, mashed
50g cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and cook the bacon for approximately 6 minutes or until crispy.
Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the avocado onto the centre of the bread and top with half of the bacon, cheese and tomato. Season with salt and pepper
Place the top piece of bread onto the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Bacon - Bacon, Creamed Corn & Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:14:00 +0000

Are you a fan of creamed corn? I must admit I have not had a lot of experience with it. It never entered my mind to try a can until I decided to make a simple chicken and sweet corn soup. For some reason I expected it to be gluggy and taste artificial. To my surprise, it tasted like smooshed sweet corn, not gluggy or ‘creamy’ at all.

Unfortunately, my soup did not happen and I am sitting here with a tin of creamed corn, wondering what to do with it. I started to search for creamed corn recipes. Apart from the obvious soup recipes, I spotted a couple of search results relating to toasted sandwiches. The majority of these were creamed corn and ham.

Seeing as ham and bacon come from the same animal, today’s toasted sandwich is creamed corn and bacon. I do not want to repeat the disappointment of last week, so I have added some cheddar cheese and spring onions. I must admit, cheese and creamed corn is a wonderful combination and bacon is always fabulous. I was quite pleased with how this toastie came out.

Bacon, Creamed Corn & Cheese

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

½ cup creamed corn
50g bacon
3 tbsp. spring onion, chopped
¼ cup cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Wrap bacon in a paper towel, microwave on high for 30 seconds and dice finely.
Combine the creamed corn, bacon, spring onion and cheese in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the mixture onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Bacon - Bacon, Avocado & Lime

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I had such high hopes for this toastie, but alas it let me down. I do not remember where the inspiration came from, perhaps I dreamed it up whilst browsing through guacamole recipes. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad toastie by any means, it is just missing something. On reflection, I feel I should have added some tomato or spring onions to give it a bit more texture and add to the flavour.

I am very pleased with the combination of avocado and lime. It is definitely refreshing and would be tasty as a base for a mousse served with prawns. If you decide to make this toastie please let me know what you added to make it taste more complete.

Bacon, Avocado & Lime

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1/2 an avocado
1-2 tsp. lime juice
50g cooked bacon, diced
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Mash the avocado with the lime juice and season with salt and pepper
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the avocado mixture onto the centre of the bread and top with half of the bacon.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Theme: Bacon

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:54:00 +0000

Since making the Elvis sandwich, I have come to realise that cooking bacon in the microwave is a great way to tease your colleague’s noses. I received more than a few comments regarding the kitchen smelling like bacon and the effect that it had on their appetites!

What is it about bacon that makes it so special? Is it the taste, the texture, or its versatility? While I was growing up, I do not ever remember ever meeting someone who was obsessed with bacon. These days, bacon is an internet phenomenon. You can buy bacon t-shirts, bacon flavoured candy, bacon novelties, bacon soap. The list goes on and on, whatever you can think of, I am sure someone has ‘baconized’ it.

To honour bacon, and tease my colleagues further, every recipe posted this month contain bacon and preferably lots of it!

As a friend of mine once said, ‘hail bacon, the definitive meat condiment, the candy of meat, the ultimate in sensory stimulation!’

Tell me, what do you love about bacon?

Banana - Banana, Blueberry & Ricotta

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:53:00 +0000

Today, I decided to have toasted sandwiches for breakfast. I must admit I tend to consider bananas as more of a breakfast/morning food than an afternoon food. Lately, I have been trying to eat a little more healthily, so ricotta cheese has been featuring heavily in my breakfast routine, usually with tomato on wholemeal toast.

This toastie features my morning ricotta cheese, the last of my bananas and a few left over blueberries. The combination of these three ingredients was pleasant. The blueberries gave a little sweetness, and the ricotta brought everything together. The taste may be a bit bland, so you may want to add a little bit of honey to sweeten things up, especially if your blueberries are on the sour side.

Banana, Blueberry & Ricotta

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1 banana, mashed
2-3 tbsp. ricotta
16-20 blueberries
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the mixture onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Variations:

Banana - Banana With Cinnamon Coconut

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:07:00 +0000

Today’s toastie was a return to basic flavours. I love banana and coconut. These two flavours find themselves in a myriad of recipes ranging from baked banana and coconut loaves, to simply placing chunks of banana on a skewer and rolling them in coconut.

I must be honest; my tastebuds are still in holiday mode, the first thing they though of when pairing banana and coconut was adding a little bit of cinnamon and brown sugar. Yum!

This is one tasty toasted sandwich. It is sweet, warm and gooey. It is definitely one of the better banana toasties featured this month.

Banana With Cinnamon Coconut

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 banana, chopped
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Combine the sugar, cinnamon and coconut in a bowl.
Toss the banana in the coconut mixture until each piece of banana is suitably covered.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the banana onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Impromptu Toastie – Strawberry & Nutella

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +0000

Bringing Nutella into my house is dangerous. I can quite literally stand in the kitchen with a spoon and eat the entire jar straight from the jar. In an attempt to reduce the likelihood of an epic Nutella binge, I have decided to make at least one more toastie using this heavenly gooey substance.

I did not have to go far in order to find inspiration for a Nutella toastie. The Nuttella website itself offers a few ideas for eating Nutella, one of which is ‘Nutella Strawberry Wraps.’ This is a simple recipe, spread Nutella on bread, cover with strawberries and make into cute looking wraps. How could I not take this idea and stick it in a toastie maker? It is easy to guess what this toastie tasted like, warm Nutella and strawberries. For those who have not tried Nutella, think of warm strawberries dipped into a chocolate fondue.

Like many sweet toasties, you do not really notice the bread. It provides a little bit of crunch but no real flavour. This is a pleasant toastie and is well worth making, however, I still prefer to eat my Nutella straight from the jar.

Strawberry & Nutella

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1/2 cup strawberries, diced
2-3 tbsp. Nutella
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon 1 tbsp. of Nutella onto the centre of the bread and top with half of the strawberries.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Banana - Banana, Nutella & Marshmallow

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Despite my naivety regarding the combination of peanut butter and banana, I have heard of combining Nutella (a chocolate hazelnut spread) and banana. Today I am going to take the old banana and Nutella sandwich one-step further and add marshmallows.

To be honest, this toastie was a bit of a let down. I could not taste the marshmallow at all. They had melted into sugar syrup and made their way to the outside of the toastie and all over the grill plates. What a mess! For those reading along in countries where marshmallow spread is readily available, I would be curious to know if it works better than adding real marshmallows.

As many, a foodie would know chocolate and banana is a classic combination, whether it is in cakes, muffins or ice cream. This combination goes equally in a toastie. Banana and Nutella is a winner.

If you find yourself in need a carbohydrate hit, you cannot go past Nutella and banana toasted sandwiched made with white bread.

Banana, Nutella & Marshmallow

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1 large banana
2-3 tbsp. Nutella
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the Nutella onto the centre of the bread and top with half of the banana.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Variations:

Leave out the marshmallows.

Banana - Bacon, Banana & Peanut Butter (Elvis Sandwich)

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:53:00 +0000

According to Wikipedia, the bacon, banana and peanut butter sandwich was a favourite of the late Elvis Presley. This grilled sandwich is not to be confused with a Fool’s Gold Loaf, which is a combination of bacon, peanut butter and jam packed into a warm hollowed-out loaf of bread.

I must admit my tastebuds were not looking forward to this experiment. The concept of combining peanut butter and banana is foreign to my pallet and not easy to imagine. In an attempt to subdue my reservations about this combination, I performed a web search for peanut butter and banana sandwiches. It appears that this combination is quite common and well regarded amongst banana sandwich eaters. Is it weird that I have never heard of this before?

Anyway, back to the Elvis Sandwich. I received some seriously weird looks from my colleagues for this one. For some reason no one wanted to try some. To be honest, this toasted sandwich did not taste like much at all. All of the flavours mingled together. If I had to choose a flavour to say what it tasted like, it would be peanut butter.

Overall, it was a curious experiment. It was well worth doing just to see the look on people’s faces, but not worth repeating because of taste.

Bacon, Banana & Peanut Butter (Elvis Sandwich)

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1 large banana, mashed
2-3 tbsp. chopped cooked bacon
2 tbsp. peanut butter
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the mashed banana, peanut butter and bacon onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Variations:

Add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup

Banana - Banana & Honey

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:42:00 +0000

Banana and honey, is such a simple combination. To be honest, if the honey hand not fallen out of the pantry this morning, today’s toastie would have been a bit more complicated. Perhaps the pantry elves were trying to tell me something.

Like many things in life, it is good to go back and revisit the basics. This year, I am going to take some time to re-educate myself on simple flavour combinations that appear time and time again.

When you google banana recipes you are guaranteed to find at least one that uses honey. I can see why, it is yummy and perfect for a day when you do not what to eat or make something complicated.

Banana & Honey

Makes: 1 toastie

Ingredients:

¼ cup banana, sliced
2-3 tsp. honey
2 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Place the banana onto the center of the bread and drizzle with honey.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Variations:

Add 1-2 tsp. peanut butter.
In addition to peanut butter add a 'sprinkle' of sultanas.

Theme: Bananas

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:41:00 +0000

When I was a wee lass, bananas were a cheap snack food. These days, they are an expensive luxury. Thanks to changing weather patterns, the Australian banana plantations have taken a battering over the last couple of years. Bananas went from $2 per kilo to well over $12 per kilo. This spelled the end for home made banana cake, banana muffins and my personal favourite the banana sandwich.

The price of bananas has started to drop. A good banana will set you back around $6-7 per kilo, however the majority of bananas you see available are second grade. Despite being a couple of dollars per kilo cheaper, people are just not interested in a bruised banana. They are still too expensive for a banana cake!

On the weekend, I spotted some unripe bananas with only a few bruises for $2 per kilo. I jumped at the chance to for a banana sandwich and a breakfast of mashed banana on toast. To my surprise, these bananas have ripened beautifully. I though I celebrate my good banana luck, by dedicating this month to banana inspired toasted sandwiches!

Impromptu Toastie - Mjskit’s Thanksgiving Leftover Toastie

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:09:00 +0000

I would like to take the time to thank MJ for her lovely comments and suggestions. I really do appreciate them. When she suggested a toastie for me to try, I could not resist trying it. Her suggestion was to make a “Thanksgiving leftover toastie of dijon, turkey, cheese and cranberry sauce.”

I must admit, I was hesitant about mixing Dijon mustard and cranberry sauce. Turkey and cranberry goes together like two peas in a pod as does Dijon mustard and cheddar cheese. To my surprise, putting these two sets of peas in the same pod was magic.

For those who have spent time on MJ’s blog, my hesitations were completely unfounded and a little bit silly. She is a domestic goddess. Who am I to question a goddess? If you have not been to MJ’s blog, do stop past and take a look. It is well worth it. She provides a scrummy array of recipes for every meal, each of which are accompanied by a wealth of additional and background information.

MJ’s photography puts mine to shame. It is beautiful, cookbook quality. One of my favourites is the photograph for her Triple Cranberry Sauce recipe; I could almost pick the berries from the screen!

Food photography is the bane of my existence. How do you make a toastie look appetising when it is sitting in front of one of my coloured chopping boards (used to screen the view of the living area) The joys of apartment living, not enough room to swing a tripod.

Mjskit’s Thanksgiving Leftover Toastie

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. cranberry sauce
2 tsp. dijon mustard
60g turkey, thinly sliced
40g cheddar cheese, grated
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Place half of the ingredients onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Christmas Leftovers - Fruit Mince

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:35:00 +0000

Whenever I think of Christmas, one of the first things that pop into my head is fruit mince tarts. I absolutely adore the combination of unsweetened short pastry with super sweet fruit served with a little dollop of cream.

I must admit, as I am getting older, the fruit mince that we purchase from the supermarket (Robertson’s) tastes more sickly sweet than super sweet. This year we mixed in equal amounts of Sunbeam mixed fruit.

This meant that we had more fruit mince than pastry! What a shame, into the toastie maker it went! I will not claim that a fruit mince toastie comes close to the taste of a fruit mince tart. It is different, but when served with ice cream it is a nice alternative. Perhaps this is a good alternative (sans ice cream) for those in a diet (assuming you do not butter your bread).

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Fruit Mince

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

½ cup fruit mince
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional) and remove the crusts.
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Spoon half of the fruit mince onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 3 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Christmas Leftovers - Turkey, Cranberry & Brie

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 07:01:00 +0000

Sometimes I wonder why my family continues the tradition of a roasted Christmas dinner when it is the middle of summer, when some of my friends opt for a barbeque and cold salads. I must admit Christmas is the only time of the year that I eat turkey, so I do look forward to it.

To make life easier and the house a little cooler, mum roasts her turkey the night before and serves it cold with roasted vegetables. The thinly cut turkey is quickly warmed by boiling hot gravy, so we hardly notice that the bird was cooked long before the vegetables.

Cranberries are something that I discovered later in life. When I was growing up, cranberry sauce the traditional accompaniment to turkey was gravy, not cranberry sauce. I discovered cranberries when I was studying at university. One of the rolls served at the café was turkey, brie and cranberry. This roll was always a good backup when I arrived late for lunch and all of the BLTs had sold out.

I could not think of a better way to start the Christmas season, then with a turkey, brie & cranberry toastie. To be honest, I think I prefer the unheated roll version of this mix to the toasted sandwich version. I think the brie tastes better when it is firm (i.e room temperature), rather than when it is boiling hot and dripping everywhere.

Turkey, Cranberry & Brie

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. cranberry Sauce
60g turkey, thinly sliced
40g brie, thinly sliced
4 slices of bread
butter (optional)

Method:

Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
Arrange 2 tsp. of the Cranberry Sauce, and half of the brie and turkey onto the centre of the bread.
Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the other grill plate.
Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Variations:

Replace the cranberry sauce with sun dried tomatoes.

Theme: Christmas Leftovers

noreply@blogger.com (Darkbyte) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:09:00 +0000

Each year, I like to create an edible
centerpiece for my boyfriend’s family
Christmas get together.

So long November, welcome December! December is my favourite month of the year, not only is it a break from tuna toasties, but there is plenty of occasions to celebrate: Christmas, New Year and my birthday! This is going to be a very busy month. The period leading up to Christmas is always the busiest.

This is the time of the year when I become most active in the kitchen. Christmas time is all about cookies and chocolates, both of which I enjoy making (especially centerpieces for my boyfriends family Christmas gathering). Unfortunately, every day cooking falls by the wayside and I must admit we end up eating more than a few toasties. Thankfully, Christmas time provides a large and varied array of potential toasted sandwich fillings.

What a tasty toastie month this will be! Bring on the Christmas inspired toasties!

I wish you all safe and happy holidays!