Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Griddle me this

I went approximately 28 years without access to an electric griddle, and those were good years. But, then, a little more than 2 years ago, I met the man who became the Mr. He has introduced me to a lot of cool gadgets, but perhaps the best is the greatness that is the electric griddle. I’m not really sure if he’d ever used the family-size griddle that I found in the bachelor pad during one of my first visits here, but it immediately became one of my favorite items.
Once we were married and I’d moved into the bachelor pad, that thing went into heavy rotation. I’d use it for quesadillas, pancakes, hamburgers, sausage patties, toasted sandwiches — you name it.

But, as it goes with $30 items that you over-use and over-scrub, it couldn’t last forever. Over the weekend I decided it had cooked its last pancake and, instead of cleaning it, tossed it in the trash. (Which reminded me how much I would love a completely disposable or otherwise self-cleaning kitchen. One day.)
Needless to say, it had to be replaced immediately even if that meant waiting on the oh-so-cute zebra flats I’d had my eye on. I logged on to Amazon, compared products and their accompanying reviews and added one to my cart. Thanks to our Prime membership, the nice FedEx lady dropped it off this morning.
You know that saying, everything’s bigger in Texas? Well, this griddle is no exception. Unfortunately, the kitchen in the bachelor pad doesn’t live up to the Lone Star State’s hype, so I may be doing a little rearranging. Like storing the toaster in the laundry room. But, man, it’ll be cool to make so many pancakes at once!



Do you have an electric griddle? What are your favorite griddled items?

5 comments:

  1. Oh yes...Ralph got me George Foreman Griddle with a hot spot for searing things...it has room for 4 pancakes and two eggs,or three grilled cheese sandwiches, or two good sized steaks...or or or ! I love it and I can relate to your tiny kitchen...I have to store my toaster oven in the laundry room as well. Then I can only run 1 electric appliance at once or the breaker kicks. This little house is a rental until we find our dream place so it can be a challenge! I digress....on of the best griddle recipes I have is pepperonata..a grilled assortment of sliced peppers and onions with garlic and butter.

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  2. Here is the Peperonata recipe:

    1/4 cup olive oil
    1/2 tbsp butter
    2 red bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips
    2 yellow bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips
    2 orange or green bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips
    1 large onion, sliced into half-moons
    4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
    1 tablespoon dried oregano
    1 tablespoon sugar
    4-5 Roma or other plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
    Salt and pepper to taste
    1/2 cup fresh basil, leaves torn roughly
    Lemon juice

    1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add the onions. Sprinkle with a little salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the onions just begin to color.
    2 Add the peppers and stir well to combine with the onions. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. The peppers should be al dente—cooked, but with a little crunch left in them.
    3 Add butter
    4 Add the garlic, and sauté another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle a little more salt over everything and add the sugar and dried oregano. Cook 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, and cook just one minute further.
    4 Turn off the heat and mix in the torn basil. Grind some black pepper over everything. Right before serving squeeze a little lemon juice over the dish.
    Serves 4 to 6.

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  3. Yum!!! Thanks for the recipe! I'm a firm believer that anything involving butter and garlic is good, and this sounds great!

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  4. I am definitely putting one of these on my wedding registry! I can't wait to be able to start cooking for more than one!
    www.crystalcattle.com

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  5. Good call - I think you will enjoy it. And I totally understand - it is so much more fun cooking for 2. :)

    Have fun with your registries - we had a blast looking at everything!

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