The Hamilton Beach Gourmet Sandwich Press makes delicious, deli-like panini at home. Designed to grill everything from single-slice ham sandwiches to piled-high turkey grinders, the panini grill heats ingredients, melts cheese, and creates a crispy outer crust. The floating lid slides and swivels for the right fit and locks into position with a side dial. The locking function is also handy for keeping the lid upright if you want to make open face snacks or clean the grill plates. Roomy and ribbed, the grill plates measure 12 by 8-1/2 and are coated with a wipe-down nonstick coating. Stable on its four feet, the press has gleaming chrome housing and durable plastic accents. A side clamp locks it shut between uses, so you can choose from upright or horizontal storage, a thoughtful feature for the space-efficient kitchen. Two indicator lights signal power and preheating, and the whole unit measures 13-1/2 by 11-1/2 by 4 inches. Hamilton Beach includes a two-year warranty.

Mechanically, customers have mentioned that the Hamilton Beach sandwich press has a nice design and it works fine for the price. The upper lid is not hinged, so the grill can be raised very high to accomodate thick sandwiches. Bread comes out nicely ridged and crunchy. It does take a while for the unit to heat to cooking temperature, however. The main problem seems to be how to cook the inside of the sandwich without burning the bread; for an average sandwich (3 oz. ham and 2 oz. cheese) after 1.75 minutes the bread is done, but the ham is not sufficiently warm nor the cheese melted. This may be an issue with all lower-end panini presses, I suppose; perhaps some experimentation with different bread types and cooking times will solve my little dilemma. In any case, so far the resulting sandwiches are better than if served at room temperature, but not as good as those heated in my toaster oven and then slapped together.

Since Panini sandwiches are meant to be thin, use only highest quality ingredients and breads. Cracked wheat bread, flavored corn or flour tortillas, croissants, pita bread, ciabatta and other artisan breads, and even cracker bread and boboli pizza crusts can be used to make imaginative panini sandwiches.