Back in college, my parents got me a sandwich maker for my dorm room. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was the perfect gift. My roommate and I used to steal ingredients from the dining hall and keep them in our mini fridge. The hours the dining halls were open didn't always mesh well with the typical college social schedule... and we were poor students and the dining hall food was free. So at any given hour we might be making anything from BBQ chicken and swiss melts to peanut butter and M&Ms sandwiches (a late night favorite).

After freshman year I threw my sandwich maker away because it was so scratched up and dirty. It made great sandwiches but it was impossible to clean. I remember using a plastic knife and trying to scrape it clean in the common bathroom's sink. Yuck.

Ten years later, college is a fading memory, no one owns a beeper anymore, Sean Kelly's band The Samples have broken up and sandwich making science has reached new technical heights. The engineering geniuses at T-Fal made a sandwich/waffle maker with dishwasher safe interchangeable grilling plates that snap in and out.

The T-Fal Sandwich Maker can grill 2 waffles, sandwiches or even omelets at a time and it's easy to clean. Simply layer ingredients between two slices of bread, set it on the grill, close the lid and wait.

Here are the ingredients of this T-Fal SM601003 Avante Nonstick Sandwich/Waffle Maker review:

• Favorite Sandwich Maker Recipes
• What ABout Waffles?
• Easy Clean Up
• Tips & Tricks
• Things We Didn't Like
• Final Thoughts

Favorite Sandwich Maker Recipes

Over the past few months, we've tried tons of different sandwich ingredients in a variety of combinations. The T-Fal SM601003 Avante Nonstick Sandwich/Waffle Maker comes with a book of recipe ideas, but here are some of our personal favorites.

Dill Tuna Melt
Mix butter and dill spice together on a cutting board. Grab some rye bread and lightly butter one side of each with your dill butter mixture. Yum... dill butter. Buttering up the outer layer of bread will give your tuna melt a nice golden brown outside. In the pictures below you'll notice we trimmed off the sides of the rye bread. You need to do this if your bread doesn't fit inside the sandwich maker. Mix a can of tuna with a little mayo and the leftover dill. Don't use a lot of mayonnaise! It will be messy and make your sandwich soggy. Plus you're not going to impress any ladies with a hand covered in mayo holding a limp soggy sandwich. Duh.

Lay the bottom bread in the sandwich maker and add the tuna on top. Then add a couple thinly sliced tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Add the top layer of bread, close up the T-Fal Sandwich maker and wait until you see the green light. Cook to taste.

• rye bread
• butter
• dill
• mayonnaise
• tuna
• cheddar cheese
• tomato

 

Ham & Cheese
You really can't go wrong with a classic like ham and cheese. Grab 2 slices of bread and lightly butter the outer side of each. Lay a layer on ham down, then some thinly sliced cheese. Then a little squirt of mayo or mustard and another layer of ham. By keeping the cheese and condiments in the middle of the sandwich, you'll prevent ingredients from oozing out of the sandwich pocket.

Feel free to improvise and add additional ingredients like tomato. Or try prosciutto and swiss and grill it with the waffle plates instead of the sandwich plates. Grill naked. Go wild and be one with your T-Fal sandwich maker.

• bread (using pumpernickel or rye bread is a great way to jazz up a traditional ham and cheese sandwich)
• butter
• cheese
• mayonnaise or mustard
• ham

 

 

 

Pesto Turkey Jacks
Grab 2 slices of rye bread and lightly butter one side of each. Then flip the two pieces of bread over and spread pesto and mayo on the insides sides. Grab 3 slices of turkey, and some thinly sliced Monterey Jack cheese. Try to avoid the diagonal sliced groove in the grill plate when you lay the cheese down. These smell amazing so make extras in case you have some aggressive fat kids lurking nearby.

• rye bread
• butter
• pesto
• mayonnaise
• turkey
• Monterey Jack cheese

 

Pan-Ham-Cakes?
After awhile, you might want to start getting a little crazy with your T-Fal sandwich/waffle maker.

We had some leftover pancakes and ham in the fridge and thought we'd try an experiment with the T-Fal. We were out of bread anyway. After trimming the pancakes into squares, we toasted them to harden them up and added a slice of American cheese, some pre-cooked scrambled eggs and ham. Sound gross (people always think so)? It wasn't. McDonalds has a similar breakfast sandwich called the McGriddle. So take that you Pan-Ham-Cake haters!

• pancakes (squared)
• American cheese
• scrambled egg (pre-cooked)
• ham or bacon
• syrup (optional)

What About Waffles?

So this thing is called the "T-Fal Sandwich/Waffle Maker" right? So what about waffles? To make waffles, just pop out the sandwich plates and pop in the waffle plates. The T-Fal does a decent job with waffles but keep in mind this isn't intended to serve up a quick breakfast for a large family or a hungry pack of gadget reviewers. The waffle recipes listed in the T-Fal makes 12 waffles per batch and take over 20 minutes to cook. The last time we made waffles at the office, we made 6 to eat right away and put the rest in the freezer for another day. With our group, the T-Fal spends most of its time making sandwiches... not waffles.

Easy Clean Up

Actually, one of the best things about about the T-Fal Sandwich Maker is the easy clean up. When you are done making your waffles or sandwich masterpieces, just pop out the plates and put them in the dishwasher. There's a little gray plate release button on both the top and bottom part of the T-Fal that will eject the plates. The non-stick coating makes cleaning the T-Fal's dishwasher safe plates effortless.

I actually first bought a different sandwich maker at Target without interchangeable plates. I made a few sandwiches and then realized I couldn't remove the plates. Without interchangeable plates, clean up was a major pain in the ass. I was so disappointed with my non-T-Fal sandwich maker that I put everything back in the box and returned it the next weekend. I hope they didn't just put it back on the shelf in the store. The poor person who buys it will see some of the crusty cheese I couldn't get off the plates.

One thing to note, the T-Fal plates may smoke a bit when they are used for the first time. Mine did, but the taste of the food wasn't affected.

Tips & Tricks

Experience is the best way to learn. Here are some tips we've compiled after several years of sandwich making:

• Butter the outside of your bread. To give your sandwiches a nice golden and crispy texture, you need to apply a thin layer of butter on the outside of your bread.
  
  
• Trim your bread to fit. Some types of bread, like rye for example, don't usually come in a standard square shape. The T-Fal sandwich maker wants a regular square shaped slice of bread, so trim off the sides. By design, a regular slice of bread slightly overlaps the edge of the T-Fal's sandwich plate and a makes the bread crust really crispy. This is the best part.
  
  
• Don't overstuff your sandwiches. There's only so much that will fit inside the sandwich pocket. The first few times you make sandwiches you'll probably end up with hot cheese floating all over your counter top. It takes a few test runs to learn how to make good sandwiches. Just remember you don't have to cram a ton of stuff inside.
  
  
• Put watery ingredients in the middle. Watery ingredients like tomatoes will make your bread mushy. Waterproof the bread by putting meats and cheeses in between the beard and watery ingredients.
  
  
• Spice up your butter. Before spreading butter on your sandwich bread, combine it with some spices like dill, basil, cracked red pepper, etc. This little touch will make your sandwiches irresistible and your friends think that you might have a future as a gourmet chef.
  
  
• Use flavored oils. Not a big fan of butter? Got a jar of sun dried tomatoes or stuffed hot peppers in the fridge? You can use oil as a butter substitute. If you're using sun dried tomatoes, slice them up on a cutting board them mop up the extra oil with your bread.
  
  
  
  
• Don't use metal utensils. When you take your sandwiches out of the T-Fal, try not to use metal utensils. They will scratch the non-stick surface of the T-Fal.
  
  
• Wait a couple minutes before taking your sandwiches out. The sandwiches need to sit a couple of minutes to crisp up once they are taken out of the machine. If you try to take your sandwiches out right away they will probably fall apart. Let the cool and harden first.

Things We Didn't Like

The only thing that bugged us about the T-Fal was the lack of an on/off switch. To turn it on or off, you have to manually plug/unplug the cord. Plugging/unplugging the AC cord is really annoying. Other than that, it's great. Indicator light advises if the power is on (orange) and when plates are ready to cook (green).

Final Thoughts

Once you get the hang of it, all your T-Fal sandwiches will turn out great. We absolutely love this sandwich maker and we're not alone. The T-Fal sandwich maker seems to be a pretty popular item since it's always out of stock on Amazon. The removable dishwasher safe trays are very convenient.

The T-Fal SM601003 Avante Nonstick Sandwich/Waffle Maker is great for preparing any meal or snack. It's cheap. Great for kids or students - especially ones in a dorm room.

This item is available for purchase from Amazon.com Two sets of interchangeable plates: pocket sandwich and waffle plates. features Easy to clean plates are dishwasher safe with non-stick surfaces. Indicator light advises if power is on and when plates are ready to cook. Space saving vertical storage. Stainless steel housing. Great recipe ideas included. Great for preparing any meal or snack. Rating: Requirements: Electricity, various food ingredients Manufacturer: T-Fal