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What is it about toasting a sandwich, that makes it that much better? A ham and cheese sandwich is nice, but once you pop it into the sandwich press and the cheese begins to melt, it goes from ordinary to a little bit extraordinary.

With the days cooling rapidly, toasted sandwiches are a family favourite… and with FlyBoy away on trips so much, sometimes a bowl of soup accompanied by a cheese toasty are just the perfect meal for me and my little people.

I was given the opportunity to road-test some kitchen appliances by Russell Hobbs, so over the past few weeks my family and I have been putting them through their paces.

Russell Hobbs Sandwich Press : this appliance has had A LOT of use. It’s a 4 slice sandwich press which is a great family size. You can make 4 sandwiches at once, or if you’re like us, you can make less but bigger, oddly shaped sandwiches with Turkish bread or rolls.

The Russell Hobbs Sandwich Press comes in a red stainless steel finish (so lovely). The plates are non stick and my favourite part about this appliance is the floating hinges – you can make thicker sandwiches without the insides oozing out, leaving a hot sticky mess.

 

 

The other day, rather than make the usual sandwiches, I asked my kids to come up with a sandwich idea which we could try in the sandwich press.

 

 

After a miniscule amount of thought, ideas started flowing. Some were deemed too gross to consider. We  eventually agreed to try the banana, sultana, honey and cheese toasted sandwich. It may sound quite… ummm… unusual… but it was really nice. No, really. It was! Well, that was, when I was brave enough to have a taste.

 

 

 

And what goes well with a toasted sandwich for lunch? Well a cup of tea of course. We’ve also been road testing the Russell Hobbs Heritage Kettle in ruby red.

This premium stainless steel kettle is absolutely fabulous and wins over my old el-cheapo plastic one. It’s a cordless 2400 watt kettle with 1.8 litre capacity. It has a 360 degree base with cord storage, which I love. I hate seeing tangled long cords at the back of appliances.

 

 

The best part about the Russell Hobbs Heritage Kettle (other than the pretty red colour, which co-ordinates with my other kitchen appliances) is the auto cut-off boil-dry technology.

My son has started to ask if I’d like a cup of tea. I think he feels a little bit grown up when he turns on the kettle, makes tea and then receives lots of praise and compliments on how delicious it is. I always worry that there isn’t enough water in the kettle and it’ll fizzle or burn out or something. When I was his age, I remember those old ceramic kettles with the element which would burn out if not covered with enough water. I burnt a few elements in my time, so I’m glad that this kettle has the element concealed, for easy cleaning and auto cut-off.

If you’re not into toasted banana and cheese sandwiches, perhaps a lovely iced tea will be more to your liking.

 

Iced Ginger Mint Tea

Preparation Time : 5 Minutes (plus cooling 2 hours)

Ingredients:

3 green tea bags

3 cups boiling water

1/2 cup mint leaves

3cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

1 tbs honey

Lemon slices to serve

 

Method:

Place the tea, mint leaves and ginger in a large tea pot. Pour in 3 cups of boiling water and let steep for 5 minutes.

Remove tea bags and leave to cool to room temperature. Strain the leaves and ginger, stir in the honey and transfer to a large jug.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve in glasses over ice with a slice of lemon.

 

What is your favourite toasted sandwich filling?

Have your kids come up with some “interesting” sandwich combinations?

How do you like your tea? Black? White? Sweet? Lemon?