A Good Christmas Gift?

Kev is the hardest person to shop for on the planet. He prefers to purchase his own electronics and likes to keep every thing else pretty simple.

That usually leaves me with NO ideas.

Clothes? It just so happens that 1980 is his style. And luckily for him ( but not me!), the clothes from his high school days still fit.

Music? It just so happens he has "connections" to a little place I like to call THE PAWN SHOP. Which means he pretty much has access to whatever he wants.

Food? It just so happens that his wife LOVES to cook... and purchases TONS of food, for that matter. So, he never goes hungry.

Hobbies? They consist of working out and chores. And who really wants to give him something to help with chores! NOT ME!

So, you can imagine my dilemma when looking for gifts. It is stressful. But this year... well, this year I had it covered. A panini maker. Because one of his most favorite meals of all times is a sandwich and chips. Joey from Friends style.

And the "sandwich maker" that he has just wasn't cutting it. Mainly because it was FROM THE PAWN SHOP. And there are just all kinds of wrong about buying a sandwich maker from a pawn shop.

"You can take a sandwich maker out of a pawn shop, but you can't take the pawn shop out of the sandwich maker"

I just made that saying up. But it fits.

I refused to use it. Which left him to make hot sandwiches on the nights that I closed at work.

It just wasn't worth it. Hiding to make sandwiches. Me threatening to throw it out. That is why a panini maker sounded like the perfect idea!

Well, I searched and researched and searched. And ended up with THREE of them. Because I was just that indecisive. But after much thought and comparison and "weighing the options"... I came up with THE ONE:
It is from the Food Network. Not literally from "the network" but from the company that makes Food Network stuff. It is the BOMB - or at least it was supposed to be. It grills, makes paninis, waffles, and quesadillas. Every thing that I have ever wanted in an appliance. And a man, for that matter.

I thought I had done it! The ultimate surprise. One that would blow his socks off. ( We have been married for ALMOST 16 years by the way... it is the simple things....)

But so far, depending on this "machine" has been the downfall of two meals. I seem to do better when I am in complete control.

The first meal was..... a panini. A BBQ chicken panini. I dreamed of this sandwich the ENTIRE day. I even told the bag boy at Publix that he better put the Rotisserie chicken in my trunk or I would eat it whole on the way home. ( He did not seem amused - but quickly dialed 911 as I drove away)
I rushed home. Made the sandwich - chicken + BBQ sauce + red onion+ Monterey Jack cheese

All on a (HUGE) Sourdough loaf. Um. That was probably my downfall. Look how big the bread is. Have you ever seen such a sandwich? I should have known there was an issue when the panini maker SCREAMED in pain when I tried to shut the lid.

And this is what the finished sandwich looked like.....

Don't get me wrong. It was ok. Not the amazing flavors I hoped for. But maybe that was because I was trying to wrap my mouth around A HUGE PIECE OF BREAD!!!

And then there was the waffles....

Or should I say... pieces of bits of waffle tasting bites. Because waffles... well, they just didn't work out. They stuck to it, drooled out the back of the maker, fell apart, and called me a crappy waffle maker in a thick English accent.

It was embarrassing.

Especially, on "Waffle Sunday". I will be ridiculed by my kitchen until I rectify the situation.

But since 2011 has made me the "glass half full" type. I decided to make the most of it and pour some DELICIOUS blackberry syrup on top of the "waffle bits".

This stuff was AMAZING!! So good! And something we had never had before. We received it as a gift for Christmas. And let me just tell you that it made the waffles(?) taste like a million bucks. It says on the back that you can pour it on desserts, pancakes, waffles, and ice cream ( yes, please!)

It literally saved our breakfast!

Maybe I should have just given Kev some syrup and NOT the panini maker. Or maybe I should learn to accept defeat - and keep trying until I get it right.

Speaking of keep trying - I did go out and purchase some flatter bread. I WILL try again because tomorrow night is tuna melt night. And I refuse to let an appliance get the best of me!