Cheesy Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

I have been debating whether to get a grill pan for awhile now.  In the summer my husband is the "grill master" and uses our Weber charcoal grill a lot.  I do not know how to use the charcoal grill, nor do I really want to use it!  But I have so many "grilled" recipes that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to make.  I almost bought a cast-iron grill pan.  But we already own a cast-iron pan.  The only difference this pan would make would be to put "grill" marks onto the food!  So I decided against it.  As my husband pointed out, we own a George Foreman grill, that we haven't used in years!  So I made these sandwiches by grilling the eggplant on the George Foreman and then cooking the sandwiches on it to get the "grill" marks.  The good thing about these sandwiches is that I was able to customize the kids' sandwiches.  My daughter doesn't like cheese, neither of the kids wanted eggplant (although they had to have a taste!), and so on.  My husband and I found these to be really tasty.  But of course, we love any excuse to eat prosciutto!!!

Cheesy Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches
Recipe slightly adapted from EveryDay with Rachael Ray, August 2008

Ingredients:
1 pound small eggplants, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
8 slices Italian bread
4 slices Swiss cheese, torn into two pieces
4 ounces  thinly sliced prosciutto

Directions:
1.Preheat a grill to medium. In a large bowl, toss the eggplant slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning once, until softened, about 4 minutes.

2.Lay the bread on a work surface. Top 4 slices with a layer each of cheese, prosciutto, eggplant and another layer of prosciutto and cheese. Top with the remaining bread slices.

3.Brush the outside of the sandwiches with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Grill, covered, turning once, until crisp, about 2 minutes.

 Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.  

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