The banana and peanut butter sandwich is a hairy beast that must be tamed with the judicious application of tempered heat. Tip of the day: When disaster strikes, have ice-cream instead.
Dilemma: After toasting, the bread is soggy or floppy.
Problem: Heat is not circulating underneath the bread during the grilling process.
Solution: Toast the bread before assembling the sandwich, or place the sandwich on a raised wire rack in the grill to allow air to circulate underneath.
Dilemma: While toasting, the top layer becomes burnt, while the rest of the sandwich stays cold.
Problem: The grill is too hot, so cooks things too quickly.
Solution: If you can, place the sandwich on a lower shelf. Otherwise, put the sandwich in the oven for 5 minutes to warm up, before finishing it under the grill.
Dilemma: The top layer of banana turns to mush.
Problem: The banana is overripe, or the sandwich has been cooked too long under a low heat.
Solution: Cook the sandwich at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time, and only use just-rip bananas.
Dilemma: The top layer of banana is all dry and chewy.
Problem: You have used Lady-finger bananas as the top layer, or the Cavendish bananas are under-ripe.
Solutions: Wait a day for the bananas to ripen before making the sandwich
Dilemma: After cooking, everything falls apart.
Problem: Too many ingredients on the sandwich, or not enough peanut butter.
Solutions: Use less ingredients, or more peanut butter.