Date Night Dinners - Grilled Cheese Deluxe
Yumm, what is better then a good, old fashioned grilled cheese? Umm, a dolled up one! And that is exactly what Brenden and I went with for date night dinner this week.
Just like our taste in vegetables (I love them; Brenden pretty much despises them unless it is corn or potatoes - one of those "fake veggies") our taste in television is pretty opposite as well. Brenden could watch Sports Center for days on end while tend to steer my viewings toward the drama and reality sector of shows. One thing we can agree on is Food Network - and we even like the same shows on Food Network...for the most part. One of our favorites in Worst Cooks In America (maybe because it makes us feel better about our cooking). Without our knowledge, a new season began and we had a few episodes to catch up on. After watching a mini-marathon to get caught up, we were inspired.
One of the episodes involved a grilled cheese making competition. Now Brenden and I make grilled cheese all the time, but like I said we were inspired. As we watched Bobby and Anne teach the contestants how to pull mozzarella and explain to them the different components to make a perfect grilled cheese, our mouths started to water. So we decided fancy grilled cheeses were on the menu for the week - I mean if a chick with five inch nails and a dude who thinks peanut butter should be added to chili could do it, so could we.
We used some of Anne and Bobby's techniques, combined them with some ideas from the internet and finally tailored them to our taste buds. We each made our own "perfect," jazzed up grilled cheese. I used three types of cheese for mine, caramelized onions and apples. Brenden used two types of cheese and the onions but skipped the apple. We sandwiched the ingredients between two slices of sourdough bread. Mmm, my mouth is beginning to water again. They both turned out really well!
I was a little worried that my chosen toppings wouldn't mesh well so I used them sparingly. Well, they meshed excellently! Next time I will definitely add a bit more apple and onion slices. I might even use a more tart apple (getting crazy) to balance out the sweetness of the caramelization from the onions. I used gala this time I believe. Brenden was also a happy camper with his sammich. He used blue cheese for his base. It is a fairly strong cheese and he said he would use a bit less of it next time since it overpowered the other flavors. But for the most part, as I said, the sandwiches were fantastic. We will definitely be making these again and trying some new combinations (when we can afford the fancy cheese). Oh the possibilities!
Fancy Grilled Cheeses
(Note: Ingredients and Directions for both versions are listed below with a "T" or "B" to differentiate. No letter means it was used for both.)
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium apple, sliced thin (T)
- 2 slices swiss cheese (T)
- 1 slice cheddar cheese (T)
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup soft blue cheese (B)
- 2 slices muenster cheese
- 1/2 small yellow onion, sliced thin
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 2 Tbsp butter
Directions
- In a medium saute skillet, caramelize the onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes).
- While onions are caramelizing, begin to assemble the sandwich. Lay out two slices of bread per sandwich.
- Divide the cheese evenly among the slices. (I put a slice of of swiss on each piece of bread then put a slice of cheddar on top of the swiss on one side and a slice of muenster on top of the swiss on the other side. Brenden put a slice of muenster on each piece of bread and blue cheese crumbles on top of the muenster on just one side).
- When the onions are caramelized to your liking, spread them across one piece of bread, on top of the cheese.
- Place the apple slices on top of the onions (T).
- Return the skillet to the stove top and add 1 Tbsp of the butter to melt.
- When the skillet is reheated, place both sides of your sandwich on the skillet (open faced, ingredients facing up).
- Let the bread sit for a few minutes until the cheese gets melted on both sides.
- When the cheese is melty, place one side on top of the other to close the sandwich.
- Heat for a few minutes longer, flipping once, until golden brown and slightly crispy on each side.
- Repeat steps 6 - 10 for additional sandwiches.
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