The Ten
Grilled Cheese Sandwich Cravings
Bread plus cheese plus heat, perfection times 10
Grilled cheese is the great diplomat of snacks: It pleases everyone (with the exception of the no-dairy and no-wheat contingents). Here are 10 variations on a theme, with a few liberties taken, all warm, gooey, crisp, and satisfying.
1. Apple and Aged Cheddar Grilled Cheese. Apples and cheese are a classic snack that improves with the application of heat. Our version puts apple and aged cheddar between slices of walnut bread for a nutty, sweet taste.
2. Asian Pear and Gouda Grilled Cheese. The apple-and-cheese combination got us thinking about other crispy-fruity-cheesy matches. We came up with Asian pear and Gouda, which has quickly become a CHOW favorite.
3. Grape and Taleggio Grilled Cheese. This may seem like a strange pairing for a toasted sandwich, but try it. The grapes get a soaking in grappa to boost the fruit’s floral qualities, and the Taleggio’s meltiness contrasts fabulously against the crunch of the whole wheat bread.
4. Roasted Beet and Chèvre Grilled Cheese. The combo of roasted beets and chèvre is normally found in French salads topped with vinaigrette, but it’s even tastier as a sandwich. To mimic the flavors of the classic café salad, the roasted beets are dipped in vinegar before being sandwiched.
5. Sun-Dried Tomato, Parsley, and Manchego Grilled Cheese. Here we chopped up everything to ensure the flavors blended as thoroughly as possible. The punches of intense tomato, herby parsley, and nutty cheese make for a tasty snack.
6. Sweet Hot Mustard and Jarlsberg Grilled Cheese. The ballpark classic of soft pretzels with mustard, and our boss’s favorite quick bite of Jarlsberg and hard pretzels, turned into a great grilled sandwich. It combines homemade pretzel rolls and mustard, and it’s worth the extra effort.
7. Mozzarella, Prosciutto, and Fig Jam Panino. A sweet-salty take that’s a real crowd-pleaser.
8. Black Forest Ham, Caramelized Onions, and Cambozola Grilled Cheese. Ham and cheese is a timeless combination. It only gets tastier when you toast it up in this sandwich with onions.
9. Sautéed Jalapeño and Aged Jack Grilled Cheese. A makeshift spiced Jack takes shape here. Sautéing the jalapeños mellows their heat and brings out their vegetal taste, while the Jack gives a rich flavor.
10. Banana and Fromage Blanc Grilled Cheese. We whipped this one up for the sweet tooths among us. Fromage blanc and diced banana are mixed with vanilla then slathered on cinnamon toast for a sandwich that’s just as good for dessert as it is for breakfast.
Aïda Mollenkamp is a food editor at CHOW.
lately i've been eating open-faced fancied grilled (well, toasted) cheese for breakfast.
a slice of slightly toasted bread, topped with dijon, two slices of onion, a poached egg and swiss cheese, seasoned with fresh ground pepper, cajun seasoning and nutritional yeast and toasted again to melt the cheese. mmmmmm.
It all looks awesome. I have a friend who runs a gourmet grilled cheese restaurant. I forwarded this to him.
Whoa! Where is this gourmet grilled cheese restaurant?!?!
Sounds delicious. Being a cheese lover, I have already tried several of these. They were all fantastic.
I had a panini at the Michigan football game last week that was gruyere and cheddar with a little dijon. Wow, was that good.
Wait a minute, I was at the Michigan football game last weekend. All I saw was beer and Dominos "pizza"!! Where did you get that delicious-sounding panini?
I've recently perfected my own little trailer-park grilled cheese. Nothing fancy as no soft cheeses while pregnant, but just American and Fontina with crumbled bacon on grainy whole wheat bread.
Had a great panini at a coffeehouse - fontina, avocado, bacon lettuce and tomato with chipotle mayo. Delish.
My personal favourite is all out !
i start off by making french toast; making an egg mixture with 1 egg per lie and 1 for good measure, a bit of milk, seasoning as you like and mix, soak bread and fry.
fry up as many slices of bacon as you would like in each sandwich
put the bacon in the french toast with slices of your favourite cheese, i usually use chedder but i like edam and a bit of mozzarella. i also like to use sauce of whatever kind i feel like, BBQ/HP/tomato. Put it in your sandwhich grill and enjoy
Love your cheese variety sandwiches. I have been doing this for years and never saw them elsewhere. I also try different varieties with peanut butter sandwiches. Try PB and bacon. yum.
http://www.reversefunnelsysteminterne...
I have yet to try this, but will soon. We are opening a cafe in a week and as I was entertaining the thought of a child's menu I came up with the most decadent grilled cheese I can think of.
GRILLED MAC N CHEESE SANDWICH with BACON!
Mac n cheese is homemade, of course.
I think I want to find one of those snak master contraptions that seal the edges of the bread to form a pocket.
Amazing recipes here, I never thought one could get so creative with grilled cheese. I guess I have some grilled cheese variations with Feta cheese and Chicken on flax seed bread...I've been grilling this off my new charcoal grill at http://www.kitchenproductdeals.com and it's been wonderful.
I bought a panini grill and from day one I have been addicted.