Wednesday, August 25, 2010

BB: Ultimate Grilled Cheese


Ina Garten has a new cookbook coming out - it will be released in October, and is called How Easy is That?  How Ina is that??  In case the title didn't give it away, its focus is straightforward recipes perfect for entertaining and everyday cooking.  Tara, the brains behind Barefoot Bloggers, was offered an advanced copy of it to test out some recipes and share with her fellow blogging pals.  This month, we made Ultimate Grilled Cheese, as chosen by another one of my favorite bloggers, Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake.

When I saw the title of this recipe, I had to wonder what exactly makes it the "ultimate" grilled cheese.  Well, you start with sourdough bread.  Butter each piece.  Then you spread each piece with an incredibly rich sauce of mayo, dijon, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.  Scatter some bacon on top of the sauce, then pile on extra sharp cheddar and Gruyere.  So yeah, this sandwich doesn't mess around.

Joey was really excited by this sandwich.  Me?  Well it was certainly delicious of course.  It was a tiny bit too rich for me though, especially since I'm not the biggest fan of mayo (even though I actually decreased it when I made it).  I think if I had stopped at half a sandwich I would have been better off.  Still - add bacon, cheddar, and gruyere to anything and you can't go wrong. I'm just glad I served it with a light salad.

If you're interested to see what else will be included in Ina's latest cookbook, head over to Smells Like Home and check out what she's made so far.  And I for one can't wait to pick up a copy come October!

One Year Ago:  Pimiento Cheese with Bacon


Ultimate Grilled Cheese
Ina Garten, How Easy is That?
makes 6 sandwiches
  • 12 slices thick-cut bacon
  •  1 cup good mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1  tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 slices sourdough bread
  • 6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
  • 6 oz Gruyere  cheese, grated
  • 6 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line the bacon on a rack set over a baking sheet, and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until browned and crispy.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and allow to drain, then chop into 1-inch pieces.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper, and Parmesan.  Combine the Gruyere and cheddar in a medium bowl.  Spread the sauce on each slice of bread, then top half the slices with bacon.  Top the bacon with 1/3 cup of cheese.

Form sandwiches, pressing each one down.  Butter the top half of each sandwich.  Melt 1-2 Tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick skillet, and grill have the sandwiches buttered-side up, flipping after a few minutes.  Repeat with remaining sandwiches.  Serve immediately.


10 comments:

Tara @ Smells Like Home said...

yum! it looks like this sandwich turned out so great, Josie! i assumed it would be a rich one so i'm planning to serve it with a side salad as well. can't wait to try it!

Kelly said...

Yum. Could a grilled cheese ever be bad? This one sounds rich and oh so yummy. I know some people are against more upscale grilled cheese but I find it makes me swoon.

BTW, discovered your blog via foodie blog roll and absolutely loving it. Your header is adorable (I'm also into pink so automatically it caught my eye).

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

This is one incredible sounding sandwich! I love everything about it. I'm excited for this book to be released :o)

Unknown said...

perfection on a plate....try a havarti, basil, tomato and honey grilled cheese...you will thank me!

Smitten Sugar said...

This does sound rich but I bet it was ohhh so good!

Ari said...

I kind of want to make this right now. With a big bowl of tomato soup? Heaven.

Keri said...

Whao... you have my attention here. I mean really. This floats my boat. Great blog

Keri at www.samwich365.com

kimberly said...

I completely agree with you on how rich this sandwich is and made the same changes that you did with the mayonnaise. It was delicious but heavy.

Sarah from 20somethingcupcakes said...

Wow I cannot wait to make this!!!

Ratih said...

I made this. With turkey bacon. And cheesy bread from Panera. They are oh so so good. Thanks for sharing the recipe!!

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