I honestly had no idea what to call this grilled cheese sandwich. I thought of calling it a lot of names, but kept coming around to extra ordinary.
I need to tell you, it's National Sandwich Month. So here's my latest, greatest, re iteration of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
There are a bunch of bloggers who are also posting their favorite sandwiches, sides, or fillings as well. You can check them out at the end here.
I mean, we've all had grilled cheese sammies, haven't we? It's a kinda go-to sandwich in my household. Pair it with a bowl of tomato soup, and you have comfort food, right? I'd make it with ham and tomato inside, and that was a substantial meal in itself.
I'm currently sorta houseless, my house is up for sale, and I'm bouncing around various furnished places, looking for my next home. I'm staying in a cottage at the moment, which has a full kitchen, (Yippee), and have been using it as my base. And since it's a temporary place, I've not stocked it up with a lot of food. Mostly food I can cook quickly, without fuss. Like grilled cheese sandwiches. Easy peasy, right?
Last week, I took advantage of a nephew's offer to get me some fresh crab and decided to make some of my award-winning crabcakes for the family. Said with a tongue in cheek. They're good, don't get me wrong, but still, they're crabcakes. They've also got a ton of ingredients in them, so I had lots of peppers, onions, and celery left over. I sautéed them in a pan, thinking I'd just portion them out and freeze them for future omelettes.
Well, by the time I'd finished cutting all the stuff up and sauteeing them (I added a couple of mushrooms to the mixture as well), I was hungry. I was not in the mood for an omelette but decided to see how this would taste on a grilled cheese sandwich. So I did a bit of a dive into the fridge, pulled out the heel of a piece of Havarti cheese, and some leftover gruyère I'd used in my Roasted Radish Tart. I had been invited to a party and brought this as my offering to the potluck. So many people now eat grain-free as well as gluten-free, and this tart is amazing. It's a great dish to bring, unusual, and tastes amazing. I also had some dried-up (just a little) cheddar cheese, so I decided to go ahead and add it all to the sandwich.
My mouth would have done a major happy dance if it weren't full of goodness.
You all know how to make a grilled cheese: butter the bread (of your choice), place the buttered side down in a pan, add the cheese, then cook it until it's golden brown. I started this one that way, and then added a generous spoonful of the veggie mixture, topped with more cheese, and another slice of buttered bread. I like to cook mine over fairly low heat so the cheese melts and the bread browns. But you do you.
When I sauteed the veggies, I didn't bother adding any seasonings, cause I'm also cooking salt-free (mostly) these days. And they didn't need any extra boosts, really, they didn't. And there was plenty of salt in the cheeses, anyway.
All right, enough of the hyperbole. Here's the recipe, well, it's more of a how-to. Cause let's face it, we all know how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, well, many of us do.
Saute together over fairly low heat - one chopped red onion, one each, chopped Red Pepper, Orange Pepper, Yellow Pepper, 3 stalks chopped celery, 3-5 large mushrooms. Cut them all into uniform pieces. And by the way, you can sub in Green Peppers for the Orange and Yellow peppers, but I would counsel keeping the Red Pepper or one of the other Peppers in. They tend to be sweeter than the Green. Just sayin... I sauteed them in a mixture of ghee and a neutral oil.
Butter your bread on one side, place it in the pan, butter side down. Lowish heat. Add your cheese of choice, sliced as thinly as possible; grated is better. Add some sauteed veggies, then another layer of cheese. As soon as you see some melty action happening with the cheese, add the second slice of buttered bread, butter side out, and flip the entire sandwich. The first side of the sandwich should be nicely browned. Continue cooking the sandwich until the second side has browned, and then serve it. You can add some ground pepper or other spices if you like, but I liked them just as they were. The best part was that I had enough for several sandwiches or omelettes.
And there you have it, an extra
ordinary Grilled Cheese.
I also added a sprinkle of dried tarragon to the veggie mixture, but it kinda overtook the veggie taste.
Take a look at what some other talented bloggers shared for National Sandwich Month.
- Caramel Pulled Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches by Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Chicken Caesar Wraps by Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Family Favorite Tuna Salad by Food Lust People Love
- Grilled Bombay Sandwich by Mayuri's Jikoni
- Grilled Cheese Extra Ordinary by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
- Hung Curd Veggie Sandwich by Sneha's Recipe
- Pie Iron Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches by Day in the Life on the Farm
- Sunflower Pesto Turkey Sandwich by Our Good Life