Saturday, July 31, 2010

Grilled Cheese? ummm...yeah, but no :)

I really started feeling a bit guilty with my forays into culinary weirdness - all those recipes with soda in it -ick.  So, I decided to take a short break (Culinary weirdness will be back next week - but the over 21 version) and offer you an utterly decadent twist on the american staple - grilled cheese.

The staple of the American household - a myriad of combinations, possibilities, from the plain old white-bread-American-Cheese to fancy combos like sourdough-chopped olives-fresh-mozzarella-roasted-peppers, or anywhere else your imagination takes you.

My daughter and I went to this new place that opened up in Catonsville - it's called Grilled Cheese & Company and they serve...grilled cheese.  We got the "Veggie Delight", but we also got a "dessert" grilled cheese bet you never thought of grilled cheese as a "dessert" food, did you? Well, they did, and it was awesome.  I decided to replicate the recipe for your gustatory pleasure.

Before I give you the ingredients, please throw out ANY notions you have of "eww...but I don't like Brie" because you will *not* taste it.  It melts at a very low temperature, makes everything nice and gooey along with the other stuff in there.  Ben doesn't like Brie, yet he liked this sandwich of course I didn't TELL him it had Brie in it, because I wanted him to try it.  He thought it was "ok", and "not bad",  but Meg and I loved it.  It's almost like a decadent bread pudding but not as custardy - The bread gives a chewy finish to the raspberry/chocolate combo that is held together by the brie and mascarpone.  All I can do is say try it.   I really doubt anyone will say "EWwww..." I think most people will say "Yummmmmmm!"  Unless of course, you don't like grilled cheese...then I think you're outta luck.

Dessert Grilled Cheese - serves 2-4 (printable recipe is HERE)

4 slices of good quality bread Please do NOT use any kind of Wonder bread crap - splurge on a loaf from the bakery - the kind that has a "bite" to it, i.e. is a bit chewy and dense.
Mascarpone cheese just buy the smallest tub you can find.  It's Italian Cream Cheese, but it has a different, milder flavor than our cream cheese, and it's a bit softer.
6 slices of brie cut thin slices (about 1/4" thick) from a wedge, and trim off the end.  See photos.  You can keep the rind on the top and bottom.
2 TBS of Raspberry jam or any other preserves/jam you'd like to use.  Just no jelly. I used Breezy Willow Farms "Chocolate Razzamatazz" and omg is it heaven.  Pick some up if you're local - if you're not, msg me :-)
3 TBS of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Butter.

1.  Spread a thin layer of mascarpone cheese onto one slice of bread.  Top this with the jam, then sprinkle about 10-12 chocolate chips over this (you don't need a lot - they will melt and spread)

2.  Place 3 wedges of brie on the other slice.  Slap those puppies together, and heat your frying pan to medium.  Notice where I trimmed the rind off the brie? at the fat end...

3.  Now...melt a bit of butter in the pan, enough to cover a slice of bread, and put the sandwich in the pan, moving it around, so it sops up the butter.  Cook til' golden brown.  Put sandwich on the spatula, melt some more butter in the pan, spreading it around so it's breadslicesize, then flip sandwich over onto the melted butter, and again, swirl it around to get it coated.  Cook til' golden brown.

4.  Plate, cut in half, and serve.  Serves 4 if you each have a half, 2 if you eat a whole one by yourself.

*To make it look pretty, you can garnish the plate with fresh berries and a mint sprig, and dust the sandwich with some confectioner's sugar...if you can wait that long to eat it.*

2 comments:

  1. OMG. that looks so good. i always read these when i'm hungry :(
    it kind of reminds me a LITTLE bit of a monte christo? and that's my favorite meal in. the. world.

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  2. Hah...it's goood Tina...try it! Yum!

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