Grilled Chipotle Three-Cheese Sandwich

Day 98: “Katie Lee Joel The Comfort Table”

April 8, 2011

I know, I know, another grilled sandwich that we are making. Honestly it is such a fast week night meal that almost everyone will eat, it has become our go-to meal of late. The beauty of the grilled cheese is that everyone likes it. One exception, for my husband who had too many as a child and will still get nauseous at the sight of a grilled cheese and tomato soup combination. As long as keep them separate he will eat them. But of course we just can’t have any grilled cheese, we have to jazz it up with cool cheese or fun toppings, and now we have started adding a spread to the sandwich before we grill it.

Another pretty person another pretty cookbook…..or so it seems. Katie Lee Joel was married to Billy Joel (I think they are now divorced). She does have some cooking experience and she is seasoned writer, so I am going to cut her some slack. Most of the recipes in her cookbook are good basic ones for home cooks to have in their cooking arsenal, such as meatloaf or roasted tomato soup. If you like to experiment with some fun options try the Vidalia Onion Pie or the Chorizo Grits Cakes with Cilantro Cream. The cookbook would be a nice one to give to someone who is starting out in their first apartment or getting married. Basic recipes that the average home cook can prepare.

The Ruling: Our family has a love for chipotle…..ever since we first started making chipotle chicken tacos back in the days that we needed a recipe for leftover Thanksgiving turkey. We now make our chipotle chicken tacos at least once a week and it is the one dish that everyone loves. So when I saw that there was a chipotle sauce on a sandwich I had to try it. I left off the red onions….we are not big raw onion fans. It also calls for two of each pieces of cheese….gets kind of cheesy! There was extra sauce and we froze ours to use for another date. My son works for a really cool restaurant in town and he suggested that they add it to their menu this summer, so Sara, here is the official request from our son to add it to the menu at the Cafe Muse or at Maxwells.

Grilled Chipotle Three-Cheese Sandwich, page 115

Ingredients:

• One 7 ounce can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 12 slices Monterey Jack cheese
• 12 slices Swiss cheese
• 12 slices Cheddar cheese
• 2 Roma tomatoes, slice crosswise
• 1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
• 12 ounces sourdough bread (thickly sliced if possible)
• 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened

Directions:

1. Place the chipotle peppers and their sauce in a food processor or a blender and puree until smooth. With the machine running slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Place the chipotle puree in a small bowl and set aside. Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat a large heavy skillet, grill pan, or griddle to a medium heat.
3. Place the bread slices on a work surface and spread each slice with 1/2 -1 tablespoon chipotle puree (depending on how spicy you like it). Layer half the bread slices with two slices of each cheese and a few slices of the tomatoes and onions. Top with the remaining slices of bread, chipotle side down. Spread the top and bottom of each sandwich with butter.
4. Grill each sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until the cheese is completely melted and the bread is golden brown. Slice the sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Grilled Cheese With A Grown-up Twist

Day 80: “Bobby Flay’s Throwdown”

March 21, 2011

I swear this will be the last panini like sandwich for at least a week.  The chapter in the cookbook was called grilled cheese…..I never dreamed it would be a panini….ok, maybe I did. Is anyone counting how many paninis I have made in the last month? I can’t count that far! Why so many paninis you might be asking.  Well let me tell you because they are hot and fast! Some nights standing in the kitchen just is not an option.

Bobby Flay’s show on the Food Network is fun to watch. Usually the contestant in the throw down is taken totally by surprise. Really? I would suspect if I was the best at something and the Food Network called and wanted to do a show about you, I would question if Bobby Flay is going to show up. The cookbook is full of beautiful recipes each with a picture. Lovely cookbook but I was looking for the easiest thing in the cookbook and it couldn’t have 30 ingredients, yeah it was that kind of day. But if you want some cool recipes, have fun with this cookbook!

The Ruling: Everyone ate it….because they could put in what they wanted to. Just a few of us had the avocado. I liked the mayonnaise/balsamic spread, and in fact put a little more on my sandwich! Should there be any surprise that we used our panini press instead of a griddle?

The Calvert, page 156

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 5inch round or square pieces rosemary focaccia, split
• Vegetable oil or butter, for the griddle
• 10 slices Monterey Jack cheese
• 8 ounces sliced oven-roasted turkey
• 4 slices applewood-smoked bacon, cooked until crisp
• 1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat a griddle to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the mayonnaise and vinegar in a small bowl. Spread 1 tablespoon on each cut side of the focaccia.
3. Add a little oil to the griddle. Place the focaccia, mayonnaise side up, on the griddle. Put 2 slices of cheese on top of each piece of bread, and cover with a heatproof bowl to melt the cheese.
4. Meanwhile, divide the turkey into 2 portions and put on the griddle to warm. Place the bacon slices in an “X” over each portion, and cover with the avocado and remaining cheese. Once the cheese is melted all around, put a mound of turkey on 2 bottom halves, and top with the remaining bread.
5. Add a bit more oil to the griddle and press the sandwiches with a cast-iron pan or other heavy thing, turning once, until the bread is crisp on both sides.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.