Grilled Cheddar Sandwich With Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes

One of the latest foods fads is that of restaurants that make gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Most large cities like New York City, Chicago, Washington DC and Los Angles have seen a lot of new restaurants and food trucks that specialize in elevating this ubiquitous comfort food that holds a special place in American culture to levels of haute cuisine. Clearly in our household too, a grilled cheese sandwich, this is my quick go-to meal when I am either running short on time, or on ideas or even in grocery supplies. I always have good bread and good cheese in the house – so a combination of the two is the natural reliable choice when all else fails. Usually I serve my grilled cheese with some home-made tomato soup but today I didn’t have any soup, so I switched up the standard recipe a bit and added some goat cheese, grated garlic and some sun-dried tomatoes. The resultant sandwich was delicious and satisfying and even though I didn’t have any tomato soup, the addition of sun-dried tomatoes and garlic was able to give some zing and balance of flavors.

Ingredients:

1. Two slices of whole grain wheat bread.
2. 1 clove of garlic
3. 1.5 tablespoons of fresh goat cheese
4. 4-5 ounces of good quality sharp cheddar cheese
5. 1/5 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
6. 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (I used a Trader Joe’s jar)

Directions:

1. On a non-stick pan or iron skillet, pour a little bit of extra virgin olive and coat the bottom of the pan and start warming the two slices of bread on low heat.

2. While the slices are warming up, peel the garlic clove and grate it on a microplane.

3. When the slices of bread are lightly toasted on one side take them off the pan and with the help of a butter knife, spread the grated garlic evenly on the toasted side on one of the slices.

4. Then evenly spread the goat cheese on top of the garlic layer.

5. Next layer the pieces of sun-dried tomatoes.

6. With a sharp knife, slice the cheddar cheese in pieces that are about a centimeter or so in thickness.

7. Layer the sliced cheddar cheese on top of the sun-dried tomatoes.
8. And then the second slice on top of the cheddar cheese to construct the sandwich.
9. Then start heating the sandwich again on the heated pan. You may need to put the side that is closest to the cheddar cheese layer for a little longer than the other side because the cheddar cheese gets melted a lot slower than the goat cheese. This grilling will need to be done slowly so that the cheese gets melted inside but the bread doesn’t get too browned. A little more of olive oil may be needed while grilled the sandwich.

10. When both sides of the sandwich are lightly browned on both sides and the cheese inside is ooey-gooey, take the sandwich off the heat and using a serrated knife, cut it in two halves. Serve while the sandwich is still piping hot and the cheese is oozing and melting out of it.

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