BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Melted Gruyere

Posted on April 7, 2013 by mschro

The days are getting longer and each day feels a little bit closer to summer time! And what says summer more than barbeque grilled chicken sandwiches? I chose a simple recipe for barbeque sauce made with molasses, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and chipotle peppers. Then as a side I made some baked potato fries served with malt vinegar. I chose a smoky Gruyere cheese to go with the sandwich which paired very will with the flavors of the barbeque sauce. This was a tasty dish that I will definitely make again this summer!

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French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Posted on November 4, 2012 by mschro

At first when I came up with the idea of a French onion grilled cheese sandwich I thought I was being original. Turns out loads of people had though of it before me which suggests that this sandwich is a pretty good idea! I couldn’t believe how similar it tasted to the actual soup. The bread slices were the croutons, the melted gruyere and wine/beef stock braised onions all came together to fool my brain into thinking I was eating the real soup. The only thing difficult about this recipe is eating it because those onions are pretty slippery. I used potato bread which is what I had on hand but a nice crusty baguette would work nicely. The sandwich was so tasty and really easy to put together (except for the onions that kept slipping out). I look forward to having this again!

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Turkey Burger with Caramelized Onions, Gruyere and Sage Mayo

Posted on September 21, 2012 by mschro

Turkey burgers are the perfect alternative to beef burgers because they are versatile and have great flavor. I had never tried turkey burgers before and I was surprised by how tasty they were! This recipe ended up being a celebration of the end of summer and a good way to tie two seasons together. The burgers were juicy and charred, and went perfectly with the caramelized onions and smoky gruyere. I chose sweet potato fries for a side and they were really good with the burger. The sage mayo was another great accompaniment with the turkey burger as well. The recipe is similar to last Thanksgiving’s Roasted Butternut Squash recipe with caramelized onions and gruyere. The sandwich reminded me of a summer version of Thanksgiving dinner, and just as tasty too!

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Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes

Posted on August 12, 2012 by mschro

One of my favorite summer dishes is caprese salad. Sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves and balsamic vinegar offer the perfect combination of flavors. It also turns out these ingredients are a perfect grilled cheese in the making! The one issue was the balsamic vinegar–how to incorporate a liquid ingredient on a sandwich that isn’t a dressing? My solution was to simply roast the tomatoes in balsamic vinegar in the oven which infused the flavor of the balsamic into the tomato. I chose sourdough for the bread which worked nicely with the other ingredients. The sandwich was really tasty and not hard to make at all. It was a great way to turn a caprese salad appetizer into the main course!

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Prosciutto, Manchego and Fig Jam Sandwich

Posted on July 29, 2012 by mschro

A while back I made a prosciutto, mozzarella and fig panini on ciabatta bread. I wanted to revisit those flavors because I loved the combination of smoky and savory prosciutto along with the sweet and fruity fig jam. Instead of mozzarella I went with Manchego which is a cheese that I have been using quite a bit in sandwiches lately. Manchego is a little bit sweet and a little bit tart so it worked perfectly with the other ingredients. I decided on sourdough bread instead of ciabatta just to try something a little different. The sandwich turned out really great! I loved how the flavors balanced each other really well. It’s really easy to make too since it only needs 4 ingredients! The fig jam can be sweet so I just spread it thinly over the bread. It was a great combination of sweet and savory flavors, so I will definitely be having this again!

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Coppa and Manchego Cheese Sandwich with Roasted Tomatoes

Posted on July 8, 2012 by mschro

Coppa is an Italian cured meat made from thinly sliced pork shoulder. It is a perfect meat for sandwiches and goes well with melted cheese (then again what doesn’t?) I thought the tangy, Spanish Manchego cheese would go nicely with the flavors of the coppa. I read online that coppa is usually seasoned with white wine before curing so I marinated the tomatoes in white wine, then roasted them in the oven. I patted down the tomatoes a bit so that any wine vapor wouldn’t make the oven catch fire! The result was a wine infused roasted tomato and a fire-free kitchen. On top of the roasted tomatoes I added a layer of basil and grilled it all together. I really liked the sourdough bread with the slightly sour/tangy manchego. The roasted tomatoes provided sweet acidity and the pork was flavorful and a little smoky. All the ingredients were nicely balanced and it was an all around tasty sandwich!

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Pulled Chicken Sandwich with Kimchi and Gochujang Mayo

Posted on June 18, 2012 by mschro

Ever since I first made kimchi and gochujang I have been infatuated with those ingredients. Kimchi reminds me a little of sauerkraut so I had the idea of making a Korean inspired grilled cheese sandwich. Instead of grilling the chicken breasts, I decided to boil them which resulted in nicely shredded chicken. Then I tossed the shredded chicken in a simple Korean marinade of gochujang, soy sauce, ginger, and honey. The chicken was layered with kimchi, sharp cheddar cheese, and gochujang mayo. The result was a delicious, melty chicken sandwich that was spicy and sweet. All the flavors were perfectly balanced with each other and came together so well!

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Grilled Eggplant Panini with Roasted Tomatoes and Olive Tapenade

Posted on May 27, 2012 by mschro

Eggplant has become a recent favorite food over the last 2 years. Before that I just never gave it a second thought. It’s an under rated vegetable and that might be due to the trickiness of cooking it. There’s acid in eggplant so it’s good to press some of the juice out to remove the bitterness. Grilling eggplant is one of the best ways to cook it just because it chars the eggplant and gives it a smokier flavor. I chose some roasted tomato slices to compliment the eggplant along with fresh mozzarella and olive tapenade. The roasted tomatoes were especially good because they are in between fresh and sun-dried. The tomato is concentrated like a sun-dried tomato but it remains just juicy enough to eat on a sandwich. It was so good! I really liked all the flavors together and I will definitely make this again.

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Moroccan Chicken Sandwich with Manchego Cheese and Preserved Lemons

Posted on May 11, 2012 by mschro

After making Moroccan Chicken I had some leftovers that needed to be used. As I have said in previous posts, I make that dish pretty often so I am always trying to come up with new, tasty recipes for the leftovers. I decided to try the chicken on a grilled cheese sandwich along with Manchego cheese, caramelized onions and preserved lemons. The preserved lemons and caramelized onions are sauteed together with honey so their flavors can mingle. Manchego is a Spanish cheese that has the consistency of mozzarella and has a slightly tangy flavor. I had it once at a mexican restaurant and I was looking forward to having it again. It melts great so I thought it would work nicely on a grilled cheese sandwich. This sandwich was simple to make and the flavors were so good together.

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Corned Beef Sandwich On Rye with Cider Caramelized Onions

Posted on May 6, 2012 by mschro

After baking a loaf of rye bread, what better way to put it to use than making corned beef sandwiches? This sandwich is similar to the Reuben but with a few notable differences. I decided to use sharp cheddar and caramelized onions instead of Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. Since corned beef pairs well with more bitter ingredients I used cider vinegar to caramelize the onions instead of something sweeter like brown sugar or honey. I also mixed some horseradish and Dijon mustard together which tasted great with the corned beef. All the flavors worked really well together and I can’t wait to make it again! I served the sandwich with a side of Irish coleslaw.

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