The Best of the Best

Last week's post covered the highs and lows of my grilled cheesing so far.  But one thing it didn't cover were the highest highs of all!  So this week, Colin and I both chose our own favorite sandwich and mutually agreed upon an additional best overall sandwich that we'd like to re-highlight today.  I know you can probably guess at who made the cut based on the leader board, but it's more fun to take a full blown trip down memory lane :-)

Since I was making three different types of sandwiches that called for A LOT of ingredients.  I'm sure loyal readers can start to guess where we might be headed based on some of the ingredients pictured above.

Yummy-- assorted sandwiches looking good enough to eat!

First up is Colin's favorite:

The Pilgrim

This Thanksgiving themed sandwich has proved that it's a winner year round!  The extra gooey Gouda cheese gives the sandwich an absolutely perfect texture to the point that the sandwich virtually melts in your mouth.  I never would have thought to combine mustard and cranberry sauce, but it's a surprisingly good combination.  The turkey is just the right meat-- anything else would be too heavy.  It's just subtle enough to allow the other flavors to shine too making it a perfectly balanced treat!  It's a little spicy, a little sweet, and a lot delicious. 

Next up, Janet's favorite:

(Disclaimer: I made these sandwiches after coming home from the gym but before showering, so real life me was not suitable to be photographed.  I used a photo of myself as a substitute.)

What do you mean?  Of course that's me!  *Sigh* OK, you caught me.

This sandwich officially endorsed by Morgan Freeman. 


OK, that's not true either.

Apple, Ham and Cheddar on Sourdough



Sorry for the sub-par photography all around, but I had already eaten half of my sandwich by the time I remembered to take a picture-- yes, it's that delicious :-)  What I love about this sandwich is the way the freshness of the apple enhances things.  That sweet crunch in the middle (along with the sweet ham) is a great way to cut the sharpness of the cheddar.  Since I LOVE cheddar cheese, this is a great choice for me because (as usual), the cheese in no short supply.  This is also the sandwich that brought me back to eating/enjoying ham, and that in and of itself is an accomplishment.

And now, at long last, the moment we've all been waiting for!  Colin and I had no question on which sandwich is the best.  Every time someone asks me about my blog and what the best sandwich I've made is, this is the first one I mention.  So without further ado, the official Janet and Colin favorite sandwich:

The California Grill

Where to begin?  There are so many great things about this one.  First off, let me say that the type of salsa used is CRUCIAL.  Since the jack cheese and the avocado have pretty set in stone tastes, the way the salsa tastes is the way the sandwich will taste.  Second, make sure you DRAIN the salsa!  It should be sort of bruschetta like when you put it on the sandwich otherwise the sandwich will be too soggy (a problem I ran into for the first time with this batch).  But moving on, jack cheese is one of my other favorite cheeses for its simple flavor that is also a bit sharp.  Combine that with a nice spice from some salsa and the cooling avocado and you've got pure, unadulterated deliciousness.  The avocado makes the sandwich so creamy while the jack cheese keeps it gooey.  It's heaven on a plate.

So there you have it!  The best of the best of our grilled cheeses so far.  I'm sure there are many more tasty treats to be had, but in the mean time I encourage everyone to try all of these.