In general, caprese salads/sandwiches/whatever seem to be fan favorites, so the idea of putting it on a grilled cheese is, naturally, an appealing prospect. So let's get right down to it.
Ingredients included:
* Crusty Italian bread (in this case I opted for a Wegmans specialty item-- Garlic Tuscan Bread)
* 6 ounces fresh mozzarella (in my case 8 ounces-- you know how I love the cheese!)
* 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
* 2 Tbsp. dry jack or Parmesan cheese (in my case Parmesan & Romano)
* 2 Tbsp. chopped basil leaves (in this case pulled from our newly acquired home grown basil plants!)
* Olive oil
Step one was letting the tomatoes sit in very hot water for 15 minutes. I still have zero idea why this step was necessary, but who am I to question GGC? Maybe I was supposed to get dry tomatoes (the kind not packed in oil) and use the hot water to soften them up? No idea. Oh well! After I had microwaved a half cup of water for 1 minute, in went the tomatoes.
I then turned on my broiler. Yes, the broiler. I wasn't sure where we were going with this step, but high heat makes me nervous! Oh well, again-- I trust GGC.
 |
| YOWZA! |
By the time I finished this the tomatoes weren't quite done with their bath yet, so I took this opportunity to grate the mozzarella. Once I had finished that it was time to remove the tomatoes and chop them.
After everything was chopped and grated I mixed all of the ingredients together. Is it sad that I'm only now realizing that caprese salads have the same colors as the Italian flag?
Now we're ready to make the sandwiches. After brushing one side of four slices of bread with olive oil I spread the cheese mixture evenly over the bread and topped them with another slice of bread, also brushed with olive oil.
After grilling each of the sandwiches it was time to brave an encounter with the broiler. The recipe called for cooking the sandwiches in a heavy skillet that is oven safe but, since I don't have a skillet that meets that description, I opted to use a cookie sheet. I put each sandwich on the cookie sheet and sprinkled the Parmesan on top.
Next it was into the broiler for 30 seconds to a minute or until the cheese is bubbling and starting to turn brown. Well, before I hit that mark I heard my cookie sheet make a loud noise as it sort of buckled in the oven. Fearing for its safety I removed the sandwiches shortly thereafter. The cheese had melted, but not quite browned.
Once the sandwiches had cooled briefly, I plated them and was ready to chow down!
Taste Review:
Aside from an extra hint of charred bread courtesy of the broiler, there wasn't really an aroma for this one. The sandwich looked very appealing with some nice color to the inside and the extra cheese on the outside (a step I'll need to repeat in the future).
The mozzarella is, of course, the perfect cheese for this sandwich. It's creamy and provides the right backdrop to blend evenly with the other flavors. That creamy inside was set off by the crispy exterior consisting of the crunchy crusty bread and the crispy bits of cheese. I like that the cheese on the outside gave a hint of sharpness, but just enough to compliment rather than overwhelm the milder mozzarella.
I was able to pull Colin away from "Dogs in the City" for long enough to hear that he would've liked a little more tomato from a texture standpoint. It's true, the filling is quite creamy, but I like that. I think we've gotten used to lots of sandwiches with "stuff" in them, so although this sandwich was a little simpler I do think that was a good thing. But in thinking about his desire for more tomatoes we pondered whether sun-dried is really the way to go and we think that it is. If this sandwich used regular tomatoes there just wouldn't be enough flavor. The basil would be the one and only standout ingredient.
The garlic in the bread was just a subtle hint in the crust, but it was great. Again, just enough flavor to compliment rather than overwhelm the sandwich. On the whole this makes me think of a panini I'd get at Corner Bakery (which, in my world, is a compliment-- I like Corner Bakery). My only real criticism is that towards the end the sandwich starts to feel a little dry. Perhaps because the bread is so crusty? I'm not sure. Maybe this could be fixed by adding a little more filling, but who knows. I guess I'll just have to make it again and find out!
FINAL RESULTS:
Sandwich:
|
Grilled Caprese
|
Gooey-ness:
|
3.5
|
Aroma:
|
1.5
|
Appearance:
|
Nice and colorful with a cool cheese topping.
|
Taste:
|
A- |
Gooey Scale
|
Aroma Scale
|
| 1 = still cold/hard |
1 = can’t smell
a thing
|
| 2 = slightly
melted but still firm |
2 = tender waft
|
| 3 = melted evenly |
3 = makes your
stomach growl
|
| 4 = melted and slightly runny (starting
to get those cheese strings between your sandwich and your mouth
when you take a bite) |
4 = strong scent
|
| 5 = runny |
5 = overpoweringly pungent
|
| 6 = sloppy mess! |
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