The recipe calls for: 1 small Granny Smith apple, 1/4 pound smoky ham, 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, sourdough and butter. I was excited to get to use the same delicious sourdough from Wegman's that I used for the crab-feta melt (it was a crowd pleaser then, so I knew it would be again). When looking for cheddar I was sort of overwhelmed with the number of options Wegman's offers and wasn't sure which qualified as "regular" cheddar. I ended up going with a "Classic Reserve Extra-Aged Vermont Cheddar" that had been aged 2 years. I'm not sure why, but I tend to prefer white cheddar to orange (to me it just tastes sharper and more genuine). Upon tasting my first sample I knew I had made the right choice-- both Colin and I agreed that it was high quality and just sharp enough without being too strong.
The first step was slicing the apple into 1/8" slices. The recipe called for a 5 ounce apple, and since mine was heavier than that I only used about 2/3 of it. Although my slices did not come out neat and even, I still got the job done.
Aside from shredding the cheese, this was really the only prep work that was required, so that was nice! I'm always a fan of an easy to assemble sandwich.
The recipe is intended to make 4 sandwiches, but since the sourdough was smaller than a standard loaf of bread I went ahead and made 6.
As usual I started with the bread (buttered on one side) and evenly distributed the ham on each slice.
Next came the apple slices:
And, finally, the cheese!
This was already shaping up to be a pretty thick sandwich, and adding the second slice of bread didn't help matters. Oh well! GGC suggested flattening each sandwich a bit using your spatula, so I made sure to do that to each before I started cooking (and again while I was cooking).
Once I started cooking I immediately recalled one of the reasons I love Wegman's sourdough: it browns so nicely and evenly!
The cheese was also melting quickly and evenly (I think because the bread is a little porous and lets heat in easily) to the point that I hardly needed to cover the sandwiches while they cooked (not to say that I didn't, but only had to do so as a precautionary measure). Another positive was that, despite their thickness, the sandwiches were actually really easy to flip! I think that's because the ham and apples are solid enough to stay in the sandwich without too much help, and once the cheese started to melt a bit it was clumped together and less apt to fall out. So, if ease of cooking is any indicator then these were going to be good!
Once all 6 sandwiches were cooked and waiting on the sandwich warmer, we were ready to go. Colin, the resident condiment king, smelled the sandwich while it was cooking and selected some condiments to taste with it.
I suppose it wouldn't be a true tasting without him giving his input on the need for ketchup, but looks like he expanded this week to also include a sample of Dijon mustard.
Anyway, time to taste!
Taste Review:
In my first bite I tasted the ham, then the apple and then the cheddar in that order. So at first it didn't seem like the flavors were going to blend together, more like they were going to sort of co-mingle but still stand on their own. As I kept eating I found that this wasn't entirely the case-- I started tasting the smokiness of the ham combined with the sharpness of the cheese, but slightly tempered by the vague sweetness of the apple. So even though the apple wasn't a standout flavor, it did a lot for the sandwich because it added a crispness and freshness that allowed the sandwich to be gooey and like a classic grilled cheese, but to still have a fresh crunch. This was especially good since the sourdough was kind of chewy-- some crispness was definitely needed.
The sandwich was kind of greasy, but I think that's because the bread is porous, so rather than cooking off a bit, the butter sort of sank into the bread. Again, this is where the apple came in handy-- it gave a light and fresh taste to what would otherwise be a traditional greasy/gooey grilled cheese.
Some potential criticisms are that it ends up being a bit too sweet with the apple and ham, but I think for the most part the sweetness and sharpness successfully balanced each other out. In an effort to control the sweetness Colin added some Dijon mustard. He liked this combo because it gave the sandwich more of a kick in the form of added spice (surprise, surprise, Colin likes spicy food), but for me this was too much. He declined to try it with ketchup because it just wouldn't have been the right flavor combo (it's true-- ketchup + apple? No thank you).
Additionally, if you want to really get the full taste of the ham you might want to add more. As it stood now, the ham seemed to be there just to provide smoky flavor, not to actually stand out on its own. This is an individual preference, though, because I liked it just fine.
Overall I was a big fan of this one-- as predicted, the apple provides a light fresh edge to a sharp and delicious grilled cheese making it a perfect treat for summer!
FINAL RESULTS:
Sandwich: | Apple, Ham and Cheddar on Sourdough |
Gooey-ness: | 4 |
Aroma: | 3 |
Appearance: | Green apple adds color to the gooey cheddar cheese and perfectly toasted sourdough. |
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! |
Next Week: The first in a two part series involving salami and cheese.
I'll like to try this one myself! and it looks so yummy too!
ReplyDeleteDo you think you'll ever become such a connisseur of cheese that you will start saying snobbish things like: "I think this sandwich would work better with an Aged Asiago rather than the Vintage Cheddar"?
Another question: You've probably already discussed this, but I've noticed you shred (not slice) your cheeses. Why?
Haha, I'm not holding my breath on becoming that much of a cheese expert/snob, but I guess we never know!
ReplyDeleteI shred the cheese because it melts more quickly and evenly that way-- it's easier to make sure a good amount of cheese is evenly distributed all over the sandwich whereas with slices you might get a lot in one spot and less in another. This was a tip from GGC and I've found it to be a good one so far!