Barbeque Sauce Grilled Cheese

This week's sandwich borrows some familiar elements from last week's sandwich, but puts a totally different spin on them.  Behold, the barbeque sauce grilled cheese:

But I'm getting ahead of myself with this sneak preview-- let's rewind and start from the beginning.

Ingredients:
* Pepper Jack
* Cheddar
* Red Onion
* BBQ Sauce of choice
* Pepperidge Farm sourdough
* Butter

If you tune in every week then by now you know that I have a thing for caramelized onions.  Something about being able to enjoy that sweet but tangy onion flavor without worrying about super stinky raw onion breath puts a smile on my face (and a growl in my tummy).  So step one was, of course, to thinly slice my red onion and plop it in a pan with about 2 Tbsp of butter.

I alternated stirring a bit and cooking covered for a bit and in about 10 minutes we were all set.

That was pretty much all of the advance prep we needed!  Well, aside from grating half of each brick of cheese.  I love quick and easy prep work because it means I'd actually be likely to make this sandwich again on an average week night.  Anyway, on to sandwich assembly.  First I put about 1 Tbsp of barbeque sauce on each of two slices of bread.

Looks sort of like jelly, am I right?  Next came a few handfuls of cheese.  I had pre-mixed the cheddar and pepper jack together so I got a nice even application of both cheeses over the entirety of the sandwich.

Next up were the caramelized onions:

Followed by the remaining cheese:

From there it was the usual sandwiching the pieces together, buttering the outside of the bread, and grilling (covered) until browned nice and evenly on each side.  In a few short minutes-- voila!

Seeing that perfectly charred Pepperidge Farm bread just never gets old for me!

Taste Review:

We could smell the onions and cheese before taking a bite, which I think is a somewhat natural side effect of cooked onions on the sandwich.  The purple onions combined with the BBQ sauce gave the sandwich a dark overall appearance that was pretty unique (save for a similar look to the not well liked Dutch Grilled Cheese).  The BBQ sauce was the main player in my first bite-- probably because that's the only ingredient I had applied all the way to the very edge of the bread.  The first thing we both observed about the sandwich was how creamy it was.  The BBQ sauce, soft onions, and melted cheese make for a very creamy and smooth sandwich.  But it's not as if it's so creamy it's soft-- the onions and bread give a subtle crunch that helps to counterbalance the gooier elements of the sandwich.

Surprisingly we didn't taste a lot of spice from the pepper jack cheese.  Usually for someone like me (who is extra sensitive to spicy food) even a little bit of spice does not go unnoticed, but in this case sweetness of the BBQ sauce and onions really overrode the spice.  So in reality, the BBQ sauce was the dominant flavor-- the onions didn't have a distinct taste, they just gave a subtle sweetness to enhance the sandwich.  So if you make this sandwich, be sure you choose a BBQ sauce that you LOVE because it will dictate the flavor of the rest of the sandwich.

FINAL RESULTS:

 

Sandwich:	Barbeque Sauce Grilled Cheese
Gooey-ness:	3.5
Aroma:	2.5
Appearance:	Uniquely dark filling.
Taste:	B

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!

We found the sandwich above average, but not by a wide margin.  It was good, and I'd make it again, but it wouldn't be my first (or second or third) choice.

Smoked Salmon and Brie Quesadilla

Phew!  It feels like forever since I've been in my home kitchen frying up a grilled cheese, so I was excited to be back in business this week.  Since I haven't done a quesadilla in awhile I figure it was time to give one a go.  I was torn between two different recipes, but one looks like it might involve a trip to a specialty grocery store, so I figured I'd stick with the easier one and worry about building in extra prep time some other week.

As mentioned, the ingredients were easy to find-- tortillas (already had these), smoked salmon (1/4 pound), cream cheese (4 ounces), diced red onion, capers, lemon juice, pepper, butter and 8 ounces of brie.  There were a couple of varieties of brie ranging from mild to strong.  I know I like brie, but I didn't know specifically what kind of brie I like best.  I figured I'd split the difference and go with medium (it was described as "buttery," and we all know that's a good thing ;-)).

OK, so prep was actually very easy.  In a small bowl I combined the cream cheese, 1 Tbsp capers, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 2 Tbsp diced red onions.

I had left the cream cheese out to soften, but it still required a little work to get the mixture to just the right point (where the red onions and capers were evenly mixed in throughout).

While I was finishing that up, my sous chef worked on buttering one side of four tortillas and placing them buttered side down on a plate for me-- although I guess stacking buttered tortillas means all but the one on top will end up buttered on both side.  Oh well!  If I've learned one thing from Paula Dean it's that more butter is never a problem.

It was then up to me to spread half of each tortilla with the cream cheese mixture.

Easy enough.  Next came the brie.  The recipe advises to cut the brie into 8 slices with the rind removed.  After channeling my fourth grade spatial relations skills I figured out how to cut four (relatively equally sized) slices of brie from a triangle wedge and proceeded to slice the rind off of each.  Once this was done each tortilla got two slices of brie (I cut some slices in half again to make sure it was evenly distributed so as to allow for easy melting, but even this left some pretty big pieces that didn't quite melt easily).

Voila!  Time to fry.  I cooked the tortillas on medium heat (the recipe advises medium high, but my gas stove will have none of that) for about 2 minutes on each side (while covered, of course) to make sure the cheese melted.

Once I removed the quesadilla (and let it cool for a second), I opened it back up and added a slice of smoked salmon (luckily the 1/4 lb. pack I bought was already separated into four slices-- makes my life easy).

Now, time to eat!

Taste Review:

Strangely enough, the first thing we smelled was the cream cheese (you would think the salmon would take charge).  The quesadilla itself had a perfectly crispy tortilla-- it was nice and thin and crunchy.  I like this better than cooking a tortilla in oil and having grease ooze everywhere (then again this may have more to do with the amount of butter used than the fact that butter was used).

I didn't notice a huge salmon taste, but that may be because I actually like salmon.  Colin isn't a huge fan and his immediate comment was "I don't like the salmon, this would be better with turkey."  That may be, but I know the whole salmon/cream cheese thing is a popular bagel topping, so I have a feeling plenty of people would be happy with this combination.

I was pretty skeptical about the capers, but at first they provided a good bite to contrast the creaminess of the cream cheese and brie.  Sadly, the more I ate the less I liked the capers.  The sandwich would be bland without them, but when you get a bite with a caper in it the flavor is so strong it drowns out both the red onions and the salmon (two pretty strong flavors in and of themselves).  In fact, for awhile I forgot there were red onions on the sandwich at all!  There's no doubt that some sort of additive is necessary to keep things from getting too bland, but I don't think capers are the answer.  Colin suggests pepper instead (like a green bell pepper), but I think that might just add one more flavor.  Instead, I would go with more onions and no capers.  The onions would balance out the blandness whereas the peppers might override it.

Speaking of additives-- as soon as I handed Colin his plate he said "I'll get the salsa!"  I pointed out that salsa with salmon, cream cheese and brie may not be the best combination.  He agreed and said he would wait to taste to decide what to add (oh ye of little faith-- not all sandwiches need a condiment)!  Anyway, he didn't actually end up adding anything, but (per above) that doesn't mean he wouldn't have changed/amended things if he could have.

As for the cheeses, there was no real distinction between the cream cheese and the brie.  In one bite I got a nice big piece of brie and loved how mild and creamy it was!  The brie and cream cheese made the quesadilla very rich, but in a good way.  I didn't feel sick when I was done eating, just like I had had a decadent treat.

FINAL RESULTS:

Sandwich:	Quesadilla
Gooey-ness:	3.75 (oh man! getting into quarter points!)
Aroma:	2
Appearance:	Crispy brown exterior with interesting pink and white interior.
Taste:	C+

Next Week: Perhaps a meat grilled cheese (even though I'm still not sure they're truly grilled cheeses, I've gotta make them all)!  And/or a sweet grilled cheese.

Field Report: Angelina's Coffee and Yogurt

It turns out for the meeting I'm working in Miami we actually finish up relatively early in the evening!  That means that I had the night to myself to present a second field report!  Angelina's is actually the first thing that came up when I searched "Grilled Cheese Miami," so despite the un-sandwichy name, I figured it was worth a go (especially once I read the positive reviews of the Adult Grilled Cheese menu).

So I hopped in a cab and headed over to an area that I think was called the mid-city mall (no idea if this is correct, but whatever).  The restaurant itself was a pretty small pay by weight yogurt shop that also featured a menu of crepes, flatbreads and GRILLED CHEESES! (duh)  There were 9 sandwiches total on the adult grilled cheese menu, and while I was tempted by several I opted for the number 7: Gouda, Havarti, red onion, ham and spinach leaves on rye. 

The sandwich itself definitely looks "adult."  It was served with a nice strawberry and goat cheese summer salad and had an even proportion of ingredients that reminded me more of a regular panini than of a grilled cheese. 

This was the second instance I had of trying the combination of Gouda cheese and red onions, and I would say that this was a MUCH greater success than the Dutch Grilled Cheese was.  The red onions added some nice flavor to the sandwich without being too overly strong and the smoothness of the gooey cheese actually did help to temper the pungency of the onions. 

Speaking of the cheese, it was kind of cool that they put cheese on both slices of bread-- as in there was bread, cheese, filling, cheese, bread.  I liked the way this made a nice gooey bread combo in every bite!  Even though the Havarti was a little bit more gooey than the Gouda, neither was overly runny.  Like I said, there was just enough melty-ness to the sandwich to keep the ingredients all balanced.  At first I thought that the sandwich wouldn't be cheesy enough, but as I kept eating I realized the Gouda was sort of sticking to the roof of my mouth and that I was getting a progressively cheesier taste.  By the end I was actually starting to wonder if Gouda is too rich for me?  I'll banish that thought for now as any cheese that's as consistently ooey gooey as Gouda MUST be a cheese I like, right?  Right?  Fingers crossed this isn't the first in a slippery slope towards lactose intolerance... eek!  Perish the thought!

As usual, 'twas a successful field report-- although I would still say this lands more on the panini end of the spectrum than it does on the true grilled cheese end (I can't help but still be a bit biased against grilled cheeses with meat).

Dutch Grilled Cheese

This week's sandwich is definitely our most adventurous yet-- not just because it involves more elements than we have used so far, but also because it incorporates ingredients and flavors that I haven't had much experience with in general.  Reading through the recipe I knew I recognized Gouda cheese, but couldn't remember exactly what it tasted like.  In addition to that I vaguely remembered having a distaste for rye bread, but couldn't quite recall why.  And I certainly had no idea what cumin tasted like.  Apparently the recipe's combination of Gouda and cumin is intended to mimic a Dutch cheese called Leyden cheese which (according to Wikipedia) is a yellow cumin spiced cheese made in the Netherlands from semi-skimmed cow's milk.  Logical all around considering Gouda is a yellow cheese made in the Netherlands and we are literally adding cumin to it.

While searching for my ingredients I had a hard time deciding exactly what to do where bread was concerned as the recipe called for rye bread with caraway seeds but, as I mentioned, I don't like rye.  I called my trusty shopping resource (Mom) to get her opinion on what I should do.  She said that rye is a pretty strong flavor and that if I remember disliking it that it's probably too strong for my taste.  However, while browsing around I found some rye bread that didn't have caraway seeds in it and I decided that this would be a good compromise since the bread is still made with the same basic grain, but doesn't have too strong of a taste for me to still enjoy it.  The bread itself is VERY dense, which I think is part of what makes it so unique. 

 Moving over to the spice aisle I saw that a container of cumin seeds cost ~$6, so I called my shopping resource back to see if she had any I could use.  I was in luck, but it was powdered cumin instead of cumin seeds-- as it saved me a good chunk of change I decided the substitution was acceptable.

The first step after accumulating the ingredients was thinly slicing a medium sized red onion and caramelizing the slivers.  Within seconds of cutting into the onion my eyes were welling up, so I could already tell this was going to be the highest score for pungency we've had yet. 

I've tried caramelizing onions before but was never successful (and now I know why).  You need to put about 1 tablespoon of butter in your non-stick pan and slowly cook the onions on a low heat until they turn a soft deep brown.  I hadn't used any sort of lubricant before, which caused the onions to burn before they were cooked appropriately.  Apparently, even if the butter proves insufficient and the onions do start to burn you can add a tablespoon or two of water and be back on track.  All in all this took about 30 minutes of cooking low and slow, but they looked delicious by the end!

Before

After

While I was cooking the onions I also grated the Gouda.  The cheese came with a thick red rind on it and per GGC's instructions, the rind was to be removed before grating.  I was surprised by how yellow the cheese looked!  And by how soft it was.  It was similar in consistency to American cheese in that it's firm enough to be solid, but is soft and crumbles easily when you try to grate it.

So now the cheese was grated and the onions were cooked.  I then moved the onions over to a separate plate and wiped out the pan with a paper towel (but didn't wash or rinse the pan).  According to the recipe I was supposed to then put 3/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds in the pan to warm them and bring out their flavor and then crush them with a mortar and pestle.  Welllll as mentioned, I didn't want to fork over the dough for the seeds and (surprise, surprise) my mortar and pestle were at the shop getting polished (is that an action that can be performed on a mortar and pestle?  I assume yes since it's made of marble).  Anyway, that is neither here nor there-- what matters is that I had to improvise a bit.  I decided to just put 1 tsp of cumin into the pan to see what happens.

As soon as I peeled the seal back from the cumin I was overwhelmed by the smell.  Said smell is best described as... Indian food?  Sweat?  Indian food that is sweating.  Regardless, this was not going to help the sandwich ingredients to be any less pungent.  Oh well, into the pan it went!  Whereas the scent of the red onions had lessened as I cooked them, the cumin only got stronger to the point that I ultimately got it off the heat to try to stop the smell.  I briefly debated not even adding it to the cheese since I didn't like the smell at all, but I figured I had already deviated enough from the recipe and didn't want to further interfere, so I went ahead and mixed it in.

Next step (as usual) was evenly distributing the cheese on top of two slices of rye bread (that have been buttered on one side) and topping them with the caramelized onions.  Then you add the second slice of buttered bread on top to complete the sandwich.  Now we're ready for grilling!

This was the biggest sandwich yet in that it occupied most of the pan and couldn't be completely covered by my standard smaller frying pan.  When it came time to flip it I needed two spatulas to lift it one of which began to buckle under the weight!  I think this has to do with the fact that the amount of cheese and filling we usually use for two sandwiches was on just one and the bread was particularly dense.

From there it was just a matter of the standard grilling on each side.  The Gouda melts very quickly-- probably because it is so soft and well grated, but also because this recipe called for cooking on medium high heat instead of medium low (most likely because of the bread's density). 

This was my first use of my sandwich warmer secondary pan idea and it worked really well!  When both sandwiches were done they were still warm and gooey and ready to be eaten.

Taste Review: Our initial reaction was very bland-- that the sandwich pretty much tasted like any other sandwich and that the pungent smell that had been there in the ingredients was gone.  The main thing that stood out at first was how GOOEY the sandwich was!  Not only were there strings of cheese connecting my mouth to the sandwich after every bite, but I would have to literally wrap them around the sandwich in order to get them to cut.  The caramelized onions made the sandwich taste sweet, which was muted by the flatter taste of the rye bread.  Overall I liked that taste since I have a big sweet tooth. 

Sadly, as we kept eating things started to go downhill.  As soon as we got a whiff of the cumin the pungent aroma was back and not in a good way.  Colin thought the onions were too sweet and didn't find the sandwich satisfying.  I agreed that the more I ate the less interested in the sandwich I was (the opposite of how I think you should feel-- when you're eating something good you never want it to end)!  The texture was the best part in that it was a substantial sandwich with lots of gooey cheese, but the taste and excitement just weren't there.  Per usual, Colin thought that ketchup made it taste better since it cut the sweetness of the onions.  All in all, this one was a disappointment.  Neither of us ended up finishing our sandwiches:

FINAL RESULTS:

Sandwich:	Dutch Grilled Cheese
Gooey-ness:	5
Aroma:	4
Appearance:	Very large, gooey, pungent but sweet.
Taste:	D+

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!

* Editor's note: 2 hours later we could still taste it... and it's still was not good.  But, if you like the flavor of cumin, caramelized onions and Gouda, then you'd LOVE this sandwich.

Up next week: Continued adventures with rye bread!