As Comforting as Comfort Food Gets!

Shoot, who doesn't love a perfect golden crusted grilled cheese sandwich? There's even a Baltimore based restaurant chain dedicated to the joys of every mom's fall back dinner special.

With a big flavor boost from homemade lightly herbed bread sliced thick, the classic grilled cheese sandwich is still the perfect partner for a bowl of homemade tomato soup. Both recipes below are easy and delish.

HERBED GRILLED CHEESE BREAD
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon finely grated cheddar
1 teaspoons fresh ground sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried winter savory (or oregano)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon very warm tap water
1 quarter ounce package quick rise dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey

Combine flour, milk powder, cheese, salt and herbs in food processor with a dough blade attachment. In a small bowl mix warm water honey and dry yeast. Allow yeast mix to sit 3-5 minutes.

Using 1 tablespoon oil, grease a large bowl, set aside.

Add yeast mix to flour in processor and pulse ingredients to moisten well. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Continue to pulse mixture until it forms a soft dough, about five minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover with a damp cloth; let rise in a warm draft free spot 55-60 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough. Form into a loaf shape and place in a well greased 8.5 X 4 inch loaf pan. Let rise in a warm drafty free spot until loaf rises about 1 inch over the pan (about 30-45 minutes). Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. The crust should be a golden brown. Let cool before slicing.

CLASSIC GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH                                                           
4 slices bread
4 slices American cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a small bowl, mix olive oil and melted butter. Place two slices of cheese on two bread slices, top with remaining bread slices. Lightly brush outside of each sandwich with oil-butter mixture. Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sandwiches and cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until crust is golden and cheese is melted. Makes two sandwiches. Enjoy!

Comments

  1. TinkyJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    I'm not a fan of American cheese--but I'm on board with everything else here! The bread in particular sounds perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Best Wishes, MarieFebruary 7, 2011 at 2:12 AM

    sorry i have been gone. i went off and had the time of my life, but i am back and will catch up soon with all these great recipes !!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Holyoke HomeFebruary 13, 2011 at 8:34 AM

    Heaven in a pan!

    I'm an 'aged cheddar' gal myself, but I'd still take that sandwich!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grape Infused Vodka Update

Image
It took an overnight frost for our homegrown grapes to sweeten up but the wait was worth it. A big sloppy thank you smooch goes out to Mayor Mike Tautznik of Easthampton, MA for sharing his home infusion method for fruit flavored vodka. Fiddling around with Mayor Mike's sure-fire recipe helped me come up with the perfect formula for home infusing store-bought vodka with the Concord grapes from our backyard garden. And the abundance of those grapes carefully cultivated by the Man of the House deserves another big sloppy thank you smooch, this time for Farmer Paul. Start by boiling a big pot of water to sterilize pint-sized canning jars and their covers. Once they are cool, fill each about 3/4 full with thoroughly washed Concord grapes plucked from the ripest of bunches. Add one teaspoon of super fine sugar. Pour your choice of plain vodka over the grapes, leaving about 1/2 inch headroom before closing the jars. Shake gently to dissolve sugar before storing in a cool dark spot. Two w
Read more

The Joy of Holiday Cookies

Image
Nothing sweetens the season like holiday cookies! The name comes from the Dutch koejke which translates to "little cake" -- the perfect single serving treat. Cookies have been part of cooking history for more than a thousand years and nearly every culture has a bite sized sweet that qualifies as a cookie. Every year I try to come up with a new twist on an old favorite to celebrate the season for my annual cookie swap. These tasty morsels are my version of rugelach , a traditional Jewish pastry filled with nuts, raisins or apricots, cinnamon and sugar wrapped in a flaky crust. A few good friends sharing a bottle of bubbly then going home with the bounty of a platter full of homemade cookies and the recipes. Lots of fun and yumminess, too! RUGELACH Dough 2 cups all-purpose flour Dash of salt 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 cup unsalted butter 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1/3 cup plain or lemon flavored yogurt Filling 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 cup finely
Read more

Seasonal Surprises: Savory Blueberry Chutney

Image
My first taste of Sheila Lukins came after stumbling across The Silver Palate food shop on Columbus Avenue, NYC in the late 1970s.  It was a short road to discovering chutney wasn’t just a mango and ginger concoction.  Sheila Lukins of Silver Palate Cookbook fame was cutting edge back then.  I was hooked from that first taste all the way to mixing things up with blueberry chutney to glaze Asian style roast chicken . Blueberry chutney was the inspiration for my Spicy Blueberry Barbecue Sauce, an original recipe that made me a national award winner in the Highbush Blueberry Council’s 2008 recipe contest.  Who’da thunk?  Next month will mark two years since Sheila Lukins died -- too young but not without having made her mark on a generation of home cooks like me. This recipe is adapted from an original Silver Palate recipe.  Over the years, I’ve added and subtracted this or that.  Serve with roasted turkey, duck or goose, meat or curries.  Hint: Mix a tablespoon of chutney with
Read more