Sometimes the best things come from the strangest places… like the seemingly incompatible cheeses left over in your cheese drawer (ah-em). And that is exactly how this unlikely sandwich was born. The sharpness of the cheddar is the perfect match with soft, mild goat cheese, and fresh herbs take the whole thing to the next level. So, let’s keep it simple (like this sandwich) and get on with the recipe!
(Serves 3, depending on the size of your bread, of course)
Ingredients
- 6 slices fresh pumpernickel bread
- small block of extra sharp cheddar (I used Cabot)
- 1/2 cup herb goat cheese spread (Whole Foods has an excellent spread, but if you want to make your own, follow the recipe below)
- small pat of butter
- 1/4 cup soft mild goat cheese (Chèvre)
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp basil, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- sea salt & pepper to taste
Using a skillet, heat butter over medium until melted. Assemble sandwich by spreading a generous amount of goat cheese spread on the inside of each slice of bread. Slice the cheddar thinly, and place on one side of the bread on top of the spread. Place other side of sandwich (spread-side down) on top of that, and place on the hot skillet. Repeat with other two sandwiches, then cover with a heavy lid (or do this on a panini maker if you have one!). Cook for 2 minutes, then flip, returning lid. Cook for another two minutes, or until cheeses in the middle are completely melted. Cut in half and serve immediately with a warm bowl of soup or a side of honeycrisp apples or spinach salad! Easy lunch!
Hope you enjoy!
Yes, please! I need more cheese in my life. And you’re so right.. every time the groceries get down to just bare bones some sort of kitchen magic happens with what’s left. I always feel so victorious when I make a good meal after deciding we have no food in the house!
It’s not nice to make people salivate all over their computer. Not nice at all.
Yum!
Grilled cheese is probably my all time favorite food. I lived on it for nearly a year as a picky child… this version looks sophisticated and scrumptious!
Pumpernickel bread may be the one thing from the gluten world that I miss the very most. Because there is really no substitute that I know of. That sandwich looks like the kind of sandwich that I would spend time longing for (I honestly do sit and think about sandwiches sometimes, because I love them so much. I’m like Joey from Friends.) and I bet it was every bit as delicious as it looks.
Oh yeah, this sandwich is right up my alley! Necessity and the mother of invention and all that! When Callum was switching schools a few years back, we were good friends with the director of the lower school and one of his big selling points of the new school was the deliciousness of their grilled cheese sandwiches! Nothing beats ’em!