Grown up Grilled Cheese

Fall has arrived and so have chilly nights, chilly mornings and an excuse to wear a sweatshirt and eat warm cheesy goodness. When I was a kid nothing more did I love than the standard Campbell's Tomato Soup and a gooey grilled cheese...now I like to think I have matured, but sadly I think only my taste buds have. To satisfy the canned soup and processed cheese void that fills my stomach, I have come up with what I call "The Grown Up Grilled Cheese".

It encompasses hearty off the block cheddar - be gone single serve crap-ness wrapped in cellophane - and warm tomato jam -  you too be gone can shaped condensed red blob. We get the best of both worlds AND I get to use my PRODUCE PICK : Tomatoes AND Sourdough Bread.

Grown Up Grilled Cheese
Tomato Jam
4 slices sourdough bread
butter
2-3 slices of 'good' cheddar cheese - I use Kerrygold Dubliner Irish cheese - yuuuuumy

Tomato Jam
Courtosey of herbivoracious.com (you must visit this veggie blog)

• 24 ounces (by weight) tomatoes, cored and peeled (see above), roughly diced
• 1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary leaves, very finely chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar (you could also try a little less)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch of chili flakes
• pinch of saffron, crumbled
• a few grind of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. How about this for easy? Bring all ingredients to a simmer (the liquid will all come out of the tomatoes, you don't need to add any). Cook for about an hour uncovered, until thick and syrupy. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes about 1 cup.

Slice your sourdough in slices, about 1/2 inch in thickness, spread butter on all sides, add as much cheese as you like, add about 2 -3 T of the jam (more or less depending on what you like). Cook in a pan just until both sides are golden. I usually slice my bread thick so even when the outside is golden, the inside is not melted - so I throw it in the oven on some tin foil at 350 for 5-7 minutes, or the cheese has melted.

 

Until next time...eat,love,live...and eat some more.