Martha's Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich

It came to my attention the other day that my blog was mentioned on chow.com on their own blog called ‘grinder’.  They were wondering what my favorite cheese sandwich was and I will be thrilled to share it with all of you.  I just love a sandwich grilled, with gruyere cheese and thinly sliced tomatoes on a Balthazar bread called Pain de Siegle, made with rye flour.  It definitely falls into the category of comfort food.  But, when it comes to grilled cheese sandwiches, I also love many other combinations. 

Over the weekend, Pierre and I had fun creating a most spectacular paninni.  It had many flavors of a really great paella.  We used a light and airy ciabatta, sliced in half as the base.  Next, we sautèed thinly sliced chorizo (a highly seasoned sausage widely used in Spanish and Mexican cooking) with a thinly sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breast, some roasted red peppers, a pinch of saffron threads, and 2 cloves of crushed garlic, until everything was lightly browned and the chicken cooked through.  I had some fabulous cheese called, Mahon Reserva D.O.P., from the Balearic Islands in Spain.  So, we decided to use slices of that to bind all the ingredients together.  After several minutes in the paninni press, the sandwich (sammy) emerged as a masterpiece!!!  Once again, it’s time to hit the treadmill.   

The components

Before the press!

Looking just about ready..

Layers of goodness!

Comments

[Colleen]

That panini looks just delicious! The chorizo/chicken combination is one I will definitely be trying.

[Pru]

It's great to hear about your garden and all the lovely recipes, but as it is December I would love to hear how your Christmas preparations are going. Is the house decorated, both inside and out, and when is the tree going up.

[Carrie]

That looks delicious! You're making me hungry!

[Trish]

Make room on the treadmill for me! That is my kind of sandwich! Would you believe I was leafing through some recipes over the weekend and I came across your Favorite Tuna Salad Sandwich and thought, I need to make one. They are so good on the sourdough bread you suggest and the apples add the crunch I like. Thanks for "Sammy" too. I just know I will give it a try. Trish

[Rachael]

Ohhh this sandwich looks w*o*n*d*e*r*f*u*l* Martha! I would be in heaven to be able to eat such a treat.....makes my mouth water just looking at it, both before squishing, and after! I know this Christmas will be so hard as first without your Mom, but just the same, I hope you have a wonderful time with your family, remembering your Mom, and all the Christmasses past

[parisbreakfasts]

Grilled cheese is my favorite winter samwich. Plus tomato soup.
But this one takes the cake!

[Kim Wylie]

Grilled cheese really is the ultimate comfort food! I think they're best on a chilly day, too. My favorite is actually a "sweet & savory" grilled cheese, and I will recommend it to ANYONE!

I use cinnamon-raisin bread, spread the outsides with salted local butter, and the insides with apple butter. Then I add a couple slices of brie (rind still on) and lightly toast it until the brie is practically oozing out of the sides. Nothing quite beats the texture of melted brie combined with the crunch of that toasted sweet-bread! Delicious!!

[Hardboiledegg]

One of those "other" cooking shows challenged people on the street to try a grilled cheese sandwich-- any random cheese with a random bread and a random jelly yes jelly any and everything that was grilled up was declared delicious It ain't your grandmothers grilled cheese any longer!!!

[Alce Alba]

Martha, it has always perplexed me as to why a grilled cheese sandwich on a kids restaurant menu could never include anything a little healthier in it, such as a few tomato slices. My daughter loves grilled cheese sandwiches but she is under the impression that these sandwiches always include tomato slices and sauteed kale in them, because that is the way we make them at home (on a good bread from Acme bakery, a local artisan bakery in San Francisco).

I second the poster that would like to see photos of your home decorated for Christmas. We are presently in the midst of a kitchen renovation so our house is in no state to be decorated for the season. I'm having decorating withdrawal symptoms! Please post some soon. Thank you.

[Sue Hartman]

Hi Martha,
I tried to make the fudge marshmallows and the fudge was too thick for dipping as shown on T.V. Please help.
Sue

[Rosemary]

That sandwich looks so good, I will have to try that one.
Please visit my blog sometime, I have been making a lot of great things using Martha glue and glitter. My house and I are covered in it.
Some of my crafts are now selling in a lovely little shop in Ventura California, thanks to Martha's glue and glitter.
Thanks,
Rosemary

[Margie]

Oh Martha,
Good chorizo is research in itself. I know of no better use than in a burrito or scrambled eggs. My question is what does the chicken breast bring to the sandwich? And the saffron threads? Now posole would not be without saffron--but a cheese sandwich....
To have these ingredients on hand when I crave a toasted cheese.

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Martha, Wow, another delicious blog! I absolutely love grilled cheese sandwiches and it's great to have another great recipe. I like to make mine with sourdough French bread. I toast the buttered bread under the broiler and add a thin layer of cheddar cheese. Then after melting, I add slices of tomato and more cheese on top. After melting again and cooling , this is a wonderful comfort food. Thanks for sharing. Jan

[nika]

Wow, that sounds fantastic!

You all should put together a gift basket with these (hard to get) ingredients and market it.. I think people would jump at it!

Nika
__________
http://nikas-culinaria.com

PS: Can I borrow Pierre?

[Kristen]

ooh- that looks good. My favorite is to use Italian pagnotta bread, with a good English white cheddar. I smear the bread with dijon and honey, and layer the cheddar with slices of honey crisp apples, le cochon ham and more cheese. Grill it up with my press, and voila! Lunch perfection.

[Trish]

Hi All,

I tried the Panini without a Panini press and it turned out great and oozing with cheese. (I weighted it down in a frying pan). I couldn't find exactly the same cheese Martha used but I used Mahón - Menorca semi soft cheese. It was from Spain so I figured that's close enough. I was fresh out of saffron threads so I used the saffron in the bottom of my saffron rice package. I'm not sure if it did anything at all to the sandwich but with the tomatoes and roasted peppers, that didn't matter. I also bought the last loaf of Ciabatta bread at the bakery which made me wonder how many others who read this blog were out buying the same bread.

Thanks Martha; this recipe is a keeper! Trish

[Australia Entertains]

You've been tagged!

http://australiaentertains.com.au/2007/12/11/tagged/

[Ruth Simons]

i love everything about paninis! my new favorite panini tip is the red pepper spread from Trader Joe's. It instantly turns a grilled cheese into a mediterranean delight!

[Josie]

Lovely photos. I think it would be great if you signed up for a Flickr account! We could add you and comment on your photos as well, not to mention they could of course be direct linked to your wonderful blog. :)

[Carol]

I hit Martha's blog and saw this grilled cheese comfort food. Since my weather was ice storming here, I used what I had and it was delicious--gruyere, extra sharp, pepperoni, tomatoes, and sweet onion.

[Carolyn]

Wow ....... that looks good.

[TeenSleuth]

Kim, your apple butter/brie sammy sounds wonderful! I'm going to make that this week.

[Bryan Froden (Pop Jr.)]

Grilled cheese sandwiches ROCK!
That’s looks so good; I know what I’m having for dinner tonight!
With an ice cold glass of milk! Thank you

[Dianne]

Do you know what else goes very well with grilled cheese? Granny Smith Apples. I really love that taste combination! Or forget the bread, melt your favorite cheese and dip away. Caution: This will go straight to the hips!

[Stephanie]

The sandwich looks delicious. Can't wait to get to Balthazar and buy some of the bread. What digital camera are you using - the quality of the pictures is so clear?