When we spoke to our friend Average Betty this week, she mentioned that she is reporting for the Grilled Cheese Invitational event in downtown Los Angeles this weekend, a culinary competition in search of the perfect grilled cheese! Ever since, we’ve had visions of grilled cheese sandwiches dancing in our heads.
Memories of grilled cheese sandwiches go way back into our school years, tomato soup, white bread, and Kraft cheese, served by Mom with a touch of love. Perfect comfort food. We started to think about chefs, do any of our favorites make a special version of the childhood classic? We set off on a mission to find out!
We found an amazing version of the classic sandwich, courtesy of Chef Christopher Lee from the Gilt restaurant in the NYC Palace Hotel. The Price= $50 on the menu. Featured on Gossip Girl, this is perhaps the most expensive grilled cheese sandwich ever. Not that we watch Gossip Girl, we just heard about this episode! And we have no idea who Chuck Bass is, and have never had a crush on him, really!
We know, times are tough, and most of us are carefully watching our food spending. Fear not, we can show you how to make our version for much less. First, watch the video, and then we will disclose our cost cutting suggestion for the sandwich recipe.
From the Chef’s Kitchen chef Walter Staib bakes a Dietz & Watson ham, and makes 5 meals from it. This video shares his economical recipes for a pineapple glazed ham, a ham and pepper potato hash, a cabbage ham and potato soup, as well as two creative ham sandwich recipes. You may view and print the detailed written recipes here.
Australian celebrity chef Curtis Stone is the host of Take Home Chef on TLC. A charmer, this master chef was voted as one of People Magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive” in 2006.
Alas, we digress! More importantly, he whips up some amazingly delicious recipes. In this video he shares with us his special recipe for a crave inducing pulled pork sandwich, complete with grilled pineapple and barbecue sauce.
Pulled Pork Sandwich
Ingredients
* 1 4-pound boneless pork shoulder roast
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
* 2 red onions peeled and quartered
* 2 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
* 3 celery sticks cut into 1-inch chunks
* 1 whole garlic head split in half horizontally
* 1 c dry red wine
* 2 1/2 c chicken stock
* Small handful of fresh thyme sprigs
* 1 orange quartered
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
* Barbecue Sauce (see recipe) warm
* 6 thin slices peeled pineapple halved and cored
* 6 crusty rolls halved horizontally
* Homemade Coleslaw (see recipe)
Preheat the oven to 275°F. Sprinkle the pork shoulder all over with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a heavy large wide pot over high heat until it is very hot. Add the oil and then add the pork. Cook until the pork is golden brown on the bottom about 5 minutes. Turn the pork and continue cooking until it is golden brown all over about 10 minutes. Transfer the pork to a baking sheet and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the pot.
Add the onions carrots celery and garlic to the pot and cook until the onions are golden brown all over about 5 minutes. Return the pork to the pot. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot about 3 minutes. Add the stock thyme orange bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring the liquids to a simmer then cover the pot and place it in the oven.
Cook in the oven until the pork is fork-tender about 2 1/2 hours. Remove the pot from the oven. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 30 minutes to cool slightly.
Transfer the pork to a baking dish and pull the meat apart with a fork and knife. Toss the shredded pork with some of the warm barbecue sauce. Cover with foil to keep warm.
Meanwhile preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the pineapple slices until they are heated through and soften slightly about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile grill the bread slices cut side down until lightly toasted.
Spoon the coleslaw over the bread bottoms. Top each with the shredded pork then 2 half slices of pineapple. Spoon more barbecue sauce over and cover with the bread tops. Serve warm.
Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
* 1 Tbsp olive oil
* 1/3 c finely chopped red onion
* 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
* 1 c ketchup
* 1 c peeled cored finely diced pineapple
* 1/2 c orange juice
* 1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
* 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 Tbsp chopped green onions
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender and pale golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ketchup, pineapple, orange juice, soy sauce, cilantro, green onions, cumin, and sesame oil. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat until the pineapple softens, the mixture thickens and the flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Homemade Coleslaw
Ingredients
* 1/2 c white wine vinegar
* 3 Tbsp sugar
* 2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1 small head green cabbage, halved, cored and thinly sliced
* 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
* 1/4 c crème fraîche (or sour cream)
* 1/4 c mayonnaise
* 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
* 4 green onions, finely chopped
Stir the vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add the cabbage and carrots and toss to thoroughly coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Stir the crème fraîche, mayonnaise, and mustard in a small bowl to blend. Drizzle over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine thoroughly. Mix in the green onions and serve.
Hari Nayak is an internationally renowned chef & the author of “Modern Indian Cooking”.
Here Chef Hari prepares a wonderful combination of the Tandoori chicken and cucumber salad in a delicious deli wrap sandwich. This video is courtesy of ifood.tv.
For the cucumber salad recipe you will need:
1 chopped tomato
1 peeled and diced cucumber
1/2 of a medium chopped red onion
1 chopped jalapeno pepper
a dash of salt
a dash of cumin powder
a handful of chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Mix the above together in a bowl for the cucumber salad. Adjust ingredients as needed for taste.
You will also need:
leftover tandoori chicken breasts, or any cooked chicken
mint chutney: Options here are to buy in a jar at Whole Foods, or prepare it by mixing the following in a blender until the mixture is smooth
1/2 of a cup of mint
1/4 cup cilantro, Optionally: separated from stems
1 chopped red or green chili
1 and 1/2 tbsp of chopped red onion
3 tbsp of lemon/lime juice (tamarind juice may also be used)
5 tsp of water
salt and pepper, and a touch of sugar if desired
mayonnaise
chopped Romaine lettuce
large whole wheat tortillas
Cut leftover tandoori chicken breasts (or you could use any type of cooked chicken) into thin strips. Take a tortilla wrap and spread with mint chutney and mayo, top with chopped lettuce, chicken, and the cucumber salad. Wrap it up, slice at an angle and voila! Serve with carrot sticks or your favorite side item.
Chef Keith Snow from Harvest Eating creates the perfect Italian sandwich. This would be a delicious treat for hungry football guests on a weekend!
Ingredients:
2 slices ciabatta style rustic bread,
2 slices provolone cheese
1/2 cup romaine lettuce, shredded
2 tbs vinaigrette dressing (you could use any grocery store vinaigrette, or make your own with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper)
2 slices natural ham
2 slices genoa salami
2 slices capicola ham
