I grew up in your typical American household, with your typical American diet (a child of the 70s/80s).  Frozen dinners?  Yep.  Processed food (including processed cheese)?  Yep.  Fluffy white bread?  Yep, plenty of that as well, not to mention marshmallow fluff, Swanson TV dinners, and various Entenmann’s products.

Instead of the grilled cheese of my youth, I’ve sought to create an ‘elevated’ (for lack of a better term) grilled cheese — let’s call it a grilled cheese for the grown ups.  I’ve ditched the American cheese and Wonder bread (is that still around?), and replaced them with local, artisanal ingredients — crusty bread and delicious, stinky cheese.

First, you’ll need good bread, the foundation of any sandwich.  I used a levain from my favorite new bakery Bread Furst.  As for the fromage, used a local Virginia cheese (Grayson Meadow Creek) and Tallegio.  You’ll want a soft cheese that melts well (along the lines of Gruyere, Fontina, Asiago, etc.).

Slice the bread.  Butter (generously) the outsides of the bread.  Spread a layer of pesto (this is a kale pesto) on the inside…

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Be generous with the cheese.  Sometimes you just need to indulge.

Top with a couple slices of beautiful, local, heirloom tomato..

This is where I strayed from convention — added sliced avocado…

And, prosciutto — because I can’t resist prosciutto…

I may have deviated a tad from the traditional grilled cheese sandwich, but who cares — it’s delicious!

Cook until the cheese is nice and gooey, and the bread nicely browned and crispy.

Slice in half.  Share with someone you love — if you’re feeling generous — or savor it all yourself 🙂

140924_4191 140924_4192Enjoy!

A Grilled Cheese for the Grown Ups

Butter
Bread (crusty bread such as Levain)
Soft cheese (such as Tallegio,Gruyere, Fontina, Asiago)
Kale pesto (recipe below)
Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
Avocado, thinly sliced
Prosciutto

Butter the outsides of the bread.  Spread the pesto on the inside.  Layer on the cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and prosciutto.

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add a pat of butter.  When the butter has melted, add the sandwich and press down with a spatula.  Cook until golden brown on the bottom.  Flip, and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown and the cheese is melted and gooey.

Kale Pesto

2 cups kale, stems removed, torn into pieces
1 cup fresh basil
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup nuts (such, as almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra to cover the finished pesto
squeeze of lemon juice to taste

Place the kale, basil, garlic, and nuts in a food processor.  Season with salt and pepper.  With the motor running, add the olive oil slowly in a steady stream.  Add a squeeze of lemon.  Taste and season accordingly.  Place the pesto in a jar.  Cover with a little extra olive oil.

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16 comments

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Is it weird that I just licked my screen? That is seriously the most amazing looking grilled cheese I've ever seen. AND, I just so happen to have kale pesto in the freezer. This was clearly meant to be! Thanks for the recipe and inspiration.

Reply

Is it weird that I just licked my screen? That is seriously the most amazing looking grilled cheese I've ever seen. AND, I just so happen to have kale pesto in the freezer. This was clearly meant to be! Thanks for the recipe and inspiration.

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This recipe could actually make me bring kale into our house! The sandwich looks amazingly good, and those avocado slices would only add to the dreamy-creaminess of the whole concoction! Bravo.

Reply

This recipe could actually make me bring kale into our house! The sandwich looks amazingly good, and those avocado slices would only add to the dreamy-creaminess of the whole concoction! Bravo.

Reply

Oh my, this is a lovely grilled cheese. It's always been one of my favorite comfort foods. I like that this one is sort of redeeming with the kale and the tomato. But still, the cheese. So much cheese……:)

Reply

Oh my, this is a lovely grilled cheese. It's always been one of my favorite comfort foods. I like that this one is sort of redeeming with the kale and the tomato. But still, the cheese. So much cheese……:)

Reply

Hello Linda! We had sent you an inquiry for collaboration on July 22 but did not receive any reply from you. So we have sent it again since it might have gone to your spam box. We would greatly appreciate if you get back to us and tell us what you think about our offer. Thanks!

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Hello Linda! We had sent you an inquiry for collaboration on July 22 but did not receive any reply from you. So we have sent it again since it might have gone to your spam box. We would greatly appreciate if you get back to us and tell us what you think about our offer. Thanks!

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Hi, I found this on FoodGawker and was hoping I could get your permission to post the recipe on my instagram recipe page (@foodie_recipes) as it looks delicious! I will tag you in the photo and put your website address on the post! Hope this is okay, thanks 🙂 x

Reply

Hi, I found this on FoodGawker and was hoping I could get your permission to post the recipe on my instagram recipe page (@foodie_recipes) as it looks delicious! I will tag you in the photo and put your website address on the post! Hope this is okay, thanks 🙂 x

Reply

Hi Liv, You can post this recipe on your instagram recipe page. Thanks for asking. Linda

Reply

Hi Liv, You can post this recipe on your instagram recipe page. Thanks for asking. Linda

Reply

This looks amazing! Isn't it GREAT to be a grown up 🙂

Reply

This looks amazing! Isn't it GREAT to be a grown up 🙂

Reply

Love the looks of this!! Thanks for posting 🙂

Reply

Love the looks of this!! Thanks for posting 🙂

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