Extraordinary Grilled Cheese

Extraordinary Grilled Cheese


When I first saw the name of this recipe, I had to stop for a moment. Really? Extraordinary Grilled Cheese? I wasn’t quite sure what could make grilled cheese so extraordinary. But when I started reading through the list of instructions, I began to change my mind. This recipe calls for gruyere cheese (which I will always think of as “fancy” after eating it in Switzerland), sourdough bread that has been soaked in white wine, and plenty of butter and oil to make the sandwiches nice and crisp. Once I saw all of that, I made this recipe at the earliest opportunity. Mike and I both agree that the title of Extraordinary Grilled Cheese is well deserved. The recipe comes from my French Farmhouse cookbook and is suggested as an appetizer, with the sandwiches cut into strips. I can see why, because this stuff is rich! But oh so good. 🙂 The wine flavor was a little strong for us, so I would probably let the bread soak a little less next time, but other than that this recipe was pretty much perfect. Let me know if you try it please, and if you think it’s extraordinary. 🙂

Extraordinary Grilled Cheese

Extraordinary Grilled Cheese

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Total Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1 cup lightly fruity white wine, such as Riesling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 long slices Sourdough Bread, cut in half crosswise
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

Directions:

Whisk together the eggs, wine, a generous amount of salt, and a touch of pepper in a small bowl. Transfer to a shallow dish that's large enough to hold the bread slices in one layer. Place the bread slices in the dish and leave them there for several minutes so they become thoroughly soaked in the mixture (without falling apart).

Heat the butter and oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 3 slices of the bread. Top each slice with some cheese, and then with a slice of the remaining bread. Cook on one side until the bread is golden and the cheese is half melted, about 3 1/2 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until the bread is golden and the cheese is fully melted, an additional 3 1/2 minutes.

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16 comments

  1. Holy Crap-ola! Did you get into my brain and create the recipe that I’ve been craving all weekend? I think you did! And I am so grateful! 🙂 This looks delicious and includes my ultimate cheese: Gruyere.

  2. I really don’t know what to call this other than extraordinary Megan. WOW. The wine, the Gruyere cheese (LOVE Gruyere cheese!), the pepper, the sour dough – you’ve hit a HOMERUN. Saving this recipe – my boyfriend would go nuts for this. And umm… so would I.

  3. Oh there are a whole lot of ways to make grilled cheese extraordinary! 🙂 I can only imagine how incredible this tasted…soaked in wine! I’ve made grilled cheese with a swipe of wine on the bread before, but this boozy French style is incredibly intriguing to me. Must try!

  4. Now that is seriously one heck of a grilled cheese sandwich. I love how the cheese oozes out. Lovely!

  5. What a perfect day in Michigan to taunt me with this sandwich, Megan!

  6. Ooh, this is such a fun sandwich! I love reading recipes that just do something totally unexpected, like soaking bread in wine! Fun!

  7. Holy cow, this is amazing. We LOVE grilled cheese and have been nearly living on them lately. I love this!

  8. I love grilled cheese–especially trying to make it unique and different from the plain old cheddar grilled cheese (not that there is anything wrong with that!) I am a big fan of Gruyere cheese–can’t wait to try this out!

  9. Whoa! You soak the bread in wine?! That is … I don’t even know. Weird and awesome. Must try.

  10. whoa so this is like a savory french toast grilled cheese, right? crazy! so good. p.s. i think of gruyere as fancy too…i spent a summer in france in college on a mission trip with Cru & we made mac & cheese with gruyere all the time. it was so cheap, but so delish!

  11. Oh, wow! I would love to try this. Soaked in wine? You’ve got my attention 🙂

  12. Dumb question: Do you soak BOTH sides of each slice of bread? Or just leave the facing up side dry and the bottom outside part wet?

  13. Hey! I cant find the wine, what else can i use? Maybe Pisco? Im from peru

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