Golden Onion & Mushroom Melt

 

Sometimes a sandwich is so good that I just can’t wait to dig in, making it tough to snap that perfect blog-worthy shot. Let’s face it, I've got this hot, gooey masterpiece fresh from the skillet, and the urge to eat it is real! So, I’m sorry if these photos don’t quite do it justice because this Golden Onion & Mushroom Melt is pure comfort food bliss, with sweet caramelized onions, savory mushrooms, and melty Swiss cheese nestled between crispy sourdough. The flavors are bold, the prep is simple, and the result is a sandwich that’s worth every bite, camera-ready or not.

Golden Onion & Mushroom Melt 

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1½ T. olive oil, divided

½ t. butter

½ t. brown sugar

¼ t. balsamic vinegar

½ lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ T. fresh thyme (or ¼ t. dried thyme)

2 T. dry white wine (NOT optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 slices sourdough bread

2 oz. Swiss cheese, thinly sliced

1 T. butter, softened

½ T. Dijon mustard

In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and ½ tbsp butter over medium-low heat. Add sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Stir in brown sugar and balsamic vinegar, cook for 2 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In the same skillet, heat ½ tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 8-10 minutes until browned. Add garlic, thyme, and white wine (if using), cooking for 1-2 minutes until the wine evaporates. Season with salt and pepper.

 Butter one side of each bread slice.On the unbuttered side of one slice, spread Dijon mustard (if using), then layer with Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, and mushrooms. Top with the second slice, buttered side up.

 In a clean skillet over medium-low heat, cook the sandwich for 3-5 minutes per side until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted. Cover the skillet to help the cheese melt.

 Cut the sandwich in half and enjoy immediately while it’s hot and melty!

The Golden Onion & Mushroom Melt is the ultimate comfort food. The onions, slow-cooked to sweet perfection, pair beautifully with earthy mushrooms and nutty Swiss cheese. Sourdough bread adds a tangy crunch, and a touch of Dijon mustard brings a subtle zing. It’s an easy recipe that feels gourmet, perfect for a cozy lunch or quick dinner. Plus, it’s vegetarian-friendly and endlessly customizable—swap cheeses or add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for a kick!

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Lobster Grilled Cheese

 

It’s funny how one small thing can snowball into a day's worth of work. I succumbed to a sale on lobster tails at my local market. I bought three of them, and when I got home, I wondered what the heck I was going to do with these. The first one I cooked in the air fryer. Lobster perfection. The second I turned into lobster salad, also delicious. The third I used in a grilled cheese sandwich, unusual, right? I had read an article about a guy who made a lobster grilled cheese sandwich, and being a fan of both lobster and grilled cheese I wanted to give it a try. The bread that this concoction was on was jalapeño cheese bread, so before I could even make my sandwich, I had to bake a loaf of bread. Honestly, it took me until 2 o’clock in the afternoon (I’d arisen at 8 AM) to make one sandwich.  It was a good one, even though for the most part, it was a breeze to put together. I’ve heard that sourdough is a tasty replacement for the jalapeño cheese bread, so if you’re interested in trying this, I would certainly consider going that route.

Lobster Grilled Cheese 

 1 6-oz. lobster tail, diced

2-3 T. butter

2 T. garlic paste

Old Bay seasoning

Fresh chopped parsley

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

2 slices Havarti cheese

2 slices smoked Gouda cheese

 Place a medium-size pan over medium high heat. Add butter and garlic paste. Once the butter has melted down and blended with the garlic paste, add diced lobster meat. Season to taste with Old Bay seasoning and parsley.

 After your lobster has finished cooking, set mixture aside.

 Place two slices of bread into a heated pan with a bit of melted butter, placing two slices of Havarti cheese on one half and two slices of smoked Gouda on the other. Then place reserved lobster mixture on top of one piece of bread, topping with the remaining piece. Toast until golden brown and cheese is melted.

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Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese

 

There's one thing that you can always count on, and that is having your sweet, innocent, apple-cheeked children revealing your secrets is a delightfully innocent way. When my number one son and granddaughter came to visit me over the weekend, I happened to mention to my son that I had made a jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwich that I really liked.

 

“Oooooh,” said my granddaughter, “That is dad’s happy place. He looooves jalapeño poppers.” 

 

I had no idea. I will say that when you take one bite of this sandwich, it will be your happy place too. I made this in a bucket-style air fryer, and couldn’t be happier; the silicon liner made clean up a breeze. Unlike when grilling or pan cooking, the bread came out wonderfully toasted without a hint of butter residue to make fingers greasy. If air fryers aren’t your thing, feel free to grill or pan fry. This sandwich is all about the filling.

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese

Slightly adapted from airfried.com

 4 slices sandwich bread

2 T. butter, room temperature

3 oz. cream cheese, room temperatute

1 T. sour cream

1 c. shredded cheddar

¼ c. diced Melissa’s pickled jalapeños

½ t. garlic powder

 Preheat air fryer to 360°F.  (If yours requires preheating.)

Spread the outside of each slice of bread with butter.

Place cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, jalapeños, and garlic powder into a small bowl and mix with a fork to combine.

Arrange two slices of bread, buttered side down, and top with the cheese mixture. Place the remaining slices of bread over the top, butter side up.

 Place the sandwiches in your air fryer basket and air fry 5 minutes. Flip the sandwiches over and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes or until bread is golden brown and toasted.

Let set 1 minute before slicing and serving. 

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Brie and Apricot Jam Grilled Cheese

 This post contains affiliate links.

  Earlier in the month I reviewed The Happy Sandwich Cookbook by Jason Goldstein. You can find that review here. In the comments, Gina mentioned wanting to see the recipe for the brie and apricot sandwich, so girl, this post is for you. I have to admit, this sandwich is delicious. In fact, I have yet to find one in the cookbook that I didn’t enjoy. This is the last recipe that I’m going to give you from the cookbook, you’re just going to have to buy a copy of your own. Trust me when I tell you that you certainly will not regret it.

Brie and Apricot Jam Grilled Cheese

8 T. apricot jam or orange marmalade

¼ c. chopped roasted hazelnuts

1 wheel double cream brie, sliced

Mayonnaise

8 slices sourdough bread

 Spread mayonnaise on both sides of each slice of bread.* Spread some jam on one side of each slice of bread, then sprinkle chopped hazelnuts onto the jam. Lay some brie slices on the bread, fanning them out to cover the slice. Place another slice of bread on top. Cook in a pan on medium heat for three minutes per side.

 *I only spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread. This is done in place of butter, and it facilitates the most beautiful, even, golden brown toastiness that you can imagine.

 

Toasty Cheese and Chile Jam Sandwiches

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Acclaimed chef, restaurateur, and artist Renee Erickson and I have a good bit in common in that we share favorite places in the world – Rome, Paris, Normandy, and London, to name a few. Her new book, Getaway: Food and Drink to Transport You, available on April 27 from Abrams Books, is a travelogue, guidebook, and cookbook, so you can revisit your favorite destinations, and the food that you consumed there.

I tend to be fairly easy to please. Having spent, all told, nearly a year in England, I found that I really missed the cheese and pickle sandwiches. Erickson’s version is grilled and very delicious. Toasty Cheese and Chile Jam Sandwiches are easy to put together, and sure to be loved by all you plan to serve; this is a taste of England in your own kitchen. 

Toasty Cheese and Chile Jam Sandwiches

1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. softened unsalted butter
4 thick slices good sourdough bread
1/3 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
4 T. Fresno chile jam or other hot pepper jelly*

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and butter.

Heat a heavy iron skillet over high heat for one minute.

Take two slices of bread and spread one side of each with the mayonnaise mixture. Place the slices, mayo side down, into the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Distribute the cheese evenly between the two bread slices.

Making sure to align the bread slices, cover one side of the remaining two slices with the chile jam. Lay jam side down on the cheese. Spread the top of the slices with the remaining mayonnaise mixture.

Cook until the bottoms of the sandwiches are nicely toasted, about four minutes, and then carefully flip. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted, about 4-6 minutes. Cut into halves or slender pieces for sharing and serve right away.

*I made this twice, once with Branston pickle and another time with my mother’s homemade chili sauce. Both were equally good.

 I received a complimentary copy of this book from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party program.

Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

I make no secret of the fact that I love the spinach/artichoke combination and, as a consequence, I am always looking for new ways to enjoy it. In the past I have used this combination in quiche, crescent rolls, ravioli bake, cheesy bread, and chicken. Trust me when I tell you that despite these many ways, my obsession is not about to end. The latest recipe is this one for grilled cheese. It is remarkably good! So much so that even people who may not be fond of spinach will find this quite toothsome. 

Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

Slightly adapted from Taste and Tell

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

6 oz. baby spinach (about 4 cups)

Few gratings nutmeg

Pinch paprika

Kosher salt, to taste

3 tablespoons sour cream

1 6.34-oz. pkg. Melissa’s artichoke hearts, chopped

8 slices rustic bread

2 tablespoons softened butter

1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two to let the oil infuse with the garlic. Remove garlic, save for other use (such as using in salad dressing) and discard.

Add the spinach to the olive oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is wilted. Add nutmeg and paprika, and season to taste with salt and pepper. When the spinach has wilted down, stir in the sour cream and artichoke hearts.

Butter one side of each of the slices of bread. Place 4 slices, butter side down, on a griddle. Place 1/8 of a cup (2 T.) of the cheese on each slice. Divide the spinach mixture evenly between the 4 slices of bread, and then top with an additional 1/8 cup of cheese. Place the remaining 4 slices of bread on top, butter side out.

Grill until golden brown on each side, about 3-5 minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

PRINT RECIPE

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Emmentaler on Rye with Sweet & Sour Onions

Grilled cheese sandwiches have been one of my favorite lunches as far back as I can remember.  In my youth, bliss was known as a slab of Velveeta sandwiched between two slices of Wonder Bread. Truth be told, while it’s not often, there are days when I revisit that old favorite just to wax nostalgic about the carefree days when I sat at the kitchen table in my mother’s warm kitchen, munching on a gooey sandwich, swinging my legs back and forth all the while.  These days I look for variety.  I’ve found it in one of my favorite books on the subject, Great Grilled Cheese: 50 Innovative Recipes for Stovetop, Grill, and Sandwich Maker and then I saw this recipe in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.  Oh, my!  This sandwich is singular in its deliciousness.  The nutty, melted cheese, paired with the not-too-sweet, not-too-sour onions is a marriage made in heaven.  The onions can be made ahead making this easy to throw together when you want to dazzle someone at lunch.

Emmentaler on Rye with Sweet & Sour Onions

Onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 teaspoons brown sugar, light or dark
¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Sandwiches (Serves 2)
Four ½ inch-thick slices rye bread
2 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, softened
¾ cup (about 3 ounces) Emmentaler or another Swiss cheese (I used Gruyere), grated

Cook onions: Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and salt, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the vinegar, and scrape and stuck onion bits from the bottom of pan with a spoon. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, until the onion mixture thickens, and season to taste with black pepper. Cool to lukewarm, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerated until needed, up to 5 days.

Make sandwiches: Generously butter 1 side of each slice of bread. Arrange one slice, buttered side down, on a plate. Spread thickly with jammy onions (about 2 tablespoons per sandwich; you’ll have extra). Sprinkle with half the grated cheese. Arrange a second slice of bread on top of the cheese, buttered side facing up. Repeat with the remaining slices.  Heat a heavy 12-inch skillet to medium-low, or an electric griddle set to 325. Once it’s hot, place the sandwiches on the griddle, and cook them until crisp and deep golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Slice the sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons

I don't know what it's like where you are, but here in the Mississippi Valley it is unseasonably cold, I'm talking middle-of-winter cold.  At a time when I should be pressing my face against the glass of the local garden center, I am, instead, wearing two sweaters and standing over a big pot stirring soup. Perusing seed catalogs offering a wide variety of Heirloom Tomatoes put me in a powerful mood for tomato soup, so Ina Garten to the rescue with this wonderful, easy, fresh tasting recipe. It's from her latest cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof,

 and can be steaming in a bowl in a little over 30 minutes. This is my new go-to tomato soup recipe, but it had a trifle too much orzo for me, so the next time, I'd cut the amount to 1/3 or a heaping 1/4 cup.

Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons

From Foolproof by Ina Garten

3 tablespoons good olive oil

3 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

4 cups homemade chicken stock

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Large pinch of saffron threads

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup orzo

1/2 cup heavy cream

Grilled Cheese Croutons to garnish

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, saffron, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a medium pot with water, add 2 teaspoons salt, and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 7 minutes. (It will finish cooking in the soup.)  Drain the orzo and add it to the soup. Stir in the cream, return the soup to a simmer, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve hot with Grilled Cheese Croutons scattered on top.