Say Cheese! - Grilled Cheese Three Ways!

So one of the super cool hipsters that I work with just returned from Chicago and told me about a restaurant there that specializes in grilled cheese.  That's what they do, its called Cheesie's Pub & Grub (https://cheesieschicago.com/) and apparently its amazing.  She showed me the menu and I was inspired! I mean, really, what cant you do with grilled cheese.  Everyone loves an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich.  One of the most popular food trucks in the United States is The Grilled Cheese Truck (https://www.facebook.com/grilledcheesetruck) and people flock from all over Los Angeles to try there melted cheese and bread mini miracles.  Well, once again I dove into my fridge to see what I could come up with for my own variations on grilled cheese and this is what I came up with.  I'm happy with the results and so were my taste testers (two legged and four legged alike!).

Mexican Style Chorizo Grilled Cheese
By: Vanessa Madigan

Ingredients:
1 sliced Roma tomato
1 chopped green onion
1 small avocados, sliced
5 oz. chorizo, cooked and drained
1 small jalapeno, sliced
cheddar cheese
lime juice
bread
butter

Dipping Sauce:
3 tbs. sour cream
3 tbs. of your favorite salsa or hot sauce

Directions:

• Lightly coat the sliced avocado with the lime juice
• Butter your bread on the outside
• Place all of your ingredients in between your two buttered slices and grill as usual.
• Mix your two items for the dipping sauce and enjoy!

The ingredients listed are for one sandwich.



Steakhouse Brie and Blue Grilled Cheese
By: Vanessa Madigan

Ingredients:
.25-.40 lb. steak this could be leftovers from the night before or fresh. 
salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
mushrooms, sliced, about 8-10
butter
blue cheese, crumbled or sliced
brie cheese, sliced thinly
3 strips cooked, crisp bacon
bread

The ingredients listed are for one sandwich.

Directions:

• If using fresh steak, pan sear with salt, pepper and a dash of Worcestershire until you reach the desired doneness.
•  Sauté mushrooms in about 1 tbs. of the butter until caramelized and cooked.
• Prepare your sandwich bread buttering the outside of the bread and then layering your ingredients inside. It is best to start with the brie on the bottom.
• Grill and serve!

Pizzeria Grilled Cheese
By: Vanessa Madigan

Ingredients:
sourdough bread, sliced
your favorite pizza toppings (I used pepperoni, mushrooms and bell pepper)
marinara sauce
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

The ingredients listed are for one sandwich.

Directions:

• In a small fry pan  sauté your pizza toppings (example: pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms) until they are warm and starting to brown just a bit.  They should look like they do on top of your pizza.
• Butter your sourdough bread on the outside and assemble your sandwich. Marinara first then cheese, toppings and cheese again. Grill and serve!
• Serve with a side of warm marinara for dipping!

I use a Breville Panini press to make my grilled cheese, it is an awesome gadget and worth every penny.  You can buy them at Williams-Sonoma or Sur la table. 

 

Thor hoping that this one is for him! Silly boy :)

The Marinara Massacre - Italian!

Who doesn't love Italian flavors? I think just about everyone has a favorite pizza joint, one that they have gone to forever.  Our favorite spot is on that we have been regulars at since birth, literally.  Filippi's Pizza Grotto in San Diego, has always been our neighborhood spot for amazing Italian food.  For those of you who have never had the joy of going there you are certainly missing out.  From the moment you walk through the door the pungent aromas of the Italian market grab you and don't let go, you can smell the saltiness of the dried fish, the brine of the olives and the warm nutty smells of the wheels of Parmesan.  By the time you get to your table, you are famished and dying to order and that hot gooey pizza with the warm hand tossed crust cant get there fast enough! This week we wanted to bring some of those flavors and smells home in easy at home pizzeria style recipes that you can share with those you love and build memories of your own. Mangia!

Salami and Parmesean Rolls
Written, Developed and Tested by: Andrea Madigan-Wilken

Ingredients:
Go to your favorite Pizza Parlor and ask for some of their pizza dough. It's cheap, usually 2.00 or so which is worth it considering all of the time it takes to make your own from scratch.
1 1/2 Cups chopped Salami or Peperoni
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Parmesan or Mozzarella
1 Tbs. Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tbs. Granulated Garlic
3 Tbs. Olive Oil



Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425'.
• In a large bowl pour 2 Tbs. Olive Oil in the bottom.
• Place dough in bowl and roll around in oil to coat.
• Add remaining ingredients and knead well until everything is well incorporated into the dough.
• Pull off pieces of dough, a small handful, and roll into balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
• Bake rolls at 425' for 25-3 min or until golden.
• Serve with homemade marinara or a jarred spaghetti sauce for dipping. Enjoy!
  

Andouille Sausage and Cabernet Pizza
Written, Developed and Tested by: Vanessa Madigan

Why oh why does pizza sauce have to be so darn boring? Pizza sauce is always the same, a little tomato a dash of oregano and there you have it.  Next question, who doesn't like to dip their garlic bread into their pasta sauce or better yet pile your pasta directly on top of your garlic bread and forego utensils completely!? The latter is a little more my style, and I'm proud of it, who needs forks when you have bread?!  For this recipe I decided to take the best of two worlds pizza and pasta and combine them into one tasty, forkless, plate of cheesy goodness. It is a rich mixture of zesty Andouille sausage (my personal favorite), rich Cabernet wine, tangy tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and a homemade garlic butter crust. Time to make you're very own pizza people, its easy, tasty and fast!

Ingredients:
For Pizza Dough:
3 Tsp active dry yeast
About 2 Cups warm water
4 Cups of flour
1 Tsp salt
For Topping:
20 oz Andouille Sausage or other spicy sausage, roughly chopped.
12 oz tomato paste
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 oz diced canned tomatoes, drained
12 oz. water
1/2 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 Tbs. red pepper flakes
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp Italian seasoning
1/3 Cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 Cup Cabernet or bold red wine
3 cloves garlic
1 stick of butter
10 oz. Mozzarella cheese


Directions:
For the Pizza Dough:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees
• Place the yeast in a bowl with the 2 cups of warm water, stir until the yeast has dissolved, set aside until it is bubbly and frothy about 10 minutes.
• Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment, or into a large mixing bowl.
• Pour in the yeast and water mixture and mix well, the dough may be still too sticky to handle, very slowly add more flour until the dough is no longer gummy and sticking to your hands.
• Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, if you are using an electric mixer, you can use the dough hook for about 1/2 of this time and manually do the rest to ensure even kneading.
• When the dough is firm and no longer sticking to your counter, place the ball back into the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel.  Allow to rise for 1 hour.
• Once the dough has about doubled, remove from the bowl and using your hand flatten and work the dough into 6 small discs. About 6 inches in diameter.  Place your dough discs on baking sheets and set aside.

For the topping:

• Place 1 stick of butter and the garlic in a small pan on stove allow the butter to melt and absorb all of the yummy garlic flavor.
• In a separate medium sized sauce pan or stock pot slowly add your chopped sausage, allow it to sizzle and brown a bit before adding your olive oil and onion. Allow to cook until onion is translucent.
• Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes and water, stirring well.
• Add the Italian seasoning, chili powder, red pepper flakes, Parmesan and salt again, stirring well.
• Finally add your red wine.
• Let simmer on very low for about 45 minutes to develop flavors.
• Brush your pizza discs with the garlic butter mixture, don't be stingy, go for it!
• Using a deep spoon spoon on your sauce making sure to get lots of sausage
• Top with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
• Place pizza's in preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.

Serves 6