Make My Heart *Melt*
By guest blogger Sharon Halkovics
I’ll be honest. I cooked, and baked, and tried all kinds of new and different things this past weekend but wasn’t excited to post a blog about any of these items. What won my heart this week was a simple grilled cheese sandwich.
I must give two big spoons up to this grilled cheese combination that starts with nutty, smooth-melting Fontina cheese with added layers of shaved ham, arugula, and royal fig jam. I served this sandwich with a simple side salad and was in absolute palate-pleasing bliss.
Coincidentally, we’ve been talking up grilled cheese a lot around the office. So much in fact, we’ve decided to add a grilled cheese class to our line up of Home Cook classes. What better way to roll out ‘Melt’…we think it’s a great class to take with your main squeeze or a close friend. We’re pretty convinced that you’ll be hosting super-chic grilled cheese parties after you take this gooey-goodie of a class.
Toasted Fontina, Shaved Ham, Fig Jam Sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter, very soft or melted
8 slices country-style bread
½ lb Fontina cheese, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp fig jam
½ lb shaved country ham
1 fistful of arugula
Method:
- Using a pastry brush or butter knife, coat one side of 4 slices of the bread with half of the butter. Put bread, buttered-side down, on a work surface. Top the bread with equal portions of Fontina cheese, shaved ham, fig jam, and arugula. Cover with the remaining 4 slices of bread; brush the tops with the remaining melted butter.
- Heat the frying pan over moderately low heat. Add the sandwiches and cook, turning once, until golden, about 2 – 3 minutes per side.
- Transfer the ham-and-cheese sandwiches to a cutting board, halve and serve at once.
