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Special thanks to Sara Lee® Artesano™ Bread for sponsoring this grilled cheese recipe post. All opinions expressed are my own.
There is nothing better than a buttery grilled cheese sandwich any day of the week. Today, I am thrilled to be sharing an extra cheesy, NYC-inspired grilled cheese recipe that will blow your minds. Buttered and toasted thick Artesano bread filled with four local cheeses that when melted together make the tastiest creation ever.
Grilled Cheese Recipe
There are two main ingredients when making any grilled cheese sandwich: the bread and the cheese.
Bread – I like using a thicker sliced soft, white bread for all my grilled cheese sandwiches. I liked using Sara Lee® Artesano™ Bread because of its thick slices and mouthwatering soft texture plus it’s made with no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors and no artificial colors.
Cheese – For this recipe, I use a combination of using four kinds of local New York cheeses: smoked gouda, fontina, sharp cheddar and jalapeno jack. These cheeses give a punchy yet creamy flavor to this grilled cheese with a smoky and spicy kick.
New York City was my inspiration for this recipe and since the city is loud and, in your face, I created a sandwich that eats just the same. NYC is also iconic and classic, just like this ultimate grilled cheese is.
More about cheese
I use four different kinds of local New York cheeses in this sandwich and chose them all for different reasons:
- Smoked Gouda: I love the smoky flavor this cheese lends
- Fontina: a fabulous melting cheese that tastes really creamy
- Sharp Cheddar: talk about a tasty, tangy cheese! I love the punch you get from a sharp or extra sharp cheddar.
- Jalapeno Jack: similar to pepper jack but much spicier. If you can’t find this, use pepper jack.
Butter or mayonnaise?
Some grilled cheese recipes call for spreading the outsides of the sandwich with very soft butter for grilling or frying. While I love that buttery taste, some use mayonnaise. Yes, mayonnaise. What do I use, you ask? Salted butter. I tend to like that buttery flavor much better than mayo. But, if you are a mayonnaise lover, feel free to give it a try.
How to make Grilled Cheese
The key here is to find the right moderate stovetop temperature to ensure you melt the cheese at about the same rate it takes to crisp and brown the exterior of the sandwich. When in doubt, lower the temperature.
- Grate all the cheeses. Equal amounts of each kind of cheese, grated and tossed together.
- Take a loaf of Sara Lee Artesano Bread and sandwich about 2 oz. of cheese in between two slices.
- Butter the outsides of the bread with very soft salted butter.
- Place sandwich in a nonstick pan over medium low heat until the bottom is brown, and the cheese has started to melt.
- Flip the sandwich and brown the other side and the cheese is completely melted.
- Remove from pan, cut in half and serve.
Love Grilled Cheese? Try these other cheesy favorites:
- California Club Grilled Cheese
- Roasted Red Pepper & Pesto Grilled Cheese
- Camping Mac n’ Cheese
- Classic Homemade Burgers
- Cheese Fondue
Ultimate Big City Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 4 oz smoked gouda cheese grated
- 4 oz jalapeno jack cheese grated
- 4 oz fontina cheese grated
- 1 loaf Sara Lee Artisano Bread 12 slices, not including the end pieces
- 6 tablespoons salted butter very soft
Instructions
- Grate all the cheeses. Toss them together on a cutting board or in a bowl. Set aside.
- Take a loaf of Sara Lee Artesano Bread and sandwich about 2 oz. of cheese in between two slices. Butter the outsides of the bread with very soft salted butter, about 1 tablespoon of butter per sandwich.
- Place sandwich in a nonstick pan over medium low heat until the bottom is brown and the cheese has started to melt. Flip the sandwich and brown the other side and the cheese is completely melted. Remove from pan, cut in half and serve.
I tried making a grilled cheese sandwich with this bread yesterday and it came out horribly mushy. When I tried to turn it, the spatula first caught on the edge of the sandwich, making it kind of accordion-like, and when I actually got the entire spatula under it, I could only smash it up the side of the skillet which made it accordion even more.
I wasn’t using your recipe, but I can’t see what I was doing different, except that I didn’t use real butter (which rips the bread when you spread it!), but rather Brummel and Brown. I slathered it on rather thickly. Would using too much be the problem. The whole thing came out soggy and badly burned on one side because I tried to brown it more, but since I could NOT get the spatula to lift the side to check if the bread was nicely browned, I had no idea how long to cook either side.
In the past I have used Sara Lee Artesano Brioche bread for French toast and it is divine, but I couldn’t find it this time. Would that be better? I was thinking the problem was the bread until I read this article. Please help!!
Brummel and Brown is “butter” made with yogurt. Of course its not going to get your bread toasty! I’d recommend trying this again using room temperature butter. You’ll get crispy bread.