I don’t need an excuse to eat grilled cheese sandwiches. Just the gooey, hot cheese alone is reason enough. But bread and cheese are a good way to celebrate Shavuot (June 11-13), the holiday that marks the start of the ancient wheat harvest and is observed with a dairy meal.
These recipes pull from Jewish food traditions. The savory Rye Grilled Cheese uses pastrami spices to flavor the cooked mushroom filling. The sweet Challah Grilled Cheese has a cheesecake-flavored filling.
The recipes each make enough for two sandwiches using medium-size slices of bread (about 4-6 inches wide). Using larger or smaller slices will affect the recipe yields. The recipes multiply well for additional sandwiches.
Rye Grilled Cheese
Makes 2 medium sandwiches
1 recipe Sriracha-Horseradish Sauce (see below)
1 recipe Spiced Mushrooms (see below)
1 recipe Browned Onions (see below)
1/2 Tbs. plus 2 Tbs. butter
4 slices rye bread
4 slices Swiss cheese (about 3 oz. total)
Make sauce, mushrooms and onions (recipes below). Melt 1/2 Tbs. butter. Brush on one side of each slice of bread. Place slice butter side down, spread unbuttered side with 1/4 of sauce, top with 1 slice cheese, 1/2 of mushrooms, 1/2 of onions and second piece of cheese. Spread 1/4 of sauce on unbuttered side of bread slice. Place on top, sauce side down. Repeat.
Heat 2 Tbs. butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add sandwiches. Cook until bottoms are browned, pressing down with spatula to flatten. Flip sandwiches over. Cook, flattening with spatula, until browned and cheese is gooey.
Sriracha-Horseradish Sauce: Mix together 1 Tbs. mayonnaise, 1 tsp. ketchup, 1/4 tsp. Sriracha, 1 tsp. prepared (jarred) white ground horseradish, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper.
Browned Onions: Thinly slice small yellow onion. Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil with 1 Tbs. butter in skillet over low heat until butter has melted. Add onion. Sprinkle with 1/8 tsp. salt. Slowly cook until very soft and browned, stirring occasionally.
Spiced Mushrooms: Trim dark gills and stem end off a 3 oz. portobello mushroom cap. Cut into 8 slices. Mix 1 Tbs. olive oil with 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. yellow ground mustard powder (not prepared mustard), 1/8 tsp. ground coriander, 1/8 tsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. paprika and 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper. Toss with mushrooms. Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Sauté mushrooms until just beginning to soften. Stir in 1 tsp. minced garlic. Sauté until slices are cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Challah Grilled Cheese
Makes 2 medium sandwiches
1/4 cup ricotta (if watery, drain before measuring)
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs. plus 2 Tbs. shredded mozzarella
1 Tbs. plus 2 Tbs. butter
4 slices challah
3 Tbs. cherry or strawberry jam or preserves
Mix ricotta, vanilla, sugar, zest, juice and 3 Tbs. of mozzarella. Lightly toast challah slices. Melt 1 Tbs. of butter. Brush on both sides of the challah slices. Spread one slice with 1/4 of jam, top with 1/2 of ricotta and 1 Tbs. mozzarella. Spread 1/4 of jam on second slice. Put jam side down on top. Repeat.
Heat 2 Tbs. butter a large skillet over medium heat. Add sandwiches and cook until bottoms are browned, pressing down with spatula to flatten. Flip sandwiches over. Cook, flattening with spatula, until browned and mozzarella is melted.
Faith Kramer is a Bay Area food writer. Her columns alternate with those of Josie A.G. Shapiro. Faith blogs about her food at www.clickblogappetit.com. Contact her at [email protected].