Ham & Dijion Grilled Cheese with Compound Butter and..... Apricot Browned Butter Granola
It’s recipe time again. I am one of eight bloggers to have been asked (hired) to create recipes involving my second favorite dairy product ever after cheese- butter. We all know that cheese is #1 on this blog, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the main reason I include bread in my life is to serve as a vehicle for my butter. I am also a butter freak.
Anyhow, I’ll be creating 2-4 new recipes for the Go Bold with Butter blog every month, and I’ll share them here. Check out the rest of the blogger recipes too- there are some awesome ones. I’ll post the ones that include cheese on this blog and then link to others that don’t (so there won’t be too much non-cheese cross pollination). We’ll get you your cheese recipe fix again. I’m actually pretty excited about this- I love creating recipes, and this gives me the perfect opportunity to do more of it.
It’s recipe time again. As I divulged in my last recipe post, I am one of eight bloggers to have been hired through a partnership between Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and America’s Dairy Farmers to create recipes involving my second favorite dairy product ever after cheese- butter. We all know that cheese is #1 on this blog, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the main reason I include bread in my life is to serve as a vehicle for my butter. I am a butter freak.
Anyhow, I'm creating 2-4 new recipes for the Go Bold with Butter blog every month, and I’ll share them here too. Check out the rest of the blogger recipes- there are some awesome ones. I’ll post the ones that I've created that include cheese on this blog and then link to others that don’t (so there won’t be too much non-cheese cross pollination, in case there are tender dairy hearts reading).
Here goes:
Ham & Dijion Grilled Cheese with Compound Butter
I’d never turn down a grilled cheese sandwich for lack of innovation. In its most fulfilling, basic, loving incarnation, bells and whistles would just get in the way. Sometimes all you want is a heck of a lot of melted cheese between two incredibly buttery pieces of toasted bread.
Other times, you want a little extra oomph with your cheese. When I want to move beyond my childhood favorite’s most basic delicious form, I involve ham, Dijon mustard and herb butter.
Pick a good ham- maybe applewood smoked, maybe just a basic cure, but choose one with few preservatives. The Dijon can be whole-grain or smooth, whatever your tastes dictates, and the herbs should always be fresh. If you can’t find tarragon, substitute chervil or sage. Keep any leftover compound butter for future cooking- adding a dab of it to finished sauces or pastas is a simple way to enhance a dish.
Recipe
Grilled Cheese with Herbed Butter, Dijon and Ham
Serves 4
Herbed butter
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Grilled Cheese
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
8 pieces Italian or French batard bread, sliced ½ inch thick
8 ounces grated Gruyere-style cheese
8 ounces thinly sliced ham
2 teaspoons room temperature butter
salt to taste
Mix the butter, herbs and pepper together in a small bowl until blended well. Set aside.
Butter one side of four pieces of bread lightly with the herb butter. Spread a teaspoon of Dijon over one side of the remaining slices of unbuttered bread. Each sandwich will get one buttered slice and one Dijon slice. Portion out the cheese, 2 ounces per sandwich. Put 1 ounce of grated cheese over each sandwich’s buttered slice and 1 ounce over the Dijon slice. Then, put two ounces of ham over whichever slice you’d like, then close the sandwich so the ham is in the middle.
Lightly butter the outside of the sandwich slices with the herb butter, being sure to cover all the way to the crusty edges of the bread.
Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Place the sandwiches in the pan and press down firmly with a spatula. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle the sandwiches lightly with salt. Flip when the first side is golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add another teaspoon of butter to the pan, and repeat with the second side. The sandwich is ready when both pieces of bread are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Apricot Brown Butter Granola: