Exhaustion breeds laziness, which too often leads to eating substandard fast food or visits to the freezer section. I’ve eaten some unspeakable things during the busy seasons of my life. There’s often an obscene amount of peanut butter toast, Panda Express orange chicken, or greasy cheeseburgers. The solution to this madness? Grilled cheese!
Bread, cheese, butter, done. In this case, there’s a bit of something fruity involved as well. Fruit spreads on my grilled cheese is my new obsession. We’ve already done brie and blackberry as well as fig and smoked gouda. This time, I went for the classic combination of apple and cheddar. Obvious? Perhaps. Amazing? Duh.
Cheddar can be a bit oily when melted, so I used shredded cheddar for smoother melting and a slice of provolone because it’s super gooey. Each slice of bread also gets spread with a thin layer of apple butter on the inside. It’s the perfect combination to the sharpness of the cheddar. A little butter on the outside, a few minutes in a hot pan. We’re five minutes from heaven, kids.
In my opinion, it’s perfectly acceptable to pair this with some store-bought soup. You’re busy. You’re tired. No need to work too hard. Put down the fast food, fix yourself a grilled cheese. Be happy. Simple.
- 2 slices bread
- 2 tablespoons apple butter
- 1 slice provolone cheese
- 2-3 fat pinches shredded cheddar cheese (enough to cover the bread)
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
- Preheat a small skillet over medium heat.
- Spread apple butter on each piece of bread. Place a slice of provolone on one piece and pile up some shredded cheddar. Put the lid on.
- Spread butter on the outside of one piece of bread, then place your sandwich, butter side down, in your hot pan. Spread the rest of your butter on the other piece of bread. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes until your sandwich reaches your perfect level of crispiness.
Where on Oahu did you get your fig preserves?
I got mine in the fancy cheese section of Safeway.