I recently had a craving for sherried tomato soup (see recipe here: http://ataps-easyeats.blogspot.com/2011/10/snow-day-soup-creamy-sherried-tomato.html), so I of course needed to come up with something that would go along with it nicely aside from bud light lime. The first challenge of course was that I discovered halfway through making the soup that my sherry was missing. It immediately obvious that the dogs have been having parties without me while I am at work.
I made an easy substitution with brandy, because that's what they left me with, and you can't have alcohol-free tomato soup. Anyway, the soup was delicious, as always.
Now, let's discuss our side options. What goes well with tomato soup? Nothing better than grilled cheese, that's for sure! Now fancy tomato soup deserves a fancy grilled cheese, so let's get creative...I like the idea of two cheeses and a bonus ingredient. It keeps things simple yet makes it look like you are some sort of creative genius. Also, the bread is important...you want something that will grill well. I highly recommend ciabatta because I like the way it crunches when you bit into it, and the crust keeps everything crisp while the cheese gets melty.
So, I visited heaven (the cheese section of the grocery store), and carefully made my selections. I wanted a smoky sort of taste to my sandwich, so I went with apple smoked gruyere and chipotle gouda. The third ingredient is always the exciting one, since it can be anything from fruit for a sweet kick, to tomatoes, to a meat. It was obvious that my choice had to be pancetta. Sweet, salty, smoky, genius.
Grilling methods - I finally found a use for my George Foreman grill - perfect panini maker!!! Butter the outside of your bread and pop it on. You can also of course use a real grill, a toaster oven, or a nonstick skillet on the stove.
Other gourmet grilled cheese topping ideas:
sliced figs or fig jam (get crazy and do fig & pig - figs and prosciutto yummmm)
bacon (really an option for any dish)
tomato
thin apple slices
prosciutto
apricot jam
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| Exhibit 1: evidence of costumes |
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| Exhibit 2: Evidence of capes. |
I made an easy substitution with brandy, because that's what they left me with, and you can't have alcohol-free tomato soup. Anyway, the soup was delicious, as always.
Now, let's discuss our side options. What goes well with tomato soup? Nothing better than grilled cheese, that's for sure! Now fancy tomato soup deserves a fancy grilled cheese, so let's get creative...I like the idea of two cheeses and a bonus ingredient. It keeps things simple yet makes it look like you are some sort of creative genius. Also, the bread is important...you want something that will grill well. I highly recommend ciabatta because I like the way it crunches when you bit into it, and the crust keeps everything crisp while the cheese gets melty.
So, I visited heaven (the cheese section of the grocery store), and carefully made my selections. I wanted a smoky sort of taste to my sandwich, so I went with apple smoked gruyere and chipotle gouda. The third ingredient is always the exciting one, since it can be anything from fruit for a sweet kick, to tomatoes, to a meat. It was obvious that my choice had to be pancetta. Sweet, salty, smoky, genius.
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| Sherried (actually brandied) tomato soup with an apple gruyere-chipotle gouda-pancetta panini on ciabatta. |
Other gourmet grilled cheese topping ideas:
sliced figs or fig jam (get crazy and do fig & pig - figs and prosciutto yummmm)
bacon (really an option for any dish)
tomato
thin apple slices
prosciutto
apricot jam
