One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is watch TV. Specifically, HGTV, TLC, Bravo, or The Food Network. The hubby doesn’t understand why I lurv these channels. Honestly, I have no idea why I lurv them either. I just do.
While watching The Food Network this past weekend, I got sucked into The Best Thing I Ever Made – Spicy. Now I am not one for spicy food. I don’t think I am one of those Minnesotans who only eats bland things… but spicy is tough for me. But I LURV grilled cheese sandwiches. The first recipe shown in this episode was for a Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese. I couldn’t say no to that.
It’s a pretty easy recipe. You need a thick, hearty bread. We went with a Texas Toast bread. Nice and thick!
Not a healthy whole grain... but tasty!
You also need jalapenos! If you are like me, you can scoop out the ribs and seeds to keep the heat down. I also recommend using gloves. I didn’t, and my hands are still tingly.
Yes, I took a lot of the heat out first!
Get a nice cheddar cheese and shred it up!
Tillamook Cheddar... DELICIOUS!
And mascarpone cheese – how do you pronounce it??
I think cream cheese would work just as well.
You also need to have butter and some olive oil on hand.
The jalapenos get halved and roasted in the oven at 425 for about 10-15 minutes. Hopefully the skin will be blistered. At that point, place the peppers in a plastic bag to steam a little. The skins *should* peel off easily. Which means mine didn’t. But I didn’t care!!
Once you are ready with the jalapenos, get a little olive oil into a pan or on a griddle, and heat to a medium heat. Then assemble your sandwich. Once slice of bread will have mascarpone smeared on it, then a layer of jalapeno. The other slice will take the cheddar cheese.
Sorry if there are any drool spots in the pictures.
Now butter the outsides of both slices of bread, and get ready to place in the pan or griddle.
So naughty...
You don’t want the pan too hot, because it will take a little while for the cheese to melt. The key is to flip and check on a fairly frequent basis.
Don't drool on your keyboard!
Once all melty and gooey on the inside, and golden brown on the outside, cut in half and DEVOUR!!
Oh yeah!!! So freaking good.
This is the recipe as seen on the website :
- Prep Time:
- 10 min
- Inactive Prep Time:
- 5 min
- Cook Time:
- 20 min
- Level:
- Easy
- Serves:
- 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
- 6 jalapenos, cut in half lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup shredded aged Cheddar
- 8 slices country white bread
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss the jalapenos with 1 tablespoon olive oil, some salt and pepper and lay skin-side up on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the skin is blistered, 10 to15 minutes. Place in a plastic baggie for about 5 minutes loosen the skin. Pull off the skin, remove the majority of seeds and ribs, and slice. Set aside.
Spread the mascarpone on 4 slices of bread and divide the Cheddar among the other 4 slices. Divide the sliced jalapenos among the 4 sandwiches. Close, and butter both sides of the bread.
Heat half of the remaining oil on a flat griddle over medium heat. Grill one side of the sandwiches until golden. Remove, heat the remaining oil and repeat with the second side until golden and the insides are all melty and gooey.
