Caprese Grilled Cheese

Pardon our absence! It’s been a whirlwind of a summer, but I know that our blog readers are awesome and will forgive us.

It started with the passing of my dear Grandma, and that’s all I can say about that right now, because I’d prefer to write this blog post with clear eyes.

And then our whole family had the privilege of being involved in the wedding of two wonderful friends. Levi made his first ring bearer debut, I had my first bridesmaid experience (and first ever manicure – thanks, Miriam!), and Dustin was a groomsman. It was a truly joyful event!

Throw several bridal showers into the mix (from Modesto to Mill Valley, all the way down to San Diego), a toddler who has officially entered the terrible twos (though I’m still incredibly blessed to be his mommy – I love seeing how his personality is blooming), and the fact that the whole family is gearing up for Discretion Brewing‘s opening this fall, and you have a summer that basically  flew by in the blink of an eye. You also have what might have been the world’s longest run on sentence. So I’m a little rusty, folks, but it’s okay, because I really just want to share this grilled cheese recipe with you. We ate it voraciously this evening.

Fall is approaching, and we must embrace tomatoes while we still can! This grilled cheese sandwich consists of two kinds of tomatoes – a yellow heirloom  and a red dry farmed variety, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil from our garden, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. What makes it extra special? The bread. I spread sliced sweet french bread with butter, and seasoned it with garlic powder and oregano. So, basically you have two pieces of garlic bread sandwiching your Caprese salad – a cool center and a warm outside. Now that’s going out (of summer) with a bang.

As we bid farewell to summer (wait, I blinked – what happened to it?) and say hello to fall, a season near and dear to my heart, I may not be posting quite as frequently, as we are all working hard towards our brewery’s opening (stay on top of our progress and find out our opening date on our Facebook page!) But when I’m not crazy-busy, I will continue to share with you what’s coming out of our kitchen.

Bon Appetite and Cheers, dear readers!

4 Slices French bread
Butter (salted is preferred), at room temperature
Garlic powder
Dried oregano
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
Heirloom and/or dry farmed tomatoes, sliced
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Fresh, whole basil leaves

• Preheat your broiler.

• Spread your bread slices on both sides (gasp!) with butter. Season with garlic powder and oregano.

• Place buttered/seasoned slices on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under the broiler and broil until nice and golden. Flip, and broil until the other side is golden. Remove baking sheet from oven. Turn off broiler and heat oven to 400 degrees.

• On two of the bread slices, pile on sliced mozzarella and sliced tomatoes. Season the tomatoes lightly with salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Add the fresh basil leaves. Top with the remaining two slices of bread. Return to oven for just a few minutes. The middle of the sandwich will still be cool (like a caprese salad) but you want to warm up the bread just a little before serving. Enjoy! Makes 2 caprese grilled cheese sandwiches.