The Ultimate Grilled Cheese

Sometimes I get a craving for a grilled cheese sandwich made on white bread with a Kraft singles or two. I don't know what it is about those sandwiches, but they remind me of being a kid! 

However, the majority of times I want a grilled cheese sandwich, I want the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich. This means no skinny pieces of white bread, I want something crusty and full of flavour. And instead of Kraft singles, I want a cheese that I'm not embarrassed to love. And rather just serving my meal with bottled ketchup, I want something a little more special. 

Reading this, I think I probably sound like a food snob. But if a girl can't dream big about a sandwich,  what can she dream big about? 

Read on for my Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich, the one I wish all grilled cheeses were made of. 

Ultimate Grilled Cheese with Kale Pesto and Onion Jam - serves 4

8 slices of crusty bread
2 onions, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar 
3 cloves of garlic
1 small bunch of kale
1 cup of basil
1/3 cup of slivered almonds
1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
8 slices of provolone cheese
Butter, for buttering bread

1. Start by making your onion jam. Sauté onion with 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan at medium low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar and continue to cook until mixture is soft and jammy, about 20-30 more minutes. Stir in brown sugar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

2. While onions are cooking, make your pesto. Strip leaves from kale ribs and discard ribs. Roughly chop kale and add to a food processor with the garlic. Pulse until veggies are finely chopped. Add basil, almonds, and Parmesan cheese and pulse again until well combined. Add lemon juice and slowly pour in 1/2 cup oil, while pulsing, until a thick paste forms. You want the pesto spreadable but not too thin that it will squeeze out of the sandwich while it's cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Butter one side of four slices of bread. Place the bread butter side down in a large frying pan. Top each of these slices of bread with two slices of provolone cheese and a generous amount of onion jam. Spread the kale pesto onto the remaining four slices of bread and sandwich them on top of the cheese and onion jam. Butter the tops of the sandwiches.

4. Cook sandwiches on medium low heat until the bread crisps on each side and the cheese melts. Enjoy!

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