I’m always, always on the lookout for the next best grilled cheese sandwich.  I seek inspiration at every turn.  Every turn down the grocery store isle.  Every turn through food magazine features.  And every page turn of my current favorite cook book.

And there she was.  Right in front of me for nearly a month before she jumped out and bit me.  That gorgeous Emmentaler on Rye sandwich inspired our Blueberry Balsamic Red Onion & Gruyere Grilled Cheese.

Let’s begin with the Blueberry Balsamic Red Onions.  My word they were special.

Have you discovered a premium olive oil & vinegars store in your area?  These specialty shops are popping up across the country and we the consumers are the true winners.  I’ve become a regular customer of Gabby’s Olive Branch.  When you enter the store you are greeted by true oil & vinegar experts.  Not only well versed in the health benefits, but masters at flavor pairing.  I never would have put Blueberry Balsamic with Tuscan Herb Olive Oil, but man what a combination.  Strawberry Balsamic with Organic Basil Oil is another favorite.  The duos are endless and the ‘Tasting Bar’ is well stocked.  So is my pantry with no less than a dozen flavor fused oils and vinegars.

The onions are sautéed until tender then kicked up with brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.  I chose blueberry balsamic, any flavor or plain balsamic would be just fine.

I used Emmentaler and gruyere cheese because they were both already open in the fridge, leftover from our Tomato & Cheese Fondue.  If you make this sandwich, you’ll also have them leftover.  Then you can make the fondue, which is delicious with this nice grainy bread dunked in it.

This Blueberry Balsamic Red Onion & Gruyere Grilled Cheese Sandwich delivered a little sweet & sour flavor punch from the onions, which was balanced nicely with the creamy cheese and buttery bread.  Absolutely delicious.

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Blueberry Balsamic Red Onion & Gruyere Grilled Cheese

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author lightly adapted from Food & Wine

Ingredients

For onions…

• 1 large red onion thinly sliced
• 1 Tbl. butter
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 Tbl. brown sugar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 Tbl. blueberry balsamic vinegar or favorite

For sandwich…

• 2 ounces gruyere cheese shredded
• 2 ounces Emmentaler cheese shredded
• 4 slices grainy bread
• butter for pan grilling

Instructions

For onions…

• Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, add brown sugar and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in balsamic vinegar and cook an additional 2 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

For sandwich…

• Heat heavy skillet over medium heat. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Place two slices butter side down in skillet. Top with generous amount of onions and half of the shredded cheese. Top with remaining bread slices, butter side up. Use a bacon press or other weight and grill sandwiches until golden brown on both sides.

The post Blueberry Balsamic Red Onion & Gruyere Grilled Cheese appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

My first experience with fondue was in the mid to late 70s while visiting New York City.  Mom took us to a trendy new restaurant called The Melting Pot.  Fondue was the hottest craze to hit the restaurant scene.  We gleefully dipped breads, meats, and seafood into broths and cheeses.  As a kid this might have been the coolest dining experience in my entire 12 year life.

Twenty years went by and somewhere in about the mid-90s fondue made a resurgence.  I’ll never forget the one Christmas that I received three fondue pots as gifts.  Oh yes I did, and one of them is pictured above.

Flash forward another 10 years and fondue once again became engrained in my fond-memory bank.  We had a house full of family in town for my mom’s 75th birthday celebration.  My niece Kate had taken a job at The Melting Pot while attending college.  She began sharing stories of preparing their famous cheese fondue tableside.  Stories alone weren’t going to cut.  Oh no, no, no.  She was going to have to give us the full blown demonstration.  And so she did, down to the exact number of turns on the pepper grinder and shakes of Worcestershire sauce.  It was delicious and entertaining and all 12 of us gleefully dunked bread into her amazing fondue.  In honor of Kate’s birthday today, I’m sharing her recipe above, along with our Tomato & Cheese Fondue recipe below.  Happy Birthday Katie-loo.  We love you!!

Tomato & Cheese Fondue is reminiscent of a good ole grilled cheese sandwich with a side of tomato soup.  And a bit of sophistication.

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Tomato & Cheese Fondue

Ingredients

• 6 plum tomatoes peeled, seeded & diced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1/4 cup tomato juice
• 6 ounces gruyere cheese shredded
• 6 ounces Emmentaler cheese shredded
• 6 cracks fresh black pepper
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 Tbl. flour
• 1 Tbl. cream
• Crusty bread

Instructions

• Combine tomatoes, garlic and tomato juice and heat until tomatoes are soft.
• Add shredded cheese, pepper and oregano. Stir until melted.
• Combine the flour with 1 Tbl. cream; whisk into cheese.
• Serve with bread cubes.

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