So yeah, peeps have differing opinions of the Rach and they usually are polar opposites. Either you like her style or you don't like her set or her recipes.
Well, I get it. I don't always like her recipes, they don't always feel well thought out or remotely appealing. But I saw this on TV today and I have to say, was salivating.
It's a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon, very sharp white cheddar and shaved apple, served wtih a spread of apple butter, honey and grainy Dijon mustard.
I happen to have a boyfriend who has a brother who lives in Washington State, and every year this brother sends the BF a wheel of tinned cheddar (in a can). Cougar Gold. The BF doesn't always get to it so fast so it ends up aging in his fridge.
This is a major ingredient bonus in my sandwich. Kicks it up a notch, you know?
I used, blasphemously, peppered "uncured" turkey bacon from Trader Joe's. Uncured is the same thing as "except for whatever occurs naturally in celery powder" which I am guessing is an important point. Regardless, it is lower in fat than regular bacon but once you get that salty, chewy thing, you kind of say, well, why not?
So I shaved my apple and made a slurry of apple butter, a little less honey and a little less grainy Dijon. Slathered the french bread with it, layered some of that great sharp cheddar, a layer of "bacon" and another layer of cheese and cooked very slowly (after spreading the outside with butter of course) so that the cheese would melt.
Delicious, the only change I would make would be to maybe add some arugula or watercress for some balance to the overall sweetness. the mustard just wasn't enough.
So give this a try, I highly recommend it.