The City Slicker Cowboy Grilled Cheese

Who says a grilled cheese has to be perfect and fancy—not a cowboy! 

 

When a city slicker grilled cheese becomes a cowboy grilled cheese, there’s a marriage of ingredients—juicy and dainty cherry tomatoes, green onions, crispy crumbled bacon, tangy and gooey cheddar cheese, and all of this is on downhome buttery grilled cornbread wedge, and it’s topped with elegant extra virgin olive oil and the sweet scent of cilantro!  Be sure to have a knife and fork, ‘cause ‘that cowboy don’t wanna miss a bite.’   The cowboys will giddy-up, yeeeehawwww and be ready for the next roundup after eating this grilled cheese! 

 

What you need:

2” thick cornbread wedge (that can be cut in half into 2 smaller wedges)

3 tbl butter

2 slices fried and crumbled bacon

8-10 cherry tomatoes cut lengthwise in half

1 green onion sliced thinly (tops and onion) (Note:  I like the chiffonade cut.)

Cheddar Cheese (enough to cover wedge—can be shredded or sliced)

¼ cup chopped cilantro

2 tbl extra virgin olive oil

 

What you do:

Over medium heat, coat a cast iron grill skillet with cooking spray and allow to heat up.

Slice corn bread through the middle.  Butter both sides of each piece.  Place bottom wedge in skillet.  Place bacon crumbles, then some of the cherry tomatoes and green onions.  Top with the cheddar cheese.  Place the top piece of cornbread.

Using a metal spatula, press down on top fusing together.  You should hear a sizzle of the skillet.  Cook for about 2 minutes on one side, then flip.  When you flip, some of the tomatoes, bacon bits and green onions might spill out.  That’s o.k.  Take a fork and put them back in or just let them sizzle in skillet.  Cook on the other side for about 2-3 minutes or until the cheddar cheese is almost all melted, or at least nice and soft.

Carefully remove cornbread wedge from skillet.  Put on serving plate.  Slice this wedge in half.  Scoop out any sandwich ‘fallout’ (tomatoes, green onions, bacon bits) and put on plate.  Top wedges with cilantro and drizzle wedges with the olive oil.  Garnish with remaining bacon bits and green onions.

 

©2012  Alice D’Antoni Phillips   Ally’s Kitchen