Recipes: Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

So I know I said that I wasn't posting this week, and I had every intention of honoring that, but then these sandwiches happened, and I just couldn't keep them secret until next week. 

They were far too delicious, and clearly, they photograph quite well.

I appreciate photogenic foods.

Anyway, enough jibber jabber. Let's get to the good stuff: how to make the sanwiches.

What you're going to need is simple:

Tomatoes {I used Roma and it took two of them to make 4 sandwiches}

1 loaf of french bread

Butter

Olive oil

Garlic powder, salt and pepper

Fresh basil

Mozzarella {the little ball thing of it that you get at the deli. Not the shredded stuff, and for the love of God not the rock hard block of it next to the sandwich meat}

Simple enough, right?

I know for regular Caprese you use Balsamic vinegar, but it really doesn't do well on these sandwiches, so just skip it.

Start off by buttering all the pieces of bread you're going to need on one side in advance. Once the skillet is nice and hot you're going to want to be able to assemble the sandwiches quickly.

Next, spray your pan or use a very very good non-stick one, and heat it to about medium. At least that's the setting on my stove that it should be to grill things without blackening them. You know your stove best.

Next, throw a piece of buttered french bread butter side down in the hot skillet, and add a nice thick slice of mozarella, one or two big basil leaves, and your tomato slices.

Drizzle on top of the tomatoes with a little bit of olive oil, then season with garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the top piece of bread and grill both sides until they're as brown and crispy as you like them. 

The first couple times you flip the sandwich you have to go slow and be careful to hold it together, since it will be rather high until the cheese melts down a bit.

Once it's done, eat it nice and hot with a good crispy deli pickle spear, or garlic stuffed green olives, and then brag about it on Facebook like I did.

These things are way good.