This month for Kitchen Bootcamp, Jen challenged us to try something different with sandwiches. It just so happens that I was challenging myself to make a recipe featuring the fabulous Fred’s Bread and trying to recreate a very special dish from way back when I was just discovering my foodie tendencies.
Let’s talk for a minute about Fred’s Bread though shall we?
One of my earliest memories of moving to Canada 10 years ago was searching for decent baguette. I had been living in Paris for nearly 6 years and had become accustomed to good bread being readily available on every corner. My first few weeks in Toronto, I despaired. At some point, I discovered Fred’s Bread. I remember the first time I found it I was so excited to find “real bread” that I bought a baguette and another loaf, excitedly planning a wine and cheese dinner with the baguette I proudly toted home pretending I was back in Paris. Problem was, my eyes were bigger than my tummy and by the time I had polished off the baguette, I couldn’t tackle the other loaf. I find that’s always the problem buying good bread – one gets greedy and then one is faced with the age-old dilemma of what to do with the day-old bread. This particular recipe used Fred’s Yellow Flax Bâtard but you can use any day old loaf. I like the texture of the flax seeds in this one.
This is my version of a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich for adults. It’s based on a dish I first ate at the legendary Uraidla Aristologist restaurant (in the Adelaide Hills, where I was fortunate enough to dine a few times when I was way too young to really appreciate it). According to the State Library of South Australia website, The Aristologist was an innovative restaurant using fresh local produce ‘Tuscan style’ in the Adelaide hills in the 1980s and early 1990s, with chef Jennifer Hillier and Michael Symons, who wrote the interesting One continuous picnic: a history of eating in Australia (Adelaide: Duck Press, 1982).
Ingredients (makes 6-8)
For the bread cases:
1 loaf one to two day-old bread, large enough to but the crusts off and still be able to cut cubes from
melted butter (about ½ stick – 230g)
For the filling:
35g butter
35g flour
150mls milk
1 egg yolk, beaten
60g grated Gruyère cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons tomato jam or chutney
2 cherry tomatoes, very finely sliced or diced
cherry tomatoes for garnish, thinly sliced
Method
To make the bread cases:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Slice crusts and ends off the bread to make the loaf rectangular. Slice in half and cut each slice into 3-4 even-sized cubes. Hollow out the centre of each cube to form a space for the filling and cheese sauce. Brush the sides with the melted butter and bake for 5-7 minutes until the cases are golden brown. Remove from oven and place on paper towels to drain excess butter.
To make filling:
Melt the butter, add flour and cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat and pour in the boiling milk, whisking to remove lumps. Return to the heat and stir with a wooden spoon, adding the egg yolk, butter and cheese. Reserve a little of the cheese to cover the finished bread cases. The sauce will thicken over the heat.
Fill and cook the bread cases:
Preheat oven to 400F. Fill half the bread cases with ½ teaspoon tomato jam or chutney and the other half with the sliced or diced cherry tomatoes. Top with the cheese sauce (you will have extra cheese sauce – perfect for a Welsh Rarebit or a Croque Monsieur) and a sprinkle of the reserved cheese. Place the filled cases on a baking sheet and bake until the filling is hot and bubbling and golden on the top.
What I love about these is that they look way more complicated than they really are. Anything that looks like I have spent ages in the kitchen when I haven’t is a winner dish in my book!
Did you like my first entry for Project Food Blog? If you did, please head on over here (note: link no longer live) and vote for me before 6pm PST/9pm EST Thursday September 23rd. I have the most fabulous post planned for Challenge 2 and it would be a shame to not be able to post it because I did not advance to the next round…
(if you are not a member of Foodbuzz, you can still vote too – you just need to sign up, only takes a few clicks)
As a thanks for reading, I’m also hosting a $75 CSN Stores gift card giveaway – click here to enter before September 26th.
What an awesome appetizer idea! So creative Mardi!
Cheers and I think it would even work with gluten free bread!
Omg- so cool! I’m in love with this idea, M- you’ve done it again!!
Well you know, some of us can’t be all molecular and creative so we work with what we have! 😉
I think I just drooled a little on my keyboard… excuse me…
Ok, now that I’m cleaned up – WOW! Once I have access to an oven again… I’m actually having a little party this weekend for some friends, and this recipe is making me consider taking a friend of mine up on her offer to move the party to her place just for access to her oven!
You know I think these would even work in a toaster oven….
Grilled cheese and tomato has to be one of my top 5 favorite things of all time. I love the way you did this! So unique and it looks delicious!
I think I could live on grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches!
These look fantastic, so creative… totally out of the box!
Thanks Josie – from you it’s high praise indeed!
Nice “sandwich!” When are restaurants going to pick up on your creation? These are sophisticated and tasty – way to impress dinner party guests.
Well to be fair, I did take the recipe inspiration from a restaurant…
How deceptive – they look like a block of tasty crusty bread with a little melted cheese on top, but there is goodness hiding within! Cheesy goodness, the best kind.
See now, I totally thought of you when I was making (and eating) these! A little bacon would make them even more perfect!
I love how you did some thinking about this one. What a creative way to present a grilled cheese!
Cheers Lori!
Mardi, very creative use of ingredients. These would be great finger food at a party.
Totally! Or you could sit down with a whole plate of them… Just sayin..
First, thanks for sharing Fred’s bread with your readers. You know I’m heading there soon, right? I’d love to try out this recipe. My little one will enjoy all that cheese and those funky shapes!
Oh no, their website is “proofing”. Where is Fred’s Bread, if you don’t mind me asking?
You can find them a bit all over the place – I will email you a list…
The website actually lists the places you can buy them now.
These are so fun! I love the little tomato-y surprise inside. I could see myself popping a bunch of these in my mouth without really thinking… might be dangerous!
Ahem…. yes, indeed!
Brilliant: both the recipe, and the story. This is what I love. Personal stories attached to the food you create. And, what a creation. Love the idea. Truly, a labour of love to be made for that special occasion. It would be a very tasty amuse bouche, too. I will definitley make this. And, I learned about your 6 years in Paris that I would have forgotten, too… I was wondering if you were from the Adelaide area… our Slow food Convivium Chair is from their (love her sweet accent) and our best friend’s brother lives there.
🙂
Valerie
Born and bred in Adelaide!
what a beautiful idea !!! looks great !!
What creative sandwiches! I wonder how many of them I could eat….
Well I know for a fact that six small ones is do-able…
What a fun idea and a nice little surprise buried inside! Grilled cheese is literally my favorite sandwich!
Me too!
I was already salivating when I saw your intro photo, and then got really excited when I read through the post! I love how it uses day old bread and the surprise filling inside!
It’s cool isn’t it?
How creative! When I saw the first picture I was so confused, but then seeing that there are little cavities in each cube of bread- I love it! Now I just need to find some good bread!
They work well with any sort of bread but yes, like anything, the better your ingredients, the better the final product!
Mardi these look incredible. We’re off to a night picnic tonight, I’m going to make these. Wow.., they’ll go down a treat. I’m with you about producing stuff that looks like I’ve spent hours in the kitchen 🙂
Oh me too. When it looks like I have spend 4 times as long as I really did in the kitchen, I call it a success!
These are absolutely adorable!! Clever, clever, clever!! I have some parties coming up and these would be perfect little appetizers!!
Also, loved your PFB 2010 entry – made voting so easy!!
Once you master the hand of making the cubes, you won’t believe how easy they are.
Love this!
How adorable! These are such great little party foods.
Or, you know, you could eat 6 and call it dinner!!!
Ooh, easy party canapes! Ones that don’t involve pastry even =D
I know, right? These are pretty no-fuss as far as canapés go..
What a great idea! I imagine that the filling will just burst into your mouth when you bite in and completely surprise your guests. Looks delicious – thank you for sharing!
It’s totally a surprise in your mouth! I love it!
Gosh! What a fantastic twist on the grilled cheese and tomato sandwich – one of my favorites, by the way! Great idea and will be trying it soon. The bread sounds fabulous!
Such a fabulous. I wasn’t expecting them to be stuffed. I’m looking forward to your #2 challenge!
Yes they are delicious not stuffed too but I like the surprise!
wow. could you please come and make those for me, right about now? they look ahhhh-mazing. beautiful too. nice work!
Thanks for submitting this for Kitchen Bootcamp… I am loving your take on grilled cheese. Absolutely stunning!!
Thanks for hosting! I had fun!
These look utterly amazing! I love that they are small bites, yet very rich and satisfying. Beautiful!
Best,
Veronica
Actually I would like to make them even smaller – they are more like two bites – but it’s hard to keep the shape when they are smaller.
Nice post. I never think to do something different with a sandwich!
With just a little tweaking, it can take the ordinary to the extraordinary!
Congratulations on your top 9!
Thanks so much! Seems a lot of people liked this post!
looks delicious
voted
WOWWWWWW!!!! Bread, Cheese and tomatoes and I am in heaven. This is absolutely the best grilled cheese I have witnessed!
Thanks – I like the twist!
cute! these are like miniature versions of chinese coffin bread. looks delicious..
I have never heard of coffin bread! Off to Google it now!
Wow…these look amazing. Just bookmarked this recipe so I can try it out at my next party. These look like perfect finger food!!