Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese

It snowed for the first time this winter over the weekend.  And actually, the puny 6 inches that fell to the ground didn’t amount to much, considering the 15 inches we got socked with in October.  Needless to say snow makes me crave grilled cheese.  This probably goes back to my childhood where grilled cheese and tomato soup were standard fare on snowy days but on Saturday, I didn’t feel much like tomato soup.  I was feeling spicy.  Spicy grilled cheese.  Jalapeño popper grilled cheese.  It was a creative sandwich I had seen on Foodgawker months ago and I filed it deep in the recesses of my brain; this was before my Pinterest boards were built, of course.

I already had a opened can of pickled jalapeños in the fridge which needed to be used up and this sandwich was the optimal way to do so.  And let me tell you, I freaking loved this sandwich.  I’m not a crazy hot and spicy lover but the pickled peppers mute the heat and I was sure to remove all of the seeds and ribs from the pepper before adding it to the sandwich.  I surprisingly only had good ol’ deli-sliced yellow American cheese in the fridge, so that’s what I used…and it’s usually my cheese of choice for grilled cheese anyway so I wasn’t making a sacrifice here.  With a mellow level of spice and lots of cheesiness, this sandwich was just like a really good jalapeño popper should be – leaving you craving more.

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese
source: adapted from BS’ in the Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 4 slices sandwich bread
• Butter, softened
• 2 tbsp cream cheese, softened
• 4 to 6 pickled jalapeños, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed, and patted dry
• Sliced American cheese (or whatever cheese you choose), 2-3 slices per sandwich depending on the thickness of the cheese

Instructions:

1. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat.
2. Lightly butter one side of all the bread slices
3. Divide the cream cheese between two of the slices, spreading it out evenly on the un-buttered side of the bread.  Lay the jalapeños halves over the cream cheese.  Lay the American cheese over the jalapeños and add the second piece of bread, butter side up.
4. Place the sandwiches in the pan and cover the pan with a lid or piece of aluminum foil; this will help to retain the heat in the pan and melt the cheese.  Heat each side of the sandwich until desired darkness and until the cheese inside is melted.  Slice and serve warm.

Yields: 2 sandwiches

Tagged as: grilled cheese, jalapeno, lunch, popper, sandwich