Way back in February, I was minding my own business when a certain post from Katherine at Eggton arrived in my inbox. It was witty and fun, much like Katherine herself, and the recipe was for a tasty grilled cheese sandwich made with cheddar and cream cheese and ham. It gave me a scathingly brilliant idea! (Anybody else grow up watching Hayley Mills in the Trouble with Angels movies?) How about a jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwich, I immediately said to myself, using bacon instead of her ham and adding in jalapeños and garlic? And, ooh, oooh, I could serve them with avocado halves filled with ranch dressing! Yes, I could! I had all the ingredients on hand so it didn’t take me long to answer that question. I kid you not, jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwiches are fabulous! I hope you will agree. I share this recipe along with many thanks to Katherine for the inspiration.
Ingredients
4 oz or 115g grated cheddar cheese
4 oz or 115g cream cheese (at room temperature)
1-2 tablespoons butter (at room temperature) for buttering bread
6-7 slices smoked bacon
1/2 - 1 fresh jalapeño (depending on how hot you like it)
1/2 large clove or 1 small clove garlic
6 slices sandwich bread
Optional for serving: ranch dressing and avocados
Method
Fry your bacon until crispy then drain it on a paper towel. Using a sharp knife, chop the bacon into small pieces
Slice the jalapeño in half, removing the membranes and seeds, if you don’t like things too spicy, leaving them in if you do. Mince your jalapeño and garlic very finely.
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| As you can see, I left the seeds in, but we are gluttons for spicy punishment. |
Mix your cheeses together with the minced jalapeño and garlic.
Add in the chopped bacon and stir well.
Butter one side of each slice of bread. Lay out a piece of cling film on your work surface then place the bread so the buttered side is on the cling film. (One piece of cling film per sandwich.)
Put a third of the jalapeño popper cheese filling on three of the slices of bread. Close the sandwiches with the remaining slices, making sure to leave the buttered side out.
Fold the cling film over and gently press down on the sandwich.
Grill on your griddle pan, until the cheese is all melted and the bread is nicely toasted on both sides.
Serve each sandwich with some ranch dressing to dip. Extra points if you serve the ranch dressing in a half avocado.
Enjoy!
If you are a fan of jalapeño poppers, you might also enjoy this jalapeño popper chicken chili. (Link in the caption.)
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| Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili |
