It's National Grilled Cheese Day! (But Green Chile Cheeseburgers Need Love, Too.)

Wow! I didn't even know until this morning, or I would have cooked up a "grilch" --what we call a grilled cheese sandwich--for breakfast.

So here's a "greatest hits" post today about two of my favorite grilled cheese sandwiches.

This first one is a grilled cheese, roasted pepper, tomato and pesto sandwich. That's a big yellow tomato slice on there, from my garden, a couple years ago. Man, that looks yum!

Here's the recipe link.

And here's a link for my other favorite blog post: Grilled Cheese and Green Chile.

Still, who says you need to have a Grilled Cheese? You might want a green chile cheeseburger at Santa Fe Bite restaurant. It is the best I've eaten and you won't have to eat for the rest of the day!

Photo courtesy of Santa Fe Bite

Wood and Green Chile Are In

A couple weeks ago I was at our local Mora Farmer's Market and the weather was unseasonably cool, in the 50's. Everyone was bundled up and there wasn't a pair of shorts in sight. Peggy, one of the farmers, said, "It's a reminder to get your wood in!"

We've been working on that.

Almost everybody uses wood heat around here. This is a common sight, although there's usually a dog of some sort riding on top of that load.

In town, the cool breezes carry the sharpspicysmoky scent of roasting chiles. The folks who tend these baskets with their fiery heat will roast the chiles you choose in nothing flat. You can find them on street corners, in front of grocery stores, and at the fancy mall in Albuquerque. The smell of roasting chiles is a reminder to get your chiles in. So okay, that's what I will do.

People line up for their favorite roasters selling their preferred chiles: Socorro, Hatch, Rocky Ford are all represented around here. I've been buying Socorro chiles from a crack team of roasters led by a man in a wheelchair.

When the chiles are done, they are shoveled into a heavy duty plastic bag (I suppose there is BPA there but I will pretend not). Inside, it looks like an inferno happened. At first I was kind of, "Ewww!' but they smell so good.

I split 40 pounds with a friend, so we each left the chile roaster with 20 pounds of chiles. At home I removed chiles from their black bag a handful at a time and packaged them in smaller plastic storage bags.

This year I listened to friends who said, "Don't peel or seed them, just put the chiles in the bags and do all that when they're defrosted." So I defer to experience, and it was a lot faster and easier this time around.

What will I make with all this green chile?

Here are a few links to my favorite green chile recipes:

Pie Town's Famous Green Chile Apple Pie

Grilled Cheese and Green Chile Sandwich

Green Chile Mac and Cheese


While I was at the post office today I noticed the aspens up higher in the mountains are turning yellow, another reminder that autumn is here. I didn't take this photo, but if you are near Taos, you are in for a big show.

Happy Autumn!

Grilled Cheese, Roasted Pepper, Tomato and Pesto Sandwich

I like to cook, but there are days when I don't want to deal with making an entire meal because  a) it's too hot to cook b) I've been busy and just want to chill and/or c) we've eaten something giant and delicious for breakfast or lunch, like a burrito from our local restaurant, The Mad Cow Calf-A, and we just don't need to eat another big meal.

That's when it's perfectly okay to assemble dinner, use one pan and that's it. Grilled cheese is one of those perfect quickie meals, and this one is not only cheesy, but juicy and savory as well. I used some shredded cheese I found in the fridge, but slices are just fine. Add some flavor punch with some purchased pesto and moistness with some jarred, roasted red peppers and a homegrown or farmers' market tomato. I used a yellow Jubilee tomato for this sandwich.

Butter or olive oil the outside of the sandwich, so when you grill it, the bread is lightly browned.

If you feel the fam needs veggies, make this salad in the morning (pictured below) so all you have to do is set it on the table along with the grilled cheese sandwiches.

Grilled Cheese, Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato and Pesto Sandwiches

Ingredients (makes 1 sandwich)

2 slices bread

1 T prepared pesto

1 or 2 tomato slices

1 oz. cheese, your choice, sliced or shredded

2 or 3 pieces jarred roasted red peppers

butter, margarine, or olive oil

Directions

1. Heat a grill pan, griddle, or skillet over medium-low heat

2. Butter or brush some olive oil on one side of the bread slices.These will be the outside of the sandwich.

3. Assemble sandwich: pesto on the bread, then cheese, tomato, and peppers.

4. I like to add a little cheese on both sides of the juicy ingredients so when I grill the sandwich, it all sticks together.

5.  Carefully place the sandwich on the hot griddle. If you want to make it panini-style, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the sandwich and then put an iron skillet on the foil to smash it all down. Let the bottom of the sandwich grill. Check that it isn't burning and that the cheese is melting.

6. Flip the sandwich over, replace the foil and the iron skillet if you are making a panino, and keep an eye on it. 

7. Once the cheese is melted and the bread is brown, you are finished! Enjoy!

 

Coyote Creek Roast Beef Sandwich

Carl's Jr. had an excellent sandwich in the late 1970's, possibly the early '80's called a California Roast Beef Sandwich. It was a hot sandwich on a bun with roast beef, green chiles, swiss (or maybe Jack?) cheese, tomato and some kind of mayonnaise-based spicy secret sauce. I think the Santa Fe chicken sandwich, which is still available, has that same sauce. The California Roast Beef came back for a limited run in 2008, but it's not a regular item any more.

This sandwich doesn't come even close to the soft bun, spicy, cheesybeefy nirvana that the California Roast Beef was, but it was still pretty good. I set out to make the Carl's version, but when I realized the only two basics I had that were true to Carl Karcher's beefy sandwich were the deli beef and the green chiles, I had to improvise.  This sandwich is great, with just the right ratio of juiciness to meatiness. Grilling melted the cheese a bit and warmed the roast beef, moving this sandwich into comfort food territory. A juicy tomato dictates you will need to eat this over your plate!

Coyote Creek Roast Beef Sandwich

2 slices bread-I used pumpernickel rye, but sourdough would be good, too
1 T mayonnaise
1-2 roasted green chiles, chopped, or 2 T canned or frozen green chile
2 oz sliced cheese, cheddar, American, or Monterey Jack
2 slices deli roast beef
sliced tomato(if you can't see the tomato in my photo, it's because it's a yellow one)
butter or margarine

Spread mayo on each bread slice. Layer in this order: cheese, chile, tomato, roast beef, cheese. You want cheese next to the bread because you are going to grill it.

Spread butter on the outside of your sandwich. Grill low and slow in a nonstick pan, checking for browning bread and melting cheese. Carefully flip your sandwich over when the cheese is melted on the pan side. Grill the next side, watching to be sure you don't burn your bread like I almost did with the pumpernickel in the photo.

When everything looks melty and browned to your liking, it's done.  Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese and Green Chile Sandwiches

Grilled cheese sandwiches seem to be making a comeback, even going so far as to have entire lunch trucks devoted to this gooey, savory comfort food.

I don't know about your childhood, but grilled cheese and tomato soup was the go-to meal at our place if someone wanted to feel cozy and satisfied, second only to Kraft macaroni and cheese.

 Many Northern New Mexico chefs have tweaked the bland, comforting grilled cheese sandwich recipe by adding chopped green chiles, which definitely makes sense if you live in a place where the official state question is, "Red or green?"

An aside: Green chiles shouldn't be confused with jalapeno chiles. Green chiles, like those canned ones from Hatch or Ortega are what I'm talking about: fairly mild, but with a little spicy flavor. Since we moved to The Land of Red or Green, or both, I have been exposed to Bueno frozen green chiles at the supermarket and they are my favorite, for now.

Of course, you can't beat roasted chiles that you buy in the fall. People around here buy chiles from their favorite roaster guy and peel and freeze humongous amounts for use througout the year. I'm not there, yet, but maybe this fall.

Anyway, here's a grilled cheese recipe to add some spice to your life. It uses canned chiles, but if you have fresh ones in the freezer, get them out and chop-em-up. It will be chile roasting time before you know it, so make room in your freezer!

Green Chile Grilled Cheese Sandwich (This makes 2 sandwiches)

4 slices bread
4 slices American, Jack, or Cheddar cheese
2 T butter or margaring
4 oz can chopped green chiles, or to taste
suggested additions: sliced tomato, cooked bacon, sliced ham, avocado, mayo, mustard

1. Butter 2 slices of bread and place them,  buttered side down, on a comal or grill or in a pan over medium/low heat.

2. Put 2 slices of cheese on each piece of bread. Sprinkle chiles on cheese. Add your other stuff if you are customizing your sammies.

3. Top with the other slices of bread. Butter the top.

4. Grill until your bread is golden brown and the cheese is getting melty. Flip your sandwiches. Grill the other side. Don't get distracted and let it burn.

5. Cut in half to appreciate the beautiful layered, cheesy delight you have made. Enjoy.