Balsamic Reduction and Summer Tomato Grilled Cheese

I used to hate tomatoes. Growing up, I wanted nothing to do with them. I didn’t even like sauce. I’d wipe it off my pizza. If my mom made spaghetti, I’d prefer to have plain noodles saved out. I just wanted none of that shit. Somewhere around 18, I made a conscious effort to start liking them. (Side note, I’m also currently doing that with olives.) I worked for East of Chicago Pizza Co, making and delivering pizzas. So I ate a LOT of pizza. I gradually started introducing sauce. I ended up not only liking sauce, but loving tomatoes and in turn, gaining a lot of weight. Ah the good ole days.

That being said, I feel like everyone who grows tomatoes ends up with an overabundance of them. This. I want this. I want to eat the shit out of your extra tomatoes, local gardeners. Give them to me, I’ll make us both a sandwich.

Balsamic Drizz

Balsamic Reduction & Summer Tomato Grilled Cheese
1 square of focaccia bread
tomato, thinly sliced
fontina cheese slices
French brie, sliced
balsamic reduction (store bought or homemade*)
salt and pepper, to taste
butter

Slice your bread in half, sandwich style. Lay it down on the counter, pretty sides down.

Cover both slices of bread completely with fontina.

On the “bottom piece” layer brie, tomato slices, salt and pepper and finish with a healthy drizzle of your balsamic glaze.

Close your sandwich and butter both sides of your bread.

Place into a preheated skillet (preferably iron) and compress with either an iron press or a big honkin’ can wrapped in tin foil. (Same difference.)

Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, flip and continue to press. (Make sure you watch the press so that it doesn’t slide out, cause you gots tons of cheese up in there.)

Continue to cook for a few minutes.

Remove from skillet when the bread is crispy and the cheese is melty.

Consume like a beast.

*if you don’t know how to make balsamic glaze, it’s easy, look