I love nothing more than a good grilled cheese (it’s one of our lunchtime staples), but I oftentimes wish it was more substantial than just a pile of toasted bread and cheese. That’s why adding greens is such a brilliant idea. I mean, it’s really the same general principle as our Brussels Sprout Mac ‘n Cheese: using buttery, melty cheese to enhance an otherwise bitter-tasting green vegetable. Great minds…
This recipe comes from Bountiful: Recipes Inspired by Our Garden by our friends Todd and Diane of WhiteOnRiceCouple.com. From the second I held the book in my hands I was in love, because it truly reflects the way we eat: focus on the fresh fruits and vegetables, with meat (IF there is any) as just an accent.
The book does such a great job at presenting vegetables in new and unique ways that it just might convert even the most ardent veggie-haters. Our neighbor, who is always quick to gobble up our desserts but typically gives our dinner choices the side-eye, flipped through this book, exclaiming, “I’d eat that!” on just about every recipe. Granted, it still might take a bit of convincing to get him to eat this sandwich (broccoli is, perhaps, his arch-nemesis), but recipes like Creamed Haricots Verts with Toasted Almonds and Seared Ginger Carrots with Thyme and Shallots would be a good start.
Baby steps, right?
Rather than broccoli as called for in the original recipe, we used broccolini (often called baby broccoli, it’s a hybrid between regular and Chinese broccoli). The stalks and florets are more tender and, while we only used the florets here, don’t waste the stalks: slice them up and roast them too.
I’d been looking for the perfect excuse to use this special cheese: Buttermilk cheddar from local Sweet Valley Farm. It’s the secret ingredient in the Buttermilk Cheddar Mac and Cheese at Silo that I so totally failed to recreate. Turns out adding buttermilk to mac and cheese is a quick way to make a horribly chunky mess.
But the buttermilk cheddar, on the other hand, is delightful in every sense of the word. It’s a mild white cheddar with a perfect melting consistency for the ultimate grilled cheese.
Pictures do not do this book justice. It’s a cookbook and coffee table book in one, as large and substantial in size as it is in content. If I had had a stack of post-its handy when I flipped through it the first time, it’d look like a forest of pale yellow sticking out of the pages. We’ve already made two recipes from the book, including a baked potato topped with goat cheese creamed swiss chard (WHAT?) and have plans to, more or less, cook our way through the entire thing.
But seriously, you want to own a copy of this book. Be sure to click through for the recipe and a chance to win just that!
Recipe from Bountiful: Recipes Inspired by Our Garden by WhiteOnRiceCouple.com.
All images and text ©Lindsay Landis / Love & Olive OilLet us know what you think!
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