Aloha, friends! I’m Renee, and I blog over at How to be Awesome on $20 a Day. I’m so excited to be a guest at Clarks Condensed, especially because I get to talk about one of my favorite things. Cheese! It’s gonna be awesome.
Do you live in a city with a lot of food trucks? It seems like there are about a million in Honolulu, and you can get just about anything. We have a monthly food truck rally in the trendy hipster neighborhood of Kakaako, and my family usually tries to attend. Recently I ate a soul food inspired version of loco moco, which consisted of a bed of mac and cheese, spicy smoked sausage, fried eggs, and bacon crumbles. Itwas the best heart attack on a plate I’ve ever eaten.
Food trucks can be really creative, but they can also be a bit pricey. You’re usually paying almost what you would in a restaurant, but you have to eat standing up. Making your own street food at home can be awesome, and you can usually feed your whole family for the price of one plate at the truck. One thing we don’t have out here in the middle of the ocean yet is a grilled cheese truck. Sometimes it takes a while for trends to hit in Hawaii. I decided to make my own unique grilled cheese instead of waiting.
Brie is perfect when paired with fruit, and the strong flavor is nicely accented by sweet blackberries. You can use fresh blackberries if you like, but we went with blackberry jam, which is much cheaper than imported fresh berries at my grocery store. Brie is nice when it’s cold, but it’s completely magical when melted, and gooey and oozing. The crunchy bread adds an extra texture that keeps things exciting.
One more tip for keeping the cost down is to buy a smaller wedge of brie, rather than a whole wheel. Get just what you need, since this isn’t a common ingredient that you’ll use up quickly. And don’t feel pressured to buy the fanciest, most expensive cheese in the case. The high price version may taste a little bit better, but the cheap stuff is still going to be awesome. If you’re not sure what to get, follow the rule of second cheapest.
I absolutely loved this sandwich, and my 13 year old daughter loved it, too. Grilled cheese can be so much more than American slices. Get inspired by what you see in restaurants and food trucks in your neighborhood, then get in your kitchen and make your own awesomeness. Brie and Blackberry Grilled Cheese is a simple, tasty place to start.
If you love brie, you might also want to try this two minute appetizer, Holiday Brie!
Brie and Blackberry Sandwich
Brie and Blackberry Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- Serves 4
- 8 slices of your favorite sandwich bread
- 4 ounces brie cheese, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup blackberry jam
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Put a medium skillet over medium heat to let it warm up.
- Spread blackberry jam on each piece of bread. Go as thick as you like. Arrange cheese slicesto mostly cover one piece of bread per sandwich. Put the lid on. It's sandwiches, not space shuttles. You
- know what to do.
- Spread a bit of butter on the up side of each sandwich, and then place the buttered sidedown in your hot pan. While the first side cooks, spread the butter on the outside of the other side of
- the sandwich. When the first side is golden brown and crispy, flip it, and cook the other side until it's
- your perfect level of brown. For me, it was about three minutes a side.
- Cut your sandwich in half, and enjoy.
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