ABRAMS Dinner Party Spotlight...Featuring Toasty Cheese and Chile Jam Sandwiches from Getaway #ABRAMSDinnerParty #grownupgrilledcheese #travelfoodmemories #cheese

Have I got a great cookbook...and recipe...to share with y'all today! The latest featured cookbook for my ABRAMS Publishing Dinner Party blogging group is Seattle Chef Renee Erickson's Getaway -- Food and Drink to Transport You. Erickson shares her favorite travel experiences -- including regional food and cocktails -- from some of her favorite vacation getaways. Then, she shares recipes that bring those local flavors home to the reader's kitchen! The book is divided into sections that feature the signature food and cocktails of Rome, Paris, Normandy, London, Baja California, and her home base of Seattle. This cookbook resonated with me because it combines two of my favorite things...travel and food! Our personal foodie travel experiences have been very memorable. It's both educational and tasty to sample regional cuisine from different states and countries! 

My featured recipe from Getaway is a deceptively simple five-ingredient sandwich from the cookbook's London section -- one that elevates the childhood classic grilled cheese to grown-up levels of deliciousness. Toasty Cheese and Chile Jam Sandwiches feature sharp aged cheddar cheese, spicy-sweet chile jam, sourdough bread...and a secret method to ensure a perfect crunchy, toasted grilled cheese. It's simple...but it results in a perfectly toasted grilled cheese. One try with Erickson's method, and I'll never make grilled cheese any other way! Since this sandwich uses only a handful of ingredients, please be sure to use the best quality ingredients that you can. The end result is a grilled cheese that explodes with flavor and crunch.

Toasty Cheese and Chile Jam Sandwiches 

from Renee Erickson's Getaway

Ingredients (makes two sandwiches):

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (55 g) softened unsalted butter
• 1 thick slices good sourdough bread
• 1/2 pound (150 g) sharp Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
• 4 TBS (60 ml) Fresno chile jam...or other hot pepper jelly

Directions:

Step 1: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and butter. Heat a heavy iron skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Take two slices of the sourdough and spread one side of each with half of the mayo-butter mixture. Place the slices -- mayo side down -- into the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Distribute the shredded cheese evenly between the two bread slices.

Step 2: Making sure to align the bread slices, cover one side of the remaining two slices of sourdough with the chile jam. Lay the slices -- jam side down, on top of the cheese in the pan. Spread the top of the two jam slices with the remaining half of the mayo-butter mixture

Step 3: Cook until the bottoms of the sandwiches are nicely toasted -- about 4 minutes. Keep a close eye to ensure the bottoms don't overbrown/burn. Carefully flip the sandwiches. Cover the pan, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking until the second side of the sandwiches are toasted and the cheese is melted. This will take 4-6 minutes. Cut each of the finished sandwiches into halves or slender pieces (aka soldiers) for sharing. Serve immediately, while the bread is toasty warm and the cheese is gooey!

Y'all...this sandwich is a home run! The tangy sourdough, sharp cheddar, and sweetly tangy and spicy chile jam work so well together. And the combination of mayonnaise and butter slathered on the outside of these sandwiches? Total game changer! This combination resulted in the most evenly crunchy toasted grilled cheese sandwich ever...it may sound strange, but trust me when I say it works perfectly.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the Getaway cookbook as part of the ABRAMS Publishing Dinner Party blogging group. All opinions shared are solely my own.