Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Part 2 of 2 - Gruyère, Pancetta & Pear

This is the second in a two part series about the grilled cheese sandwich. Click here if you want to read about the classic grilled cheese sandwich.

As I mentioned, today's grilled cheese adds some pizazz to the classic sandwich. I came up with this combination after trying to find something to pair with the tomato bisque that wasn't processed American cheese. I did some quick recipe searching and came across this little melt from Simply Recipes.

I improvised a bit based on what I had and while at first it might sound like a weird combination, it turned out to be a great mix of salty and sweet. Just ask Ashley, the grilled cheese expert and top critic.

Process

As with the classic grilled cheese, you can have some leeway with what you use in your sandwich stack. You can mix and match based on what you might think will be a good combo.

Here are some suggestions:

• bacon will work just as well instead of the pancetta (I just had some leftover from my Godfather's Favorite pasta)
• ham
• apple
• cranberry
• persimmon
• peach
• white cheddar
• Swiss
• Comte

Whatever you choose, try to find components that don't over power the others. For my stack, the pancetta provided an extra kick of salt which went very well with the strong flavors from the Gruyère. The pear cut the intenseness just enough for the sweet and savory to blend well.

Begin by heating a skillet on the stove. After it has heated up, cook the pancetta to a desired crispiness. I prefer mine crisp and well-done but not burned. Remove from the skillet and wipe out anything leftover from cooking the pancetta.

Prep the rest of your ingredients: slice the cheese and pear. I would recommend to build your sandwich in the following order: cheese, fruit, meat and top off with the second slice of bread. Butter the top-side of the sandwich and place butter-side down and grill for three to four minutes. While this is happening, spread butter on the other side of the sandwich. 

After the cheese is nice and gooey, flip the sandwich to toast the other side. Let this side cook for a few more minutes and then remove from the skillet. Cut the sandwich in half and serve immediately.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Gruyère, Pancetta & Pear

Ingredients

1 slice Gruyère
2 slices pancetta
1/2 pear, sliced
2 slices Sourdough Bread
butter

Directions

1. Heat up a skillet on the stove.
2. Prep your ingredients: slice the cheese and the pear. In the skillet, cook the pancetta to a desired crispiness. 
3. Once the pancetta is ready, prepare the sandwich stack. Build your stack in the following order: Gruyère, pear, then the pancetta. Top with the second slice of bread and spread with butter.
4. In hot skillet, place the sandwich butter-side down and cook to a desired degree of toasty (anywhere from 3 to 4 minutes). While the sandwich is cooking, spread butter on the other side of the sandwich.
5. Flip and toast the other side. Remove from the skillet, cut in half and serve immediately.