We’ve got three growing boys–two of them teenagers–in the house. That means lots of quickly-changing schedules and quickly-changing appetites. Grilled cheese made with a sandwich press (panini maker) adapts to both easily. But “just cheese” can get boring. Here, we’ve combined sharp cheddar with summer peaches (quickly spiced with clove & sweetened with maple) to make things more interesting.
Makes enough spiced peaches for 6 sandwiches
Quick Spiced Peaches Ingredients
- 5 small- to medium-sized peaches
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 cloves
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp butter (or soy butter)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp water
Cheddar Peach Grilled Cheese Sandwich Ingredients
- sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 Tbsp butter (or soy butter) per sandwich
- 1/4 cup spiced peach slices
- 2 slices sandwich-loaf-sized French or Italian bread, with crunchy crust (I used Breadsmith)
Instructions
Make spiced peaches: Pour boiling water over peaches and heat for 3 minutes.- Plunge in cold water and remove peach skins. (Use a knife if any skin
resists.) - Remove peach pits and slice fairly thin–between 1/4 and 1/8-inch thick.
- In saucepot, mix
water, salt, cloves and maple syrup and heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Stir in butter. Add peaches. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until peaches are tender, but not mushy. Remove from heat. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and remaining 1 Tbsp water. Stir in to peach pot to thicken sauce a bit. - Make sandwich: Toast two slices bread. Butter completely on one side of each piece of toast. Flip and butter very lightly on the other side. Layer cheese and peaches on the barely-buttered side of one of the pieces of bread. Top with second slice and: A) if using a skillet, place in skillet and fry for 3 minutes, covered. Flip sandwich, press with a spatula, cover and cook three minutes more. B) If using a sandwich press, place sandwich in press, close cover and heat for 3 minutes or until cheese is quite oozy. Serve with extra spiced peaches.
