Pimped-out Grilled Cheese

Well.

You’d never know that I’ve been eating pretty clean recently, huh?

I have a confession. While I lead an unbelievably full and wonderful life in almost every way, I have a very real issue with wanting every meal to be either pizza or grilled cheese. #thestruggleisreal, y’all.

Bread? Bread is my absolute complete and total BFF. GOOD bread, mind you – none of that airy-fairy nonsense or good bread that’s now several days old and frankly, just not that good anymore.

But truly amazing bread? With a thick, crunchy crust and a soft, pillowy inside? Oh, my goodness gracious. I really, honestly, truly CANNOT EVEN. If it’s fresh out of the oven? Stop it. Stop it right now. Shut up and get out of here. 

My husband, who is not quite as passionate about bread as I am (can you believe that?), tries to bridge the gap by making me things that are bread-fueled, but somewhat hybridized into an arguably more exciting mix of flavors and textures. (I don’t need that, frankly. Give me a baguette and a bottle of good olive oil, and you can leave me be. Don’t watch, please.)

This grilled cheese is a great example of taking something like a simple grilled cheese – and to be clear, at a foundational level, all I require is bread, cheese, and butter – and just pimping the shit out of it until it is almost unrecognizable as a grilled cheese, but breathtakingly delicious at the same time.

It may not be a baguette directly to the face, but I ain’t complainin’.

Pimped-out Grilled Cheese

Serves two, or one if you’re feeling like a hungry hungry badass

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 slices artisan bread
• 1 handful lacinato (dino) kale
• 1⁄4 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 handful fontina cheese

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottom pan. Add onions and cook over low heat until caramelized. Once onions are brown and soft (mmmm), add kale and sautée together.
2. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.
3. Place bread in the hot pan and sprinkle cheese over each slice of bread. After 2-3 minutes, add kale and onion mixture and place 2 of the 4 pieces of bread on top of the other 2 pieces to form sandwiches.
4. Cook until the outsides of the grilled cheeses are golden and crispy and the cheese is melted.
5. Serve immediately!