The Diva Of Grilled Cheese

THE DIVA OF GRILLED CHEESE BY RUTH REICHL

SHOPPING LIST

• leeks
• scallions
• ¼ pound cheddar cheese
• 2 slices sturdy sourdough bread

STAPLES

shallots

1 onion (any color)

1 clove garlic (minced)

butter

mayonnaise

Makes 1 sandwich

1. Gather a group of shallots, leeks, scallions, and an onion red, yellow, or white—as many members of the allium family as you have on hand—and chop them into a small heap.

2. Add a minced clove of garlic. Grate a few generous handfuls of the best ched­dar you can afford (Montgomery is particularly appealing), set a little aside, and gently combine the rest with the onion mixture.

3. Butter one side of thickly sliced bread and heap as much of the mixture as possible between the slices.

4. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the outside of the bread (this will keep it from scorching on the griddle).

5. Press the reserved grated cheese to the outside of the bread, where it will create a wonderfully crisp and shaggy crust, giving your sandwich an entirely new dimension.

6. Fry on a heated griddle or in a skillet about 4 minutes a side, until the cheese is softly melted.

CREDIT LINE: Excerpted from MY KITCHEN YEAR: 136 RECIPES THAT SAVED MY LIFE by Ruth Reichl Copyright © 2015 by Ruth Reichl. Excerpted by permission of Random House, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.