Try With Me: French Onion Grilled Cheese

This is a little bit of a different “Try With Me” because I typically follow a recipe that I’ve never had before and let you know how it went for me but this time I wanted to try recreating a dish I tried for the first time.

I found out this year that my town has a farmers market and honestly, I probably should have known this much earlier. But anyways, I wanted to check it out because Farmers Markets have so many interesting things to offer whether it’s produce, baked goods, crafts, or other local wares. Ooh and honey! I really enjoy getting honey locally. But the honey isn’t what this is about! It was about the delicious French Onion Grilled Cheese I had.

My friend and I went on Farm Fiber day because my friend is in love with yarn so we thought it would be fun to check it out. Little did I know I would leave with a love for French Onion Grilled Cheese. I had never had a grilled cheese like this before and I was determined to make it myself so I could eat it whenever I wanted and so all of you could eat it whenever you wanted! I tried my best to recreate the sandwich but I also made some tweaks to make it, in my opinion, even better. Let’s get started with the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients:

Caramelized onions:

• 1 white or red onion, sliced
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• salt
• balsamic vinegar
• sugar (optional)

Sandwhich:

• 4 slices Crusty Bread
• Nature’s Promise Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
• pinch of ground black pepper
• caramelized onion
• butter
• 1/4 cup sautéed mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

The first thing you want to get started on is caramelizing your onions. Honestly, a very simple job but it’ll just take a little time. I found for two sandwiches one onion was enough but if you want to scale the recipe up to use for other things I think that there’s a great idea. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

To start, slice up your onion thinly and then in a pan heat up your olive oil on medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering add in the onion.

Once the onions start to soften, after about 5-10 minutes, you can add a sprinkle of salt. Stir that in and then if you want you can add a pinch of sugar too, to help the caramelization process but that’s up to you. You can lower the heat to medium low. At this point you’re just playing the waiting game.

Pretty much how it goes. Why not make yourself a cup of tea while you wait or read a book or maybe build a house. Okay, okay, it won’t take that long. And I don’t condone leaving the kitchen while cooking. Just wait for 20-30 minutes, stirring and scraping the pan occasionally to keep from sticking and/or burning as the onions soften and darken in color. If they seem a little dry to you add a splash of water otherwise there isn’t much else to do. Once they’ve reached a dark brown color they’re done! I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to help deglaze the pan plus it adds a nice flavor. Then that’s all done!

This is when I decided to also make some sautéed mushrooms because I’m pretty sure the French Onion Sandwich I ate had them and I have to stay true to the original! I must! But, if it’s not your preference you can definitely omit them. In the same pan as my onions I heated up a little olive oil then placed about 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms in the pan. Let them cook down for 5-10 minutes in medium heat or until soft and browned. Add a pinch of salt and it’s done!

Wow, two things done! And it only gets more exciting from here. Hard to believe, I know. What could be more exciting than caramelizing onions. Two words. Grating cheese. I know, I know. Say less, is what you are probably thinking. You’ll need about 1 cup white cheddar cheese of your choice and 1 cup grated Parmesan. I’ll admit my Parmesan was pre-grated…I’m not yet fancy enough to buy Parmesan whole.

The reason I used this combination is because normally a French Onion Soup is made with Gruyere cheese but you probably have guessed I’m not yet fancy enough to be buying Gruyere. But I learned with a little research that combining cheddar and Parmesan gives a similar flavor and it’s cheaper and more accessible for most people so I went for it. I am no cheese connoisseur but I like eating it and I will say this combination was delicious. However, if you have Gruyere you should definitely just use it! I have a feeling the sandwich I tried just used cheddar so I thought I could just try amping that flavor up because why not.

Now like the Avengers it’s time “to assemble” your grilled cheese! Do the Avengers assemble? I’ve never seen the Avengers…should I be admitting this? Well, it doesn’t change the fact this sandwich will be assembled. Best part!! To put this all together start by buttering the outside slice of your bread. On one slice spread some Dijon mustard and then layer on half the onions, mushrooms, Cheddar Cheese, and Parmesan. Sprinkle with some ground black pepper. Top with the other slice of bread.

Sandwich 1 assembled. Now it’s time to grill it up. I’m a pan heat up a drizzle of olive oil or 1 teaspoon of butter. Place the sandwich on the heated pan. Cook until the bread becomes golden brown and the cheese starts melting, about 2-3 minutes. Flip it over and let it cook on the other side for the same amount of time.

Wow, wow! Looks delicious, smells delicious, and guess what? It tastes delicious! You can’t really go wrong with a grilled cheese but a French Onion Grilled Cheese just amps it up. You could say it’s a level up 🎉 I was pretty pleased with how this turned out and I hope you can try out my take on the French Onion Grilled Cheese. Let me know what you think!

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