Glorious Grilled Cheese

I almost made this post title VERY punny. I decided to spare you. You're welcome.

My first semester of college, the dining hall announced that April was "National Grilled cheese" month, and insisted on serving grilled cheese every day. Every. Single. Day.

Needless to say, grilled cheese seemed terribly unappetizing for a while. And by that, I mean for nearly the last two years. However, I re-embranced what is basically toast with pretend cheese on it over break, finding it one of the few things I intuitively could figure out how to make.

And then, I found a beautiful new version on pinterest: Pesto, Brie, and Red Pepper Grilled Cheese.

This grilled cheese was fairly simple to make, as are most grilled cheeses. It only requires a handful of ingredients and tastes gourmet. I did not follow the original recipe exactly, but it did give me the inspiration. Here's what I did:

1. Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a pan on low heat.
2. Lightly oil one side of two slices of thick-cut artisan bread. I did this month's grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and their artisan bread is my new favorite. 
3. On one slice, spread about one tablespoon basil pesto on the non-oiled side.
4. On the other slice, spread as much brie cheese as your soul desires. For those who don't know, Brie comes with a white layer of mold around it, called a rind. The rind IS edible, and when eating it sliced, it's "the best part" according to some. However, it's all a matter of taste. I would recommend not putting the rind in the sandwich. 
5. Slice a large red bell pepper into quarters. Place about 1/4 of chopped red pepper onto the brie-spread slice. 
6. Assemble sandwich and place in the pan. 
7. Toast sandwich for a few minutes on each side until bread is golden brown, and cheese is melted. 
   
8. Enjoy your gourmet grilled cheese!

This recipe proved to me that something that has fancy ingredients does not always mean difficult. I will definitely be making this again- it was a fantastic spin on the Kraft-slice classic. If you have any suggestions for recipes or techniques to try, please don't hesitate to comment below or email me at dontexpectmiraclesblog@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!

Original Recipe: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/brie-pesto-and-sweet-pepper-grilled-cheese/