My First Grilled Cheese Sandwich was made of Goat Cheese

Tonight was a night of firsts.  I’d like to say something more dramatic, something like tonight was the night that changed everything, tonight was the night it all began, but I really don’t have anything more than tonight was a night of firsts.

First, I had my very first grilled cheese sandwich.  Of course, I couldn’t have a normal grilled cheese sandwich made out of American cheese and white Wonder bread.  Oh no, I couldn’t be that normal – that would be boring.  Instead, my very first grilled cheese sandwich was a Grilled Goat Cheese and Plum Jam Sandwich with a side of Endive and Marinated Cucumber Salad courtesy of Blue Apron.

The second first of the night – we lost the shallot!  We had pulled all of the ingredients out of the refrigerator and placed them on the counter before we started cooking.  We looked and looked for the shallot.  I was looking for an onion looking kind of thing, but I had it in my head that a shallot looked more like green onions – probably because I never actually have a real shallot and instead substitute green onions in any recipe that calls for it.  So, naturally, I overlooked the small onion like bulb that sat on the cutting board.  The husband forgot that a shallot was an onion, so I’m not sure what he was looking for.    I even pulled out some green onions to use instead.  This is not the first time that I have felt dumb, but it was the first time that I so completely overlooked something that was literally right in front of me.  Anyway, the shallot was discovered, chopped, and used in the jam and in the salad.

This leads me to my third first of the night - and brace yourself for this – the husband made jam!  Not only did he make jam, but he seemed to enjoy making the jam.  He pitted a plum and then “roughly” (as was stated in the recipe’s instructions) chopped it into pieces.  I dumped all the ingredients into a sauce pan and he patiently watched it boil and then rigorously stirred it until it turned thick.  Then he prepared the sandwiches by spreading goat cheese on both sides of sourdough bread, spreading the jam on top of the cheese, and then placing the sandwiches in hot melted butter.  I must say that the smell of the bread toasting in the butter was absolutely amazing!

Also amazing?  The taste of that very toasted bread and its creamy contents! I was afraid that the goat cheese would have a bitter aftertaste, but the jam nicely balanced the bitter with a subtle sweetness and the crispy buttered bread finished it off with a slightly salty flavor.  

While we may not have had a dramatic evening and tonight was really not the night that changed everything, perhaps tonight was the night that something new began.  The husband and I are cooking meals together and I am hoping the husband enjoyed making jam enough to recreate this recipe in the future.  I’m glad that my very first grilled cheese sandwich wasn’t “normal,” but I think I would still like to try a “normal” grilled cheese sandwich – whatever “normal” means!