How to Make Grilled Cheese with Style –

French Onion Grilled Cheese on Ciabatta

I am a French Onion Soup addict, that I can not deny.  I was looking for a recipe that I could use caramelized onions outside of making soup.  This sandwich was the natural transition from soup to sandwich.  The nice thing is this sandwich goes great with a separate soup or chowder.

This isn’t a super difficult recipe.  You are pretty much making French Onion soup minus adding the broth.  You may see similarities between this recipe and Cookingyo’s Ken’s Can’t be Afraid of the Gruyere recipe.  Well that is because both start the same way.  This recipe is optimized for a cast iron skillet to cook the onions. One lesson learned during recipe development was to grate the cheese.  During generation 1 of the recipe I thinly sliced the Gruyere, I had some minor melting issues.  Note, no matter what this is a messy sandwich…. Presentation…meh!  Taste….Outstanding!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45-60 minutes

Yield: 2-4 Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 Large Vidalia or sweet Onion sliced root to stem for each sandwich desired.
1 Ciabatta roll per sandwich
2 tablespoons of Kerrygold unsalted butter
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup of cooking sherry
a few pinches of sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of dry thyme or 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
cracked pepper
salt, I used pink Himalayan salt
Approximately .20 lb of Cave aged Gruyère cheese or about 1/3-1/2 cup grated per sandwich.

Optional:
A smidgen Grated Parmesan per sandwich

Procedure:

Place some olive oil and the butter in to the cast iron skillet. Heat to medium, add the onion and sauté for  10-15 minutes. Then add a pinch to a few of sugar to the onions.  (This will help caramelize the onions).  It normally takes 30-60 minutes to fully caramelize the onions, but it is closer to 60.  If the pan gets a little dry don’t be afraid to add a little olive oil or even more butter.  Just don’t let the  onions get dry because they will burn.  When the onions are well caramelized, but not burnt.  Add the thyme mix in well with the onion.  add the garlic and fry for a minute or two more but don’t burn the garlic.  Deglaze the caramelized onion with the cooking sherry.Mix well for a minute or two.  Remove the mix from the heat.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Divide the shredded Gruyere in to equal parts. Grab one portion and divide it  in half. Slice the ciabatta roll in half. The sandwich goes roll bottom, Gruyere, Onion mix, Gruyere, top of roll.

Optional:  You can grate a smidgen (a pinch or two) of Parmesan cheese on top of the Gruyere

The goal is to melt the cheese.  The method is up to you: Panini Press, GrilledCast Iron Pan, Cast Iron Skillet…. Whatever gets the job done.  Slice the grilled cheese in half, and serve.

Print

French Onion Grilled Cheese, How to Make Grilled Cheese with Style,

An easy caramelized onion sandwich grilled with Gruyere cheese between a Ciabatta roll.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 2 -4 sandwiches

Author Ken at CookingYo.com

Ingredients

• 1 Large Vidalia or sweet Onion sliced root to stem for each sandwich desired.
• 1 Ciabatta roll per sandwich
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup of cooking sherry
• a few pinches of sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of dry thyme or 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• cracked pepper
• table salt or pink Himalayan salt
• Approximately .20 lb of Cave aged Gruyère cheese or about 1/3-1/2 cup grated per sandwich.
• Optional:
• A smidgen Grated Parmesan per sandwich

Instructions

1. Place some olive oil and the butter in to the cast iron skillet. Heat to medium, add the onion and sauté for 10-15 minutes. Then add a pinch to a few of sugar to the onions. (This will help caramelize the onions). It normally takes 30-60 minutes to fully caramelize the onions, but it is closer to 60. If the pan gets a little dry don’t be afraid to add a little olive oil or even more butter. Just don’t let the onions get dry because they will burn.
2. When the onions are well caramelized, but not burnt, add the thyme mix in well with the onion. add the garlic and fry for a minute or two more but don’t burn the garlic.
3. Deglaze the caramelized onion with the cooking sherry.
4. Mix well for a minute or two. Remove the mix from the heat. Salt and Pepper to taste.
5. Divide the shredded Gruyere in to equal parts. Grab one portion and divide it in half. Slice the ciabatta roll in half. The sandwich goes roll bottom, Gruyere, Onion mix, Gruyere, top of roll.
6. Optional: You can grate a smidgen (a pinch or two) of Parmesan cheese on top of the Gruyere
7. Melt the cheese. The method is up to you: Panini Press, GrilledCast Iron Pan, Cast Iron Skillet…. Whatever gets the job done.
8. Slice the grilled cheese in half, and serve.