This nifty trick will have you flexing your clever culinary muscles as you impress your friends with this totally-fun kitchen hack. Get the oven blazing hot, grab two sheet pans and get ready to feed a crowd. These sandwiches were gobbled up by our Smidgen podcast crew when we made them to go alongside Curried Tomato Soup. This customizable recipe is also a customer favorite in our Bar Bites cooking class. So, two questions: are you listening to Smidgen and have you joined us for a cooking class? What are you waiting for?
Ingredients:
12 slices hearty or thick bread (we used Texas Toast)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp House Blend
24 slices melty cheese (we used a combo of havarti, cheddar and monterrey jack)
Sel Gris
Smoked Ground Black Pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to preheat. Be sure the bottom of the sheet pan is clean.
In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise with the House Blend. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread. Arrange 6 bread slices, mayo side down, on second rimmed baking sheet. Place cheese on each slice of bread-we used about 2 slices per sandwich. Season with Sel Gris and a sprinkling of Smoked Black Pepper. Top with remaining bread slices, mayo side up.
Using oven mitts, carefully remove preheated baking sheet from oven and place, rimmed side up, on top of sandwiches. Place a weight on top. We used a ceramic 9X13 pan. You don't want to use too much weight.
Holding both rimmed baking sheets together, return to oven. Weight the baking sheets with a cast iron skillet or an oven-safe casserole dish. You're looking to make sure the sheet pans are making even, solid contact with the sandwiches, but you're not looking to flatten the sandwiches. Take care to not use empty ramekins or bowls as they could shatter.
Bake until bread is browned and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove baking sheets from oven and transfer sandwiches to a cutting board. Cut into pieces and serve with our Curried Tomato Bisque.
Check out how we make this on our podcast Smidgen!
Watch as Anne and Lili cook this recipe on Facebook Live