Bruschetta Grilled Cheese

Bruschetta Grilled Cheese

Let’s start at the core of this grilled cheese and ask the obvious question: Is bruschetta a grilled cheese? Traditional bruschetta does not typically include cheese and therefore, it would of course, not be considered a grilled cheese sandwich. However, variations do include cheese, such as the one I created. At the very basic, a grilled cheese includes cheese and bread, which bruschetta does as well. Therefore, I say if bruschetta includes cheese (and bread), among other ingredients, it can and should be considered a[n open faced] grilled cheese. Do you agree? Please let me know in the comments.

ingredients:

  • Tomatoes/Garlic/Balsamic/Dill
  • Fresh Mozzarella
  • Organic French Baguette

Bruschetta Grilled Cheese Ingredients: Fresh Mozzarella

the cheese: wisconsin’s crave brothers ovoline mozzarella

This past weekend the folks and I were called into duty as babysitters/nanny’s as my sister and her husband headed to Chicago for a mini-vacation. From early Saturday until Sunday around dinner time, we watched and played with my two nephews. Once they left Sunday evening, I had the thought of trying to make bruschetta, especially since I had previously purchased the French bread. This worked out perfectly since everyone was too tired to make an elaborate grilled cheese. Plus, I had seen this exact Mozzarella at Whole Foods earlier in the day and just had to return to the store to purchase it.

Bruschetta Grilled Cheese Ingredients: Fresh Mozzarella

Our choices were between Ciliegine and Ovoline Mozzarella. While in the store, I was confused by the multiple types, but as far as I can tell now, the shape is the only true difference. Ciliegine Mozzarella is cherry shaped while ovoline is more egg sized. Since I wanted long slices, I went with the Ovoline.

This Wisconsin cheese had all of the perfect qualities that one looks for in a great, fresh Mozzarella cheese: soft texture with a sweet, delicate flavor. There is nothing like great, fresh Mozzarella, whether it be on a homemade pizza or in bruschetta…

Bruschetta Grilled Cheese Ingredients: Tomato

thoughts

The fundamental ingredient of bruschetta is of course the tomato. Thankfully, we had a fresh tomato sitting at home, waiting to be chopped. Yum!

Bruschetta Grilled Cheese Ingredients: Balsamic Vinegar

We only had a drop of balsamic vinegar in the house, so I went on a scavenger hunt for at Whole Foods. I decided on this organic version, which turned out to be very good.

Bruschetta Grilled Cheese Ingredients: Bruschetta Mixture

The best part of bruschetta is its simplicity. All I needed to do was add some chopped garlic, balsamic and basil to the already chopped tomatoes and mix. That is it. If you like other seasonings, I am sure you could add them as well. Bruschetta is open to personal interpretation. Have fun with it.

Bruschetta Grilled Cheese Ingredients: French Baguette

I placed the fresh Mozzeralla and bruschetta mixture on top of slices of organic French baguette that were brushed with olive oil. If I did this again, I would have placed the bread in the oven for a few minutes to crisp prior to topping. I placed the final product in the oven for about 5 minutes to slightly melt the cheese. However, without the pre-crisping, the baguette was just a bit soft and mushy, but it still turned out fantastic.

the grilled cheese:

bruschetta grilled cheese: A-

This bruschetta was the second best thing to creating a traditional grilled cheese and it took half the time. The balsamic mixed with the garlic, basil and tomatoes created an awesome flavor with the Mozzarella adding a great, fresh flavor. Bruschetta would be a great appetizer for any Italian meal, or as a snack, as was in this case. Plus, the simplicity makes this recipe approachable by just about anyone.

ingredients were purchased at…

  • Whole Foods (Wisconsin’s Crave Brothers Ovoline Mozzarella, Organic Balsamic Vinegar, Organic French Baguette)


4 thoughts on “Bruschetta Grilled Cheese”

  • Everyone LOVES bruschetta! Me included. I see you went with mozzarella. I prefer burrata. But (as I learned in the previous post) you are not a burrata fan. I hope we can still be friends… kidding you’re awesome., despite that character flaw. GREG

  • @ Tangled Noodle Thanks so much! I think I do best when there are multiple items to photograph. I am glad you agree that bruschetta is in fact a grilled cheese sandwich. 🙂

    @ sippitysup Haha. I need to try burrata again as I don’t think what I tried at the Invitational was a fair first impression. It just seemed kinda blah and that doesn’t seem right. And we can definitely still be friends, just two awesome dudes with two awesome blogs.

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