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Build Your Own Grilled Cheese Party

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Build Your Own Grilled Cheese Party

When my girl friends come over I like to get them in on the action by having them help to create their own meals. It’s a casual low stress way to host friends, plus, there is a built in activity. In the past we have made avocado toast, decorated candy apples, and made personalized salads. Two weeks ago, one of my friends said that she needed a girls night and some wine, so I offered up my place since I had a fridge full of wine, and since it happened to be the first day of fall, making grilled cheese seemed fitting.

Build Your Own Grilled Cheese Party Layout

Before my friends arrived I laid out two different types of bread, four different cheeses, and a variety of other add ins. My friends could stick with classic cheddar with tomato slices, or choose to make something a bit more sophisticated. Since I was leaving town the day after the party, I didn’t go nuts with the number of ingredients, but you could add spinach, figs, roasted peppers, sliced meat, bacon, mustard, nuts, or pears to the lineup;  the possibilities are endless.

Cheese

I loosely followed the rules for creating a cheese board when I picked the cheeses. I chose a sharp cheddar, a semi soft blend of cow and cheese milk cheese that melted well, a goat cheese, and some finely grated Parmesan. The Parmesan was added because adding Parmesan on top of the butter on the outside of a grilled cheese is my favorite grilled cheese trick. It both adds an extra cheese and makes the crust crispier.

Grilled Cheese Ingredients

To compliment the cheeses, I prepared sautéed mushrooms, sautéed shallots, and a crisped up some prosciutto. I also set out avocado, tomato, and some savory Quince & Apple preserves.

You could make cheddar, tomato, avocado grilled cheese. Or use the rich earthy cow/sheep blend to make a grilled cheese with crispy prosciutto and sautéed shallots. There are no wrong answers here.

Making Grilled Cheese

I combined goat cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and the Quince & Apple shallot confit and red wine preserves to make a grilled cheese with a Parmesan crust.

Finished Grilled Cheese

The sweet shallot and red wine preserves paired well with the sautéed mushrooms and the creamy goat cheese. The crispy Parmesan crust added a sharper, saltier flavor.

The fun thing about letting guests build their own sandwich is that everyone gets exactly what they want. Once the sandwiches are assembled, they take just a few minutes to grill.

What is your favorite grilled cheese combination? Have I inspired you to try adding some new ingredients to your grilled cheeses?

grandbabycakes

Thursday 8th of October 2015

I love this! Super cute and original.

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