Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (For the Grownup Kid)

Who says tomato soup and grilled cheese is just for kids?  It doesn't have to be with these simple recipes, taking a more adult approach on a childhood favorite.  In fact, my husband told me that these grilled cheese sandwiches were the best he'd ever had.  The key do the sandwiches is starting with good, quality bread and cheese.  We purchased a fresh whole wheat country loaf from the local Co-op, cut it thick, and used sharp cheddar, a little Parmesan, and the secret ingredient: grainy horseradish mustard.  Can you say Delish?  We'll be making these again.

For the soup, I had a beautiful jar of garden tomatoes my mother grew, canned, and gave to me.  It was calling my name.  I decided to enrich the flavor using caramelized onions, which is a trick I just learned watching old Julia Child cooking episodes.  The key to making delicious caramelized onions is using a lower heat at the beginning to get the onions really soft before they start to brown, and continuing to stir every 2-3 minutes until they are done.... and they will take a while (30 minutes, or longer).  But if you have other things going on in the kitchen, like other prep work, or dishes from the night before, it really isn't a big deal.  I think the caramelized onions adds a really nice touch, but I think if you're looking for something that will come together faster, just softening the onions will work fine.

Tomato Soup with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 quart of canned/jarred tomatoes, chopped lightly in a food processor
2-3 cups of veggie broth
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk

Directions:

Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven.  Add onions and some salt, and cook very slowly for 10 minutes or so, stirring every 2-3 minutes, until onions are very soft and translucent.  Turn up heat just slightly, and cook onions with very frequent stirring for another 20-30 minutes, until onions turn a beautiful caramel color.  Add garlic, some freshly cracked pepper, and carrots.  Cook 2-3 minutes longer, until garlic is fragrant.  Add some of the tomato juice, and deglaze the bottom of the pan, stirring to get all the tasty bits up.  Add the rest of the tomatoes, broth, the bay leaves, the thyme, sugar, and the red pepper flakes.  Bring to a simmer.  Cook, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the carrots are well cooked.  Add flour-- it will be chunky, and that's OK, because you're going to transfer this to a food processor and blend it until smooth (1 minute or so).  Move back to pot, and back on the heat.  Add milk, and adjust seasoning as needed.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches:

Ingredients:

1 loaf of country-style artisan wheat bread
4 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
1-2 cups of shredded cheese (I used a combination of sharp cheddar and a little Parmesan.  Also, using hand shredded cheese will be useful because it will help the sandwiches stick)
3 tablespoons of mustard (optional; I used grainy horseradish mustard)

Directions:

Slice bread into 3/4 inch sized slices.  Butter one side of each piece of bread.  To the un-buttered side, spread mustard.  Take a piece of the bread, butter side laying flat, mustard side up, and top with cheese mixture.  Pack it on somewhat to help the sandwich stick together.  Top with another similarly sized piece of bread, placing mustard side down, buttered side up.  Assemble all sandwiches.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Lay sandwiches flat in skillet; don't overcrowd the skillet as it will be difficult to assess them and flip them.  Cover the skillet to help the cheese melt before the bread browns.  Flip the sandwiches once the bottom side is browned.  Once both sides are browned, remove from heat.  Serve with tomato soup and love.