Who doesn’t remember Kraft singles melted between toasted bread and served with Campbell’s Tomato Soup from their childhood?! This standby helped kids through colds, was awesome – if you cut the grilled cheese right (triangles), and I’m sure helped parents out on those nights where almost nothing sounded good for their children, except a standby like grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Jump ahead 25 years to re-invent this dish by changing out the Kraft singles, white bread and Campbells’ tomato soup for Havarti & Provolone Cheese on French Bread Panini’d and dipped in a cool Tomato Gazpacho Soup. I’m kind of hungry and longing a little for my childhood while writing about this right now. This was served at one of the bridal functions I have been assisting with, so it was prepared with the thought of appetizers in mind, but this dish would also be perfect finger food for after school snacks or a summer lunch.
The best part about the whole meal is that the only thing that you need to prepare is the ‘grilled cheese’, the gazpacho was pre-bought and pureed to a consistency worthy of dunking.
Grilled (Panini’d) Cheese Sandwich
w/Tomato Gazpacho Soup
Ingredients:
- French Bread
- Sliced Cheese (Provolone & Havarti used here)
- Butter, for spreading
- Pre-made Garden Tomato Gazpacho (store bought or home made)
Preparation:
- Preheat your panini machine (or your pan, if you are doing the standard grilled cheese).
- Using an immersion blender or a standard blender, puree the gazpacho to remove some of the larger veggie chunks. This is a personal preference thing, so prepare to the consistency that you like best.
- Slice the french bread into approximately 1/2 inch slices. Butter the outside of the bread. Stack the bread with the butter sides touching each other until the pan or panini grill is ready.
- Grill or panini the sandwiches. When done, cut in half to present in a fun finger foods kind of way.
- Serve the gazpacho in small bowls and commence dipping the sandwiches of cheesy goodness.
Happy Cheese Sandwich Dipping!
experimentalspoon.com 