Fig Jam

There is nothing as simply delicious as melted cheese and crispy bread. There are thousands of variations of cheese, bread types, and tasty extras, but recently I was dazzled by the grilled cheese on the cover of Gourmet magazine's February issue. Presented on a clean white plate with a pretty blue background, their uber grilled cheese features escarole, onion jam, and tallegio.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find onion jam nor tallegio, but luckily the recipe states the next best options — fig jam and fontina — both of which were at my local market. I cooked the sandwich over low heat to maximize the melt in the melted cheese. The final result was a divine treat with the sweet jam perfectly complementing the pungent cheese and bitter greens. For the plating, I used a simple white plate like Gourmet, but thought a pink placemat was more me. To see how I made my version of this super scrumptious sandwich, read more

Going back to work after the holidays is never an easy task. To ease some of the stress, treat yourself to a simple and delicious pressed sandwich for dinner. Pick up the fig jam, fresh bread, and cooked chicken breast from your local market. There is virtually no cooking in this recipe, all you have to do is assemble the sandwich and let the press do its magic. The sandwich with its rich, layered ingredients is comforting and filling. If you have any extra bottles of Champagne leftover from New Year's open one; a glass of bubbly pairs superbly with this sandwich. Take a look at the recipe, just read more