grown up grilled cheese for fall

I cannot hide from the truth anymore.  I am a grilled cheese fanatic.  I love grilled cheese in a very undying sort of way.  And ever since my friend Jo and I added tomatoes to our grilled cheese in high school, I've experimented with adding different ingredients. 

There is something about fall that just adds to the awesomeness of grilled cheese, and the other night I decided to experiment a little more.  I wanted a brie and pear grilled cheese, but Brian is not a fan of brie OR pear.  So I made one with sharp cheddar and apple for him.  And now you get to see how I made both!

First I started with a loaf of freshly baked bread.  If you are cursing me for starting in such a difficult way, don't worry.  I dumped a box of bread mix and some water into my bread machine and walked away.  I love that thing.  I did decide to also add some dried rosemary and ground pepper for a little extra yum.

Then I grabbed a Honeycrisp apple (our very favorite) and a red pear.

I sliced the fruit very thinly and cut up our cheese.  It's pretty much impossible to cut brie thinly, by the way.

Then for Brian's grilled cheese, I mixed together some mayo and basil to spread on it.

Since my herb garden was left way back in Illinois, I buy these herbs in the squeeze tubes, which are a great alternative to fresh herbs.  They taste surprisingly like the real thing.

I sliced the bread pretty thickly and spread the basil mayo on two pieces.  Then I layered up the sharp cheddar and thin apple slices.

On mine I omitted the mayo spread, but still stacked up the brie and pears, and then drizzled it with honey.

Butter both pieces of bread.  Don't be shy about the butter.  It's key to a perfectly golden grilled cheese.  I buttered the piece that didn't have cheese and fruit stacked on it, layed it on the skillet, and then flipped the fruit and cheese side on it to leave the unbuttered piece up.  Then I of course buttered that side.  Did that make sense?  If not, just be sure to use butter.  That's the moral of my story here.

Grill those sandwiches until they are a lovely golden color.  Yum!

Cut in half, and enjoy!  Mine tasted divine, and Brian's was pretty tasty, too.

Happy grill cheesing, everyone!