I can’t believe that it has been so long since I last made a grilled cheese sandwich! I guess I was all grill cheesed out after grilled cheese month!
With summer here I could not resist using some of the beautiful fresh fruit in a grilled cheese sandwich starting with cherries. I always enjoy the melted brie and fruit combo and it also just happens to be fantastic in a grilled cheese sandwich so it is my cheese of choice for this sandwich. Instead of throwing the fresh cherries into the sandwich I roast them a bit first to both concentrate their flavour and to remove some of their moisture, since nobody likes a soggy sandwich. Before roasting the cherries I like to toss them in balsamic vinegar which brightens them up a bit and helps bring out their flavour but brandy or port are also great options. The next component of this sandwich, a touch of dark chocolate, might be a bit of a surprise but it works so amazingly well! Chocolate and cherries were meant for each other and the duo is only made better by the addition of plenty of melted brie! Although this balsamic roasted cherry, dark chocolate and brie grilled cheese sandwich might sound a bit odd, it is a truly magical flavour combination that is pure magic in your mouth!
Is this dessert? Is it dinner? Does it matter? It’s all sorts of good!
This grilled cheese sandwich is also amazing with other fruit and berries that go well with chocolate like raspberries and strawberries.
You just have to love those burnt bits of cheese that oozed out the sides!
Balsamic Roasted Cherry, Dark Chocolate and Brie Grilled Cheese Sandwich
A summery grilled cheese sandwich with balsamic roasted cherries, dark chocolate and plenty of melted brie.
ingredients
- 1/2 cup cherries, pitted and halved
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (or brandy or port)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 slices bread
- 1 1/2 ounces brie, room temperature
- 1 ounce dark chocolate, chopped, room temperature
directions
- Toss the cherries in the balsamic vinegar, place them on a baking sheet in a single layer, roast in a preheated 450F/230C oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Heat a pan over medium heat.
- Butter one side of each slice of bread, place one slice in the pan with buttered side down, top with half of the cheese, the chocolate, cherries, the remaining cheese and finally the other slice of bread with buttered side up.
- Grill until golden brown and the cheese and chocolate has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
July 19, 2013 at 12:18 pmWhat a fabulous summer sandwich! Love the cherries in this – this one's a keeper!
Tieghan says
July 19, 2013 at 1:01 pmINCREDIBLE! I a new cherry lover and these are calling my name!! Wow, Kevin! Such an awesome sandwich!
DCHomewares says
July 19, 2013 at 1:29 pmThe name is quite a mouthful but it sure looks delicious so I don't mind at all! 'will definitely try this one.
Marian (Sweetopia) says
July 19, 2013 at 1:49 pmOH yum!! What a great combination of flavours!
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
July 19, 2013 at 2:36 pmAmazing sandwich! I love how melty and drippy it is!
Rocky Mountain Woman says
July 19, 2013 at 3:04 pmIn my opinion, it's late night snack!
Jaclyn says
July 19, 2013 at 5:35 pmYou make some seriously genius grilled cheeses! The pictures always make my mouth water!
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch says
July 19, 2013 at 7:55 pmYou keep amazing me each time you post another grilled cheese! I love cherries, so this is calling me!!!!
Megans Cookin says
July 19, 2013 at 8:04 pmcherry, chocolate, and brie, yes please!
sandra says
July 19, 2013 at 9:08 pmAre you kidding?? This looks killer! I generally avoid cheese but I think I am going to have to make this and quick!!
Healinglove says
July 19, 2013 at 9:44 pmI can't wait to try this sandwich. I'll make it on gluten free bread, as I recently realized I have a sensitivity to it.
Anonymous says
July 19, 2013 at 10:01 pmHow do you pit your cherries?
(BTW – Under the title in the recipe, you reference strawberries instead of cherries.)
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
July 19, 2013 at 11:19 pmI've never paired cherries and balsamic vinegar but it sounds amazing! I absolutely love sweet-type grilled cheeses!
Maria says
July 20, 2013 at 12:32 amDrooling!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
July 20, 2013 at 2:13 amThis is the best thing I think I've seen you make all year!!! I LOVE THIS! The cheese, the melty gooey facot, the balsamic (love it!), the cherries, the dark chocolate. This is everything I could want in one bite! Pinned!
Anonymous says
July 20, 2013 at 2:57 amis the chocolate sweetened?
Des @ Life's Ambrosia says
July 20, 2013 at 5:26 amWhat an interesting combination! I never would have thought of this! Love it!
Joanne says
July 20, 2013 at 9:20 amOh my! This is sheer decadence!
cquek says
July 20, 2013 at 1:21 pmexcellent shot, i love to have it right now
NotesFromAbroad says
July 20, 2013 at 2:18 pmThis looks just ridiculously delicious.
Mijú says
July 20, 2013 at 2:23 pmPero que buenas esas cerezas 🙂
Un saludito
Anonymous says
July 20, 2013 at 2:36 pmI have to say I was a bit skeptical at reading the title, but after looking (drooling) over your pictures, this looks ridiculous!! I bet it would be fantastic on brioche too!
All of your food photos/ recipes look to die for. I see my budget going out the window on groceries this week. Ha!
marla {Family Fresh Cooking} says
July 21, 2013 at 1:25 amOh how I love sweet with grilled cheese!
Julie @ Table for Two says
July 21, 2013 at 3:31 pmThis is such a creative grilled cheese sandwich!! Love those cherry bursts!
Erin says
July 21, 2013 at 6:47 pmI made this on gluten free bread today for lunch for my husband and myself. It was fabulous! Thanks for another fabulous recipe!
Jules says
July 22, 2013 at 11:24 amWow, this sandwich looks amazing and I'm going to have to try it! I'm a big fan of grilled cheese – my current favorite is a grilled cheese with goat cheese, pepper jelly, and bacon: http://www.myfoodandotherstuff.com/2013/06/goat-cheese-and-pepper-jelly-grilled.html
vanillasugarblog says
July 22, 2013 at 9:14 pmI love this seasons cherries.
Last year I did not take advantage of it, but this year I am
Another excellent combo Kevin!
Healthful Diet And Nutrition says
July 23, 2013 at 12:35 amThis Looks yummy!. Need to have a bite now!. 🙂
Juliana says
July 23, 2013 at 1:41 amI love this combination!! So much so, that I turned it into doughnuts for breakfast time. I used strawberry preserves, but roasted cherries would be even more delish! Can't wait to use your idea for the next time I make them 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration…
http://www.piecelovecooking.com/2013/05/brie-dark-chocolate-biscuit-beignets.html
Juliana from Piece, Love, & Cooking
Chaya says
July 23, 2013 at 2:46 amI had to find out what cheese you used. This is simply fantastic….all that goodness in one place.
She'saPistol says
July 23, 2013 at 5:02 pmI'm not a big Brie fan; I swear it tastes like the dirt cellar of my Granfather's farm spread on a cracker. Ewww! However, I love Coulommiers so I'm going to try it with that. I NEVER would have thought of cheese and chocolate, so thanks once again for broadening my palate, Kevin.
Mala kuvarica- zlatne ruke says
July 24, 2013 at 5:40 pmVrlo interesantno !!!!!!!!!!
kevin says
July 31, 2013 at 5:39 pmAnonymous: I used a dark chocolate so it is not very sweet at all.
Efreet in the Oven says
September 1, 2013 at 4:09 pmThis recipe has been deemed worthy of the Efreet’s seal of approval! X-D
http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/08/fruit-is-healthy.html
Abbadon says
October 3, 2013 at 1:00 amMe and my friend saw this post and immediately made our way to the grocery store. We followed the instructions to the letter, except we substituted raspberries instead of cherries. it was DELICIOUS! thank you for this awesome recipe!
kevin says
October 3, 2013 at 9:55 amAbbadon: Raspberries would also be amazing! I am glad that you enjoyed it!