Parmesan Crusted Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes

Steps:

• For the mac and cheese: In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente; drain. Set an extra-large skillet, or a large heavy saucepan, over medium-low heat and cook the bacon until crispy and the fat renders out, 10 to 12 minutes. Set the bacon aside, reserving the fat to build your sauce. At this point you should have about 1/4 cup of reserved fat. If needed, add some olive oil or butter to make sure you have a 1/4 cup of fat in the pan.
• Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the paste bubbles a bit, about 2 minutes (make sure it doesn't brown). Continuing to whisk, add 3 cups of the hot milk and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Stir in the dry mustard, and then gradually add the Cheddar and Muenster cheeses, stirring constantly until all of the cheese has melted into the sauce. Stir in the hot sauce and the remaining 1 cup milk. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. Stir in the crispy bacon and season with salt and pepper. You'll need 2 cups of mac and cheese for the sandwiches.
• For the grilled cheese: Top all 8 slices of bread with a slice of American cheese. This will act as your glue. Spoon 1/2 cup of the mac and cheese onto four of the slices, sprinkle with some basil, and then add a dollop of the spicy peppers. Top with 1 or 2 tomato slices, and cover with a second slice of bread.
• In a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat, spread 1/3 cup of the grated Parmesan in an even circle roughly the same size as your bread. Let the Parmesan begin to melt and brown, 2 to 3 minutes. As soon as it gets golden brown, set a sandwich on top of the Parmesan. Cook for 2 minutes more. The Parmesan will adhere to the bread and create a nice crispy crust. Remove the sandwich from the skillet and repeat the same process for the other side of the sandwich. Depending on the size of your pan, you may be able to do two sandwiches at a time. If needed, keep finished sandwiches warm in a 200 degree F oven while the others are cooking.

Steps:

• Fill bread slices with Singles.
• Spread outside of sandwich with butter. Sprinkle 1 tsp. Parmesan over each side of sandwich; press gently into sandwich to secure.
• Cook in skillet on medium heat 3 min. on each side or until Singles are melted and sandwich is golden brown on both sides.

Steps:

• Spread out bread slices and spread each with about 1 T butter.
• Sprinkle parmesan cheese on each slice and press firmly into bread.
• Melt 1/2 stick butter and pour half into large skillet preheated on medium-high.
• Place 4 of the bread slices in skillet, parmesan-crusted side down.
• Arrange 1 slice each of the 3 cheeses on each bread slice and grill undisturbed about 7 minutes. Cheese slices should begin to soften.
• Flip sandwich slices and grill briefly on other side, then set aside.
• Wipe skillet, add remaining melted butter and repeat with remaining bread with cheeses.
• Assemble sandwiches and let sit 3-5 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Stir together mayonnaise and pesto sauce. (**Note: the pesto is a little salty--some might like it that way. However, I would suggest using between 1 and 2 tablespoons of pesto and see how you like it!).
• Spread evenly on 1 side of each sourdough bread slice.
• Place 4 bread slices, pesto sides down, on wax paper.
• Layer 4 bread slices on wax paper each with 1 fontina cheese slice, bell peppers, and 1 Cheddar cheese slice; top with remaining bread slices, pesto sides up.
• Cook sandwiches, in batches, on a hot griddle or in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, gently pressing with a spatula, 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese melts.
• *Provolone or mozzarella cheese slices may be substituted.