Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwich: Gouda, Prosciutto, Arugula and Hot Peppers

Today’s post is sponsored by Arla Dofino ^[4], but my love for their naturally delicious cheese is all my own. One love!

Grilled cheese sandwiches ^[4]. They’re gooey, they’re classic, they leave a string of hot cheese suspended between the sandwich and your chin when done right.

For many things I would say to keep it classic, and truly, there’s nothing wrong with a classic grilled cheese sandwich, but let’s up the ante a little bit, shall we? Since we grow a variety of hot peppers on our back patio, my husband and I basically eat everything spicy, finding ways to incorporate these spicy peppers into nearly every meal we make. Sometimes we like just a hint, sometimes we like our noses to run. For our most recent grilled cheese sandwich adventures, we opted for something right in the middle (and we live streamed on Meerkat the whole time, too! Follow me @TheFoodieJen!).

We ended up pairing our grilled cheese sandwich ^[4] with a classic tomato soup (recipe coming in the next couple of weeks or, er, whenever I get around to it…you know, when I’m done recreating my favorite childhood dishes), but our sandwich? Anything but the norm.

Also, I keep saying “our” because I leave the grilled cheese sandwich making to my husband. That’s right, I make no qualms about the fact that he has a much better hand at sandwich making than I do. In fact, he’s so good at it that we have seriously discussed opening a sandwich shop. It’s so his thing. He can be a Jeff Mauro, just…better.

Anyway, we took to our live stream while grocery shopping and asked our viewers what they wanted to see in our sandwich. We came up with Arla Dofino’s Gouda cheese ^[4], prosciutto, arugula, and slices of jalapeño and habanero peppers. One viewer wanted tomatoes, but we completely forgot and I was a tad upset that we wouldn’t have a PLT grilled cheese. WE DON’T HAVE THE T! Uhhhhh.

So here’s the great thing about Arla Dofino cheeses: their Havarti Dill ^[4] is so good. Out of this world. Easily one of my favorite cheeses. So why didn’t I use this kind in my sandwich? I can’t imagine dill with prosciutto, that’s why. Maybe I’m wrong, and I don’t want to be right…I hope they go together swimmingly…, but I just had gouda on my mind. So on my mind. Even right this minute. Because it was that good.

I chose to get the round block of Arla Dofino gouda ^[4] from the Deli case instead of any slices because I wanted to be able to slice my cheese pretty thick. I wanted it to take some time and love to melt all the way and once it did, I wanted it to come out all sides of the sandwich so we could grab those lovely pieces and stick them on the outside of the bread to grill. That’s right: cheese everywhere. Look, there was even a habanero slice that ended up right on top with the cheese. So spicy and satisfying to chomp right into. (This was my first bite.)

Here are some more great things about Arla Dofino ^[4]: Their cheeses are free of the added stuff. That means no hormones, no artificial flavors, no preservatives, and they are crafted with natural ingredients. This is a big deal in our home as we make the transition (whenever possible) to partner with brands and products that follow these same principles.

Oh, and before I forget: Happy National Grilled Cheese Month ^[4]!! I know, after cooking through the national food holidays ^[5], you would think the holidays are ingrained in my memory, but that’s a lot to keep track of. I think I’m still exhausted from all of 2014. I should’ve really opened with this because that’s the whole purpose behind this post! I wish I could make a different grilled cheese every day in April, don’t you? Let’s have ourselves a grilled cheese party.

So, yeah, grilled cheese. Make it, eat it, love it.

One more thing: right after the recipe (below), you’ll see details for a Twitter party that is not to be missed. Make sure you keep reading!

Print Recipe ^[6]

Spicy Grilled Cheese: Gouda, Prosciutto, Arugula and Hot Peppers

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This spicy grilled cheese sandwich is unlike any other. With gouda cheese, prosciutto, arugula, and lots of peppers, it's a sandwich you won't soon forget. For an added bonus, use the cheese that oozes out to melt on top of the bread.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices Eureka Organic Bread in Saaa-Wheat!
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 ounces Arla Dofino ^[4] Gouda cheese, sliced at medium thickness
• 3 slices prosciutto
• 4 thin slices of jalapeno pepper
• 4 thin slices of habanero pepper
• Handful of arugula
• 1/2 tablespoon cajun seasoning, divided

Directions:

1. Set a grill pan over medium heat and grill the prosciutto slices for 1 minute; remove to a plate. On the same grill pan, saute the pepper slices for about 30 seconds; remove to a plate.
2. Melt the butter in the grill pan. Place one slice of the bread down on the butter. Top with gouda cheese, prosciutto, and pepper slices, and flip the sandwich. Sprinkle with 1/4 tablespoon cajun seasoning. After a minute, flip the sandwich again and sprinkle the other side with the other 1/4 tablespoon cajun seasoning.
3. Allow the sandwich to grill, using another heavy pan to push down on the sandwich, allowing some of the ingredients (mainly cheese, of course) to ooze out of the sandwich. Using a spatula, break off the melted cheese that has come out of the sandwich and allow to continue to melt on the grill pan as you flip the sandwich onto the melted cheese and place the heavy pan back on top to get really great grill marks on the sandwich.
4. If more cheese comes out repeat the above step. Make sure to make a really crispy grilled cheese sandwich using the steps above.
5. Remove sandwich from grill pan and lift up top bread slice. Place arugula in sandwich, replace top bread slice, and cut diagonally before eating.

Please join me for this #GooeyGoodness Twitter party, okay? I want to chat with all of you about grilled cheeses ^[4]!! And I would love for one of MY readers to win one of the grand prizes. Make sure you follow the hashtag, @ArlaDofino, @FoodieCrush, and @TwoPeasandPod. Now, want to know what’s up for grabs? The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Prize Pack:

• Le Creuset® Sandwich Press
• Le Creuset® serving tray
• Le Creuset® plates (set of 4)
• Crate & Barrel OXO® Fish Spatula
• Anthropologie Apron
• Year’s worth of Arla Dofino cheese ^[4] & Eureka! Organic Bread

Right?! I freaked out too.

Hope to see you on Twitter! If you make this grilled cheese, make sure to tag it with #TheFoodiePatootie!

^[7]