Jen Hatmaker’s Loaded Grilled Cheese Is a Crowd-Pleaser for the Whole Family

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YIELDS: 1 – 4 serving(s)

TOTAL TIME: 7 mins

For example, a simple grilled cheese in Jen Hatmaker’s hands transforms into an explosion of flavors with layers of fries, bacon, raspberry jam and Gruyere cheese. “I can only assume this recipe came out of a daydream,” Jen jokes, “I mean, what kind of sociopath would put this in a cookbook? The recipe is in a section called ‘Food for Your Fussy Spouse or Offspring’ (we’re not kidding!) and it’s all about combining crunchy, gooey, buttery and crunchy.

Ingredients

FOR SLATHERING:

  • 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 c. mayonnaise

FOR THE SANDWICH:

  • 2 slices sourdough bread
  • 1 tbsp. raspberry jam (if your peeps are weird about seeds, use strawberry jam)
  • One layer of thick potato chips (like kettle chips)
  • 2 bacon slices, cooked until crisp
  • 1/3 c. shredded gruyère cheese (1.5 ounces)

Directions

  1. Mix together your butter and mayo in a small bowl. You’ll have about a cup, which is enough for slathering about 4 sandwiches. If you don’t use it all, cover it and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days to use for another batch later.
  2. In between your slices of sourdough, get generous with a base layer of raspberry jam, then a layer of chips, then the bacon, and finally the shredded Gruyère on top. If you like to live right on the edge, finish with another layer of jam. Before you butter-mayo the outsides, give this a little press to crunch those chips down and keep your sandwich together.
  3. Slather one side with the butter-mayo and put it facedown in a skillet or on a griddle over medium heat. Slather the top with the butter-mayo while it grills. Flip it when the first side is brown and toasty, after 3 minutes or so. When it is a crunchy miracle on both sides and the cheese is oozing, it’s time to party.