The Red Table + {Strawberry Pesto Grilled Cheese}
My friend Gina has a blog called Running to the Kichen, and I am always jealous of a) her photography, b) her meals, c) her extreme creativity, and d) her really cool backgrounds. I had the privilege of meeting her at Blend, and love her to death! She recently wrote a post about her special "photoboard" with instructions on how to create your own. I was so excited to try to make one of my own someday (in all my spare time, ha!!). But then I remembered, DUH, I have this really cool red table in my entryway that is being waaaay underutilized and would probably make similarly beautiful photos. This table screams "Pottery Barn" with its bold red color and underlying hues of antique gold and brown.
But the truth of the matter is:
I got it at a flea market... for $25.
I've only been to a flea market once in my entire life (4 years ago), but on that special day, I scored this beautiful red table. I also got a cool metal wall plaque for my stairway and a giant (and I mean GIANT) aloe plant. For how successful I was, I'm not sure why I haven't been back.
I already made the Blackberry & Basil Grilled cheese last week, but had ghettofied it fairly significantly. So I wanted to attempt a second berry cheese combo, but a bit more sophisticated. Aren't those strawberries lovely on the red table?!
With pesto for added protein and flavor, pumpkin seeds for a slight crunch, and balsamic strawberries for a hint of sweetness, this grilled cheese was a winner all around.
These finished up just when Dear Hubby walked in the door from work. And I must confess, I got "the look." You might have a similar spousal look of disapproval in your house, but mine had a bit of a sigh associated with it as well... like, "seriously, you made me something weird to eat AGAIN?!" Remember, he likes his food simple and traditional. This was fairly simple, but definitely not traditional! And there was no meat involved... at dinner. Completely sacrilegious in our house!
But to my surprise, he actually uttered that he liked it, that the flavors complemented each other well, and that it was good... really good. What was that honey? I couldn't hear you. :)
I loved this meal, and I loved the photos and how well the red table showed it off! One more look:
Questions:
- Do you ever get the spousal "look"?
- Do you ever serve meatless dinners?
Strawberry Pesto Grilled Cheese
Description
Grilled Cheese made with pesto and strawberries.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Slice Ciabatta rolls in half.
- Spread 1 Tbsp pesto on one side of each sandwich.
- Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of the pesto.
- Slice fontina cheese & lay on the other side of each sandwich in a single layer.
- Slice strawberries, then soak with the balsamic vinegar. Stir so that each slice is amptly covered.
- Layer marinated strawberries on top of the fontina cheese.
- Carefully put back together.
- Use butter or non-stick spray to coat pan. Then, cook over LOW heat for 12 - 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Make sure cheese is melted and strawberries are heated through.
- Let cool for a couple minutes so you don't burn your fingers bringing the deliciousness to your mouth!
Yields 4 Sandwiches
Comments
I would never have thought of
I would never have thought of combining these flavors, but it looks delicious! Love the red table. :)
I tried to post a comment to
I tried to post a comment to the actual blog but am posting it to Kim instead.
Anyway to answer your questions Kelly,
1. My husband and I are pseduo-vegetarian. Mostly lavo-octo. But we eat cooked fish, seafood and sushi from time to time, me more so. My husband loves cooking Indian and I make a great tuna salad with hummus and spicy mustard.
2. Nope, we don't give each other "the look" when it comes to food unless I buy something pre-packaged such as a crab or seafood dip that he knows I can make myself but sometimes am too lazy....
Before making those
Before making those photoboards I had been on the look out for cheap flea market finds instead forever. You definitely lucked out with that table! If I had found something like that I definitely would've went the easy way out and bought it too! This grilled cheese looks awesome and I just happened to get another big quart of strawberries from the CSA yesterday. I'll definitely get the "look" from my husband too if I put this on the dinner table but I've just learned to ignore it now ;)
Thanks for the shout out :)
Ignoring "the look"
Duly noted. :)
HAHAHA
Thats funny, what was that honey! ahaha. My fiance usually has faith in what I make because I usually have a recipe that I can base it off of and then give it my own twist. I worry about him, he will just get out like a bajillion different things and be like I'm going to make something, whatcha making, I don't know. And then he gets the look while I am forced from the kitchen to let him work "his magic". It usually turns out pretty amazing though.
Your fantastic photo makes me
Your fantastic photo makes me so want to try this sandwich! ! Do you think the sandwich could be broiled instead of cooked on the stovetop?
yes!
Yes, I think broiling open faced would work great...maybe even BETTER than the stove top method! It took forever for the thick fontina to melt.
I could couldn't believe it
I could couldn't believe it when I saw your pic on Facebook - I saw a similar recipe on the kitchn and I'm probably going to make it today. :) It's apparently the summer thing to do!! I showed Kevin and he thought it was broccoli on there. He cheered up when he realized it was pesto!! Lol.
Broccoli & Strawberries???
Yeah, that combo definitely doesn't sound as appetizing!! Did you make a version of this? What'd you think? I need more strawberries!!!
Looks delish...as per usual
Looks yummy, we are sort of burnt out on strawberries right now, but I had an epiphany this morning, it never fails when in the mood for salsa no cilantro, I decided to make Cilantro pesto, cilantro garlic and olive oil, keeping it in the freezer now I will be ready, also thinking a tomato, cilantro pesto, fresh mozzarella grilled cheese, thanks for keeping me inspired!
Sounds yummy!
I need to get better with making ahead and freezing for later. Any good tips you have for stuff that stores well, let me know :)
Suggestion for balsamic vinegar leftovers
Hi Kelly:
For lunch today, I made your delish strawberry pesto grilled cheese sandwich for one today (to try out before serving to my husband). Here is a suggestion for the leftover balsamic vinaigrette. I did marinate the strawberries in the vinegar but then I reserved the extra vinegar which had also combined with the strawberry juices. I used this as a dressing (minus the oil) for a baby spinach, strawberry and blueberry salad. Further, instead of fontina cheese (which was very expensive), I used my leftover Jarlsberg and sliced it really thin and enjoyed the sandwich fillings on a multi-grain roll rather than Ciabatta roll too. I know my husband will love it! Thank you.
great ideas!
Great idea for the "Dressing"... and your salad sounds yummy! I got the Fontina on sale - it was a little less than $4 for a big chunk. My dad made his version of this a few days ago with White Cheddar and said it was fabulous too! Yay for fancy Grilled Cheese :)
Putting this on the grocery
Putting this on the grocery list for next week!
Woot woot!!
Let me know what you think :)
nutrition
what are the nutrition facts for one serving of this, it looks amazing !!
Don't count
I am not in the habit of counting calories... or fat... or anything at all really (as you can read about in my About the Blogger section under my picture on the top right). So I can't really say what the nutrition facts are. All of these ingredients are fresh / homemade, so none contain nutrition labels from a store. Sorry that's probably not what you were looking for! If you were watching calories, you could try subbing a lowfat cheese like reduced fat mozzarella or an italian blend. And you could use basil leaves instead of pesto, which is generally higher in fat b/c of the pine nuts.
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