Toasted Gruyere Sandwiches

Most of the time when I pick out my groceries, I have a vague idea of what I’m going to do with them. And then by the time Thursday rolls around, I’ve forgotten what those ideas were and I have a handful of things that are about to go bad if I don’t think of something to use them for. That’s how recipes like this happen.

But as long as you buy lots of delicious ingredients, you can’t really go wrong. I think.

I had a loaf of french bread, a handful of roma tomatoes, and a variety of cheeses and vegetables on hand. Hm. I decided to do simple, toasted sandwiches and they came out quite well. Plus, they’re easy. It was also my first time making a balsamic reduction. Delicious.

Print Toasted Gruyere Sandwiches
Author: Liz Recipe type: Dinner Cuisine: Vegetarian
Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients

• 1 loaf of french bread
• 4 oz Gruyere
• 4 Roma tomatoes
• ½ cup Balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of dried basil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Slice the loaf length wise and then into small sandwich-sized pieces. Honestly, you can kind of make them as big or as small as you like.
3. Slice the cheese thinly, and place over the bread, covering the bottom slice complete.
4. Thinly slice the tomatoes and place on top of the cheese.
5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
6. While that’s baking, place the balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan on the stove.
7. Bring the vinegar to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer.
8. Stir occasionally and simmer until it becomes a little thicker. It takes about 10 minutes. Then let it sit for another 5 minutes and it’ll continue to thicken into a syrup.
9. (That, my friends, is a balsamic reduction. It’s delicious.)
10. Take the sandwich out of the oven and then drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Sprinkle with basil and serve!

3.2.1275

It wasn’t fancy (although just saying “balsamic reduction” made me sound pretty fancy) but it hit the spot. My plan was to make a salad to go with this, but until Alex and I get married, we will continue to live in a state of divided groceries and missing ingredients. I can’t wait until we live under the same roof.

P.S. If you missed Wednesday’s post, head on over and enter to win a food processor!

Do you plan your meals at the grocery store?

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