Ham and Brie Melts

[fuzzyred]

From two weeks ago, here is the "recipe" for Ham and Brie Melts from the tasteofhome 2012 Annual Recipes cookbook. Since these are essentially grilled cheese sandwiches, it feels a bit like cheating, but I have definitely not made them before and they *are* in the cookbook, so I'm going to roll with it.


Ingredients
8 slices multigrain bread
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1/2 pound sliced deli ham
1 round (8 ounces) Brie cheese, rind removed, sliced
3 tablespoons butter, softened

Instructions
Spread 4 of the bread slices with half of the apricot preserves. Layer with the deli ham and Brie cheese. Spread the remaining bread slices with the remaining apricot preserves; place on top. Butter the outsides of the sandwiches.
In a large skillet over medium heat, toast sandwiches for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the bread is lightly browned and the cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.


Thoughts and Variations
I couldn't find apricot preserves, so I used apricot jam instead which seemed to work just fine. The Brie was maybe less than 8 ounces, but not by much, and was still enough for 4 sandwiches.

This actually made a really nice sandwich. I didn't measure anything, just spread the jam and the butter as appropriate to cover the bread. The sweetness of the jam was balanced by the ham and the cheese and it all made for a very nice sandwich, and a good change from a regular grilled cheese.

One thing I would change next time would be to test one sandwich and see if I mind leaving the rind on or not. I didn't realize it was edible, so I removed it like suggested, but I absolutely used the wrong knife and it was a gigantic pain in the rear. Being able to skip this step would be great if I don't mind the texture/flavour of the rind. Definitely a recipe to keep in mind next time I want a jazzed up grilled cheese.

Comments

[siberian_skys]

That sounds yummy. I think I would want something besides apricot, but I don't know what. Maybe peach. I do love brie, though. I haven't had it in ages.

[affreca]

I've taken to adding jalapeno raspberry jelly on the inside of my grilled cheese sandwiches, for the bit of tart, spice and sweet. I think it would work well with brie and ham.

[siberian_skys]

I've never heard of the jalapeno raspberry jelly. That sounds so tasty. I need to investigate that. I so want a grilled cheese sandwich. I think it needs tomato. It's so hard to get a decent tomato here.

[affreca]

It's become my go to jelly/jam. I've seen any at a grocery store, but I've found it at various farmers market stands. I'm on my last jar, so maybe I'll try making some if raspberries are on sale this summer.

[siberian_skys]

I wish we had a farmer's market. I've been frustrated the last couple of years. They closed the farmer's market and that was even before COVID. Stupid thing to do. Our grocery isn't all that good at providing a variety of fresh fruit and veg. It's all the same old thing. I shouldn't complain. At least we don't have a food drought. There is fresh food.

[fuzzyred]

I'm sorry you don't have a farmer's market in your area. I haven't actually been to mine, but my mom goes most weeks and she seems to get good stuff. I'm glad you have access to fresh food, although it sucks that you don't have much variety.

Any chance a farmer's market could start up again?

[siberian_skys]

I hope so. I have no idea why it went away to begin with. Seems rather stupid to me. There was a wonderful bread and pastry stand that I really miss. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. There is a lot of stupid around here to be honest.

[fuzzyred]

I hope it comes back too. It sounds like a great way to get local, fresh foods. I can definitely sympathize with having a lot of stupid around. Hopefully the stupid doesn't get worse, at least.

[fuzzyred]

I've never had raspberry jalapeno jelly, but I do have a jar of plain jalapeno jelly. Even the plain has a decent balance of spicy and sweet so trying raspberry jalapeno would be interesting.

[siberian_skys]

I'm fascinated by some of these flavors. I watch a lot of Guy's Grocery Games and there is stuff in that grocery that I've never seen.

[fuzzyred]

Peaches would probably work too. I think anything sweet but also mild would work here. I don't think strawberry or raspberry would work, but peach sounds like a good bet. Maybe plum too?

[siberian_skys]

Plum sounds really good. Now I want plums. :-) I think I'm going to make fruit salad. All I have is peaches, pineapple and blue berries, but that should do.

[fuzzyred]

Fruit salad is yummy! (That was actually my creation this week.)

I hope yours turned out well, and that you were able to acquire plums if you still had a hankering for them.

[siberian_skys]

No plums yet. I prefer to pick out my own and I've been ordering my groceries lately. We're the germ capital of the country at the moment. There is a newish veg and fruit delivery service and apparently other fresh food that I've been thinking about trying.

[fuzzyred]

Ahh, I can understand that. If you do give the new service a try, I hope it turns out well.

[fuzzyred]

Fruit salad is yummy! (That was actually my creation this week.)

I hope yours turned out well and that you were able to acquire plums if you still had a hankering for them.

[siberian_skys]

Mine was fairly plain. I didn't realize how little fruit I had so I only put pineapple and peaches in mine. I would have liked more variety. But, it was still tasty.

[fuzzyred]

I'm glad it was tasty, if less varied than desired.

[arthur_p_dent]

OK. Reading through all these suggestions is seriously leaning on my craving nerve. =]

While I’m not the biggest fan of apricot or raspberry, peach or plum with jalapeño both sound like fantastic combinations with the ham and brie. I’m also tempted to say that strawberry/rhubarb would be a nice pairing too, if you could find it (strawberry is too sweet on its own - I think the bitterness of the rhubarb would balance it well).

Many things to look for at the local fruit stands this weekend - thanks everyone! =D