Avocado and Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I thought I heard someone singing  just outside my back door while I was making these sandwiches for lunch.

She wasn’t the best singer in the world, but ya got to hand it to her, she was brave.  I’m sure if I had the nerve to sing outside in public, I’d be less than average, too.  But a lot of times it’s more about guts than anything else when it comes to singing.  You just have to step out there and mean it.  That’s what it takes. ( Not that I would really know, but that’s what I’ve heard, anyway.)

I felt that way when I stepped into the kitchen around noon on a Saturday, and started pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator for lunch.  It takes guts to make something you’ve never made before, but I’ve had every intention of making these sandwiches for a long time now.  I think that’s called procrastination, or making excuses like I’m missing one of the necessary ingredients.   Sometimes the best plans take time to activate.  Yep, that’s what it takes;  intention, plans, and guts.  I’m telling you, it’s real.

The idea that was floating around in my head was to put avocado into a grilled cheese sandwich.  I was imagining an irresistible gooeyness, but realized that it needed something else to contrast with all that richness, so I included firm, ripe tomato slices.  Tomatoes that are not overly ripe work best, so they don’t give off too much juice as they grill.  A leap of faith is what it was,  but one that turned out to be right on the money.    Whoo-Hoo!

This is a sandwich to make when you want to impress someone with your culinary skills!

AVOCADO AND TOMATO GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES

Yield:  Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded (about 3/4 cup) or any other cheese of choice
• 8 slices seedless rye bread
• 8 tomato slices
• 1 ripe peeled avocado, cut into thin slices
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp, black pepper
• cooking spray

Directions:

1.  Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cheese over each of 4 bread slices.  If using sliced cheese, use 2 slices.  Top each with 2 tomato slices.  Arrange avocado slices evenly over tomato slices.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.   (In place of salt and pepper, I often use Penzey’s Sandwich Sprinkle for an added flavor boost.)

2.  Top with remaining 4 bread slices.  Lightly coat outsides of sandwiches with cooking spray.

3.  Heat a grill pan (or panini pan) over medium heat.  Place sandwiches in pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until bread is toasted and well marked and cheese melts.  Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately.

SOURCE:    A Carolyn Original