Hello, friends! Welcome to the first edition of TEM Throwback Thursdays. See this grilled cheese and apple sandwich that's all ooey-gooey über delicious? This was tucked way back in the February 2012 recipe archives from when I first started this blog, and the pictures that accompanied it were terrible, to say the least.
It's a little embarrassing, actually. You'll have to scroll down so you can have a laugh with (at) me at first attempts at photography. What is that missing part that looks like a mouse nibbled on the sandwich before I shot the photos? And why does it look like the cheese melted and then hardened into an unappetizing clump. Really, what was I thinking?!
I've been going through all my posts with my new Grammarly App (affiliate link) in the hopes of finding and removing some of the terrible spelling/grammar/typo mistakes that plague this blog. I cringe every time I see one, and I know you guys do, too. It's a long and tedious process, but I think you guys are worth it. There are oodles of recipes on TEM, and many of the early ones I'd love to share with you. But honestly, they're in desperate need of a photo makeover.
I thought I'd start by sharing this grilled cheese and apple sandwich, because who in their right mind doesn't love grilled cheese sandwiches? I added some new photos, but the text below I kept the same. The original photos are at the bottom. I hope they make you chuckle as much as I have been!
❤️#tbt
I live in a part of the city called Gastown; named after Captain John ‘Gassy Jack' Deighton who, in 1867, became the area's first settler and notorious saloon owner. By the 1930's there were more than 300 licensed drinking establishments (and, I would think, an uncountable number of men stumbling home with whiskey on their breath) in the 12 blocks that make up Gastown. While we certainly can't compete with the area's heyday in terms of numbers, we are still known as the number one spot in the city to quench your thirst.
You're probably thinking: what does any of this have to do with a grilled cheese sandwich?
The answer: not much. Except that I was sipping on a cocktail at The Diamond (one of my fav bars in the area) when I ate this sandwich.
Gooey melted cheese, sweet and crunchy apple and spicy sriracha butter = damn close to perfection. Have I mentioned that it is also fast and easy to make?
- 1 teaspoon softened butter, plus more for the bread
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- Optional: ½ - 1 teaspoon of chili flakes
- 4 slices of bread
- Cheese (I like cheddar and parmesan but think brie would be delicious as well)*
- ½ an apple, cored and sliced
- Mix the butter with the sriracha in a small bowl.
- Butter one slice of bread with plain butter then turn the bread over and butter the other side with the Sriracha butter. Add the cheese, apple slices, and more cheese. Top with the other piece of bread then butter the top.
- Heat a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the sandwich and cover the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until the cheese has melted, and the bread is brown and crispy.
- Enjoy!
The original Grilled Cheese and Apple Sandwich with Sriracha Butter photos. Please don't judge!
Are you're thinking, ‘Hey, those new photos look WAY better than the old photos?” Ya, me too. If you'd like to learn a few of the tricks I used to improve my food photography, check out the post: 10 Photography Tips for New Food Bloggers.
Want some more delicious sandwich recipes? Check out the complete Six Part Sandwich Series:
1. Bacon, Caramelized Onion, and Chipotle Aioli Sandwich
2. Roast Beef Sandwich with Radishes and Spicy Wasabi
3. Chipotle and Orange Pulled Chicken with a Southwest Slaw
4. Prosciutto, Blue Cheese, and Candied Pecan Panini
5. Oyster Po'boy with Sweet Onion Relish, Chipotle Aioli and a Side of Sesame Slaw
Kristen Stevens
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Hi, I’m Kristen! 
Damn girl you is a pimp. I just….mmm! I was totally doing the damn drops damn damn damn when I ate this. So on fleek.
Ha ha omg you just totally made me laugh! Love it!!
Oh, this looks amazing! I’ve had quesadillas with apples/cheddar in them, which I LOVED, but I’ve never tried a grilled cheese with apples, I don’t think. This sounds wonderful – great combo of flavors + textures!
Apple cheddar quesadillas sound amazing! I’m so trying that. 🙂
OOOOOO I am such a grilled cheese fan. This looks amazing!
Bec
http://www.dancingthroughsunday.com.au
Thanks, Bec!
Haha, if these are your worst photos you have nothing on me! Lol. Mine are so much worse! It is fun to look back and see the improvements. The cheese, the apple, the spice — this sounds incredible!
Oh, these aren’t the worst! I’ve got a couple of recipes that I want to re-do and re-share and some of the pictures are absolutely mortifying!!
These are beautiful!! Apple and Sriracha sounds so fun. So yum and flavorful! 🙂
Thank you so much, Anu!!
Daaaang, girl! Can I even describe how badly I want to just dive into this awesome grilled cheese?? Totally flipping out over all those awesome flavors you jammed inside it!
Ha ha I love it!! 🙂
Hi Kristen,
How lucky you are to live in Gastown! One of my very favourite places go in Vancouver.
I, too, have been re-doing photos and I’m absolutely horrified at the stuff I posted 2 years ago, lol. I think your pic is good actually and the sandwich looks delicious.! Of course, the latest pics are fabulous and I think you should be entering some grilled cheese contests with this recipe.
I heard it has cooled down out there but it’s blazing hot here this weekend. Time to get back into the pool!
Such a pleasure visiting your blog 🙂 Have a great weekend!
I just went back to your blog and saw that you spent a lot of time living on Vancouver Island. I always love meeting another west coaster!
It’s funny looking back at the photos, isn’t it? I sure hope I don’t feel the same way 2 years from now when I look back lol. Hope you have a great weekend too!!
You can’t go wrong with grilled cheese and this version looks delicious. Great new photos with it.
Thanks, Troy!!
I love siracha, but what is siracha butter? Where do you buy/how do you make it?
Hi Christi,
I made it by mixing together sriracha and butter. You can see the recipe here: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/spicy-sriracha-butter/
(You’ll notice in the pictures though that I used a chunky version of sriracha. The smooth stuff in the bottle with the green squeeze top works even better 🙂 )
had some havarti cheese and wonderful french county bread leftover from the weekend & just couldn’t face another oatmeal breakfast-so whipped up this sandwich using tangy organic granny smith apples. it was great-my new fav!!
will make it this summer at the beach for everyone!
thanks.
So great to hear this is your new fav. I love this sandwich too!!
One of our most popular sandwiches is a pear and bleu cheese grilled cheese. We serve it on cranberry sourdough from a local bakery and blend the bleu cheese with cream cheese in our Robot Coup to get it nice and smooth. Half of a thinly sliced pear (we use Anjou) and grill it up. Awesome. For meat eaters we recommend adding our thick-sliced peppered bacon.
Thank you so much for the siracha butter idea. Getting that condiment on the outside of the sandwich delivers the flavor without making the inside too soupy. I was going to use an A’njou pear that I had on hand in place of the apple but found that it wasn’t yet ripe. I substituted a smear of Dalmatia fig spread and it’s heaven! LOVE so many things you’re doing on this blog and I adore your idea for a supper club.
Thank you so much, Patrick!!
Tried this with Dubliner cheese we found at Trader Joe’s along with a pink lady apple. Oh, my God. This stuff is dangerous, it’s so good!
What a great idea to add apple!!
Quick question – looking at this picture (and the previous post on how you made the sriracha butter) it looks as though there are bits of crushed chilli? The sriracha sauce we get here is a homogeneous red paste in a squeezy bottle. Are you using sambal oelek?
That’s a good question! The label on the bottle I have says sriracha, but I have also bought sambal oelek in the past and it has looked exactly the same. I always figured they must be the same thing, but maybe the bottles I buy are just labeled wrong.
I think it would be delicious made with any kind of hot spicy sauce so I’d go ahead and use whatever you have on hand 🙂
Lovely sandwich! What got me was the sriracha butter… Sriracha is one of my favorite condiments. Great idea!
Hi Tessa,
I love sriracha too! The more places I can use it the better 🙂 Hope you enjoy eating the sandwich as much as I did!!
I want to jump inside this sandwich and get reeeaaalll cozy. Is that weird?
You really did make me laugh out loud. It would be awfully hot and spicy in there but if you’re like me and love the heat, I say go for it, jump inside! 😉
Delicious flavours! This looks incredible!
Thanks, Jennifer!!