Wow. I really don’t have many words to say about this grilled cheese sandwich. It was honestly SO good. I made five of them and they were gone so fast. As per usual, Grilled Cheese Social did not disappoint with this guy, The Bee Sting (remix) mozzarella grilled cheese with hot sopressata and basil infused honey.

I’m just going to cut to the chase and give you the play by play so you can go to the store (honestly, go ASAP) to get everything you need for this delicious creation.

Basil Infused Honey
First off, thankfully I realized at 12:00 PM the day I was going to make this that I needed to somehow make basil infused honey. Good job, me. I read that for this sandwich, it is good to do it overnight, but I figured 5-5.5 hours would be sufficient. And it was! I opened the lid of the container I had put it in and was overcome by the most amazing aroma. I should mention I don’t even really like honey. But now I like it infused with basil.

The directions say to use fresh basil but I used something else.. My uncle recently picked up “Lightly Dried Basil” from Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices from a local grocery store. Let me tell you, this is a game changer. It’s a small container with lightly dried herbs (in this case, basil) that you can refrigerate for up to four weeks after refrigerating. You open it and it smells so fresh! Total delight to the senses if you ask me. Because I was making five sandwiches, I used 1/2 cup of liquid honey and 1 tablespoon of these lightly dried basil guys and mmmm I felt like I had invented this myself (unfortunately, I didn’t).

The Cheese
Again, because I was making five sandwiches, I used almost 1 and half balls of fresh mozzarella. I used TreStelle because I am familiar with it and it is reasonably priced. As mentioned in the post (and as my husband reminded me when I said “The cheese isn’t super melty”), mozzarella doesn’t get super melty. So don’t stress about that. As long as it’s nice and warm, you’re good to go. I did find that as I let the sandwiches rest, the cheese continued to soften.

The Butter
Red. Pepper. Flaked. Butter. WOW. This made the sandwich a little extra spicy but the mozza and the honey help to tone it down. (When I say a little extra spicy, I mean that I had some bread with it and my mouth was very tingly… almost on fire). If you aren’t one for spice, it’s an easy solution – just use plain butter… and maybe a little bit less sopressata because it’s a bit spicy. Again, because I was doing five sandwiches, I used 1/4 cup of butter (softened in the microwave) with 1 tsp of pepper flakes. Done and done.

The Bread
Well, directions say to use a Batard. Even after Googling it, I’m not sure I understand what kind of bread this is. Anyway, I went to the store, looking for a big loaf with score marks in it and had holes in it. The first I found was French bread, and I know that isn’t a holey bread.. so the next choice was an Artisan Belgian Bread. When I cut it open I was disappointed that it was dense like normal bread, but it was really tasty so I highly recommend it if you come across it in your grocery store. Anyone know which direction to point me for a Batard in the future?

The Meat
Last part of the equation: the sopressata. If you are unfamiliar with this underrated Italian meat, you will be pleasantly surprised. It’s pretty spicy, but as I mentioned, the honey and the mozza will tone it down. I went to a proper butcher’s deli for this instead of getting it from the grocery store (because my grocery store, as I’m sure you guessed.. didn’t have any). This is a really reasonably priced meat, just so you know.. so buy lots!

Assembly
Finally, we have reached assembly. Honestly, once you’ve cut the bread, sliced the cheese and mixed the pepper butter, you’re good to go and assemble. Super simple and the sopressata and mozzarella are easy to lay flat, so your sandwich will not topple over, which is excellent news. The directions mention to cook it over lower heat so you don’t burn the chilli flakes – obviously I read that after I put them on but luckily it was already on low heat.

So, folks. If there is ever a day that you actually take my advice, let it be today. You’ve really got to make this sandwich. It is sweet and salty and spicy and the opposite of spicy all in a really yummy loaf of bread. Bon appetit!

No More Turkey!

How is everyone’s week going? I hope you’ve all come down from the turkey high that follows a holiday like Thanksgiving. I’m sure now that leftovers are dwindling, you’re looking for something to bring you into the weekend, don’t worry – I’ve got you covered with this White Bean and Kale Soup from Canadian Living! (Of course, you should make my Skillet Sausage and Peppers from last week if you haven’t already)

New Recipe Go To

I have recently realized the recipe goldmine that is the Canadian Living website. From what I can see, you can read every recipe that is printed in their magazine, online. This is awesome if you are trying to kick a magazine addiction like I am. (It all started when I was a youngster reading Tiger Beat) Not only that, it’s great because you don’t have to go on Pinterest and browse aimlessly for hours at clothing, vacations and puppies only to realize you meant to find something to cook for dinner.

Shall I get started on this soup then? Most importantly, here is the link to White Bean and Kale Soup from Canadian Living.

The Verdict

First of all, I knew this was what I was going to review this week because 1) I was in the mood for soup and 2) I mentioned the name of it out loud and my aunt said “Mmm”. Sold!

One of the things I noticed upon first glance, was that this soup will be on the table in 30 minutes. I thought, “30 minutes for soup? Tell me more!” so I continued to read, and it definitely struck me as something easy for me to whip up and something I think most people would feel comfortable making – definitely a recipe worth reviewing.

The Process

It was easy enough to chop the salami and add it to the pot, stir occasionally and meanwhile chop the leeks and carrots. While I was cooking the salami, however, it didn’t really leave much grease for the veggies, so I took it upon myself to add a little bit of oil to the pot. Would I have used more than 3 cloves of garlic for this recipe? Yes, probably. Would I have seasoned the veggies with salt and pepper in addition to the garlic as they cooked? Yes, definitely. Confession: I didn’t use any sage. So keep that in mind when further on, I mention that it needed a little more je ne sais quoi.

After adding the chicken broth and water, and bringing the mixture to a boil, I added more water because it really seemed like liquid was lacking. I really only used 900 mL of broth, which isn’t quite 4 cups.

Is Kale Still a Superfood?

I chopped the kale so there weren’t really many big pieces, but I still feel like maybe 6 cups was a bit much. Maybe it felt like that because it wasn’t really seasoned. Regardless, next time I make this soup (there will be a next time), I will use a little less kale and I won’t use sodium reduced chicken broth because I had to add more to the soup anyways. I’ll also be completely honest, the taste of the salami reminded me of hot dogs.. but in the same breath, I wish there was more salami in this soup. Weird, I know. So if you weren’t really sold on the salami.. I still say you should give it a shot!

I don’t recommend adding the lemon juice. For me, it just kind of tasted like .. I don’t even know how to describe it. It just wasn’t pleasant. But I highly recommend adding Parmesan cheese to each serving.

Ready in 30 minutes?

Even though I was able to chop and stir and prep all the while the soup was cooking (there really isn’t any extra prep), this soup took me longer than 30 minutes and I think it should have simmered longer.

This soup works in a pinch and really is full of different flavours and healthful ingredients. Unfortunately, I couldn’t rely on the directions to get a lot of this flavour (lacking in salt) but I definitely recommend trying it out and adjusting tastes to your liking – for example, maybe some cayenne powder or Sriracha would add some nice heat to it. Or let’s face it, the spice that works in everything: parsley.

Please excuse my lack of creativity in the styling department. I just noticed that I used baguette for this soup just like Canadian Living did. That being said, I do recommend eating this soup with a nice fresh baguette!

If you try it out, I would love to know what you thought of it! If you doctored it a little, let me know what you did – I would love to try your way my next time around.

Happy cooking!