Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom: Tavern Grilled Cheese

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Tavern Grilled Cheese

When I had Asiago (my former cafe) open, we used to make this sandwich. We probably made it as a special about every two weeks or so. Every single time we made it we sold out. Scouts honor. The thing I want to point out to you is, this is a fantastic use for your leftover pot roast! That's actually how the recipe came about in the first place. My family ALWAYS has leftovers when I make a big roast. I bet yours does, too. We love the leftovers, but one day I was looking for something different to do with them.

This could not be easier. I mean seriously, it's kicked up grilled cheese with shredded pot roast! Some sliced tomatoes, a salad, some salty fries or something acidic on the side go well with it since it's pretty rich. But this is definitely a hearty, filling sandwich!

#foodhack #leftovers #sandwich #familyfriendly

#quick #easy #comfortfood #lunch

Ingredients:

Cooked pot roast with gravy
Havarti cheese
or another smooth melting creamy cheese
Thick sliced white bread
Butter for bread

Step-by-Step:

The first thing you need to do is to get your leftover pot roast and pull it apart. I just use a couple of forks for this. Oh, and you can save yourself some time by doing this ahead of time. In case you are wondering, for a whole chuck roast (about 5 pounds or so), I could get about 14 - 16 sandwiches. But of course that won't be the case with leftovers. It will just depend on how much you have left.

If you are going to divide the cooked roast ahead of time, you can put the measured meat into small baggies or reusable containers of about 1/4 cup each.

When ready to prepare sandwiches, butter the bread. (Oddly enough, mayo works well for this job, too. It creates a beautiful brown crust.) There are only a few recipes that I use white bread for. Grilled cheese is one of them.

Layer your bread with slices of creamy Havarti and a 1/4 cup scoop of warmed pot roast. I like to warm it first to begin the process. Cold meat does not lend itself well to good sandwich making when you are trying to melt cheese.

With buttered sides out, obviously, make your grilled cheese until GDB - golden brown and delicious! - and melty! It's best if you don't have your pan or griddle up too high for this. A panini press will work great, too.

Let's also talk about that gravy that came with the roast. Dip some of that out of the pot or tupperware or whatever you had it in. Warm some up and serve some on the side for dipping. Yes I did say that! Not au jus. This is full on GRAVY! Yummm. Everything about gravy says "comfort."
As a matter of fact, this whole lot does - toasted bread, roast, melty cheese, gravy... I bet you can just taste it now!

To have a look at the MenuMusings cookbook...
What a great gift for your senior about to graduate, those "moms" in your life for mother's day, your friends who just moved into their own apartment or house. Each recipe with step-by-step photos and links back to the blog!