GRILLED CHEESE WITH BRIE AND PASSION FRUIT JAM

I made these for my cousin Danielle’s bachelorette party and they were a hit. I got two marriage proposals that night because of them. And people were still talking about them for a week after.

When entertaining, taking something simple and making it special really goes along way. As I was planning the menu for the party, I thought about some of my fondest food memories with Danielle. When we were travelling in Brazil, we went to a restaurant that served brie and passion fruit jam for their cheese course. My cousin loved it, and I could see why. The two really went well together. It was the perfect balance of sweet and creaminess. So I thought that tasty bite could definitely be translated into a grilled cheese sandwich. I felt it did need a savoury element and the thyme was perfect for that.

GRILLED CHEESE WITH BRIE AND PASSION FRUIT JAM

Course: Main Course

Materials

bread This sandwich is really nice with a rye or sour dough. Even a multi-grain works. It makes it special and a little fancy. You can of course use plain white, but I prefer the breads with grains and seeds.
brie In my grocery store, they only sell the wheels of Brie, but at Costco I found a brick of Brie which is perfect for sandwich. Cut the Brie into 1/2 cm. slices (a little less that 1/4 inch)
passion fruit jam This is a little difficult to find. My grocery store had a peach, apricot, passion fruit jam, so I got that and it was really good. If you can’t find a passion fruit jam, a peach or apricot jam will work just as well.
thyme Fresh, not dried. Take leaves off the stems.
butter Have it at room temperature

Instructions

I’m giving you the ingredients but the amounts depends on how many you want to make.
Butter one side of the bread. Flip over, spread jam on the other side and sprinkle thyme leaves. Place 2 slices of Brie on top and cover with the other slice of bread. Butter the top.
In a frying pan on medium heat, place sandwich in the pan. Cook until golden on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes.
Flip and cook until the other side is golden and the cheese melts, 3 to 5 more minutes.
Serve immediately.