A “Whale” of a Grilled Cheese, with Roasted Broccoli, Garlic and Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

Extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into slices

Monterey Jack cheese, cut into slices

Grated Parmesan cheese

Sourdough bread slices

Whale-shaped cookie cutter

Roasted Broccoli:

1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets

olive oil, for drizzling

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 lemon wedge

balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

Roasted Garlic:

1 garlic bulb

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt

Caramelized Onions:

2 onions, peeled, halved, then sliced

Preparation

To roast the broccoli: Heat oven to 425.

Place florets on baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Sprinkle red pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground black pepper over pieces.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over pieces.

Roast for about 25 minutes, until pieces are soft and have that delicious browning on them.

Remove from oven and drizzle fresh lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.

Set aside.

To roast the garlic: Heat oven to 400.

Take off the papery outer skin of the garlic bulb.

Don’t remove all the skin, just the stuff that comes off easily. The head of garlic should still remain intact.

Slice off the pointy end of the bulb to expose all the cloves.

Place in a small greased ramekin and cover with the olive oil.

Sprinkle just a pinch of salt and cover with aluminum foil.

Place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes.

The cloves of garlic will be all nice and soft.

To caramelize the onions: Place a tablespoon of olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add the onion slices.

Don’t stir too often yet.

Let the pieces brown, without getting burnt.

After about 15 minutes or so, once slices have mostly browned, I like to turn the heat down to low or medium low.

Stir frequently.

I like adding a bit of water or oil every so often to keep the pieces from burning or sticking too much.

After about 40 minutes or so, the onions should have a dark brown, jam-like quality.

To assemble the sandwiches: Place slices of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses on slice of bread.

Place pieces of roasted broccoli on top, followed by some caramelized onions.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Spread clove or two of roasted garlic on the top piece of bread.

Butter both sides of the sandwich and place on greased griddle.

Once one side has turned golden brown, flip and let the other side develop a golden brown color.

Once the sandwich has cooled a bit, use the cookie cutter to cut out the whale-shape.

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About

This weekend, our town, Dana Point, is hosting its annual Festival of Whales! We celebrate with cheesy things like a town parade featuring a giant whale balloon, a sprawling block party, and all kinds of whale and marine themed activities in the harbor. It’s actually a lot of fun, and one of the reasons we really dig living in Dana Point. So we figured we’d run with the whole cheesiness theme, and whale theme, by making whale-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches! Or, to be more accurate, vaguely-whale shaped grilled cheese sandwiches (That little broccoli floret is supposed to be an eye)…Of course, since we like to experiment when we cook, we added things like roasted broccoli and garlic as well as caramelized onions. We also like to get both nice creamy cheeses like Jack in there along with sharp cheeses like extra-sharp cheddar and parmesan. I have to say, it’s one of the best grilled cheeses I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot…