Have you ever tried to recreate a meal that you enjoyed at a restaurant? That’s what I did today. Except in this case it was a meal my husband loved.
Let me set the scene. Montreal, Canada in 2011. My husband and I were starving and choosing a place for lunch felt like an impossible mission. We were on a street with literally a dozen places to eat and we found ourselves utterly unable to decide. We finally chose this little cafe (in the photo below). My husband thought he was ordering an ordinary ham and cheese sandwich, but it turned out to be the most scrumptious ham and cheese sandwich ever (and quite possibly the best eats on that whole vacation). He still mentions it from time to time.
I finally made a copy cat of that infamous Canadian sandwich so that we could enjoy it over and over again at home. Yes, I know it’s three years later, but better late than never. My husband says that this is pretty close to the real deal. I think it’s almost impossible to recreate a restaurant recipe 100% so I’ll take it!
I almost feel funny calling this a recipe because it’s really like a fancy grilled cheese sandwich and who needs a recipe for grilled cheese? But this one has meat in it and the cheese is Brie. Seriously, anything with Brie is amazing but add the salty awesomeness of ham and I think you’ve really got something. I’m not a fan of mayonnaise but I have to admit that it is essential to recreating that sandwich. I just put a little less on my portion. 😉
Like most simple recipes that contain few ingredients, the key to this awesome sandwich is using great quality ingredients. Buy good ham. Buy good Brie. Buy good bread. (You see where I’m going with this?) Heck, get ham steaks instead of cold cuts if you want. It’ll be worth it.
If you’re looking for a last minute appetizer idea, these sandwiches can easily be converted into mini sandwiches. We carved them up and served them small-style at one of our holiday dinners and it was a hit! Mmm, I love all that ooey gooey Brie cheese.
We had fun reminiscing about our Canadian vacation while we grilled up these bad boys. Over 13 days, we visited Quebec City, Mount Tremblant, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. Now that’s a road trip! We had a wonderful time and I’m not going to lie, I was ready to not be in the car anymore for a while when we got back.
In fact, last year we returned to Quebec City for a longer visit because we enjoyed it so much. Do you remember my Roasted Pepper Soup? That was inspired from our travels to Quebec City. Yowzer, it just hit me! That soup would be an awesome companion with this sandwich! Gotta remember that next time I make either one. 🙂
Grilled Ham And Brie Recipe
(Makes 7 sandwiches or about 28 mini sandwiches)
Ingredients:
- a few tablespoons of butter (See note below*)
- 14 slices of bread (I used ciabatta bread)
- 7 slices of ham (or less if you go with ham steaks)
- about 5 to 7 ounces of Brie cheese
- a few tablespoons of mayonnaise (See note below*)
* Note, the butter and mayonnaise ingredients are vague measurements because you can really use as little or as much as you like.
Directions:
- Heat a skillet over Medium heat.
- For each sandwich, prepare as follows:
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of butter onto a slice of bread.
- Lay the slice of bread into the hot skillet, butter side down.
- Lay 1 piece of ham on top of the slice of bread that’s in the skillet.
- Lay about 1 ounce of Brie on top of the ham.
- On another slice of bread, spread about 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on one side and 1 teaspoon of butter on the other side. Lay the slice of bread on top of the sandwich, mayonnaise side down on top of the Brie.
- Cook until the bread is lightly browned then flip the sandwich and cook the other side too. Pretend that you are making a grilled cheese sandwich because that’s essentially what you are doing. So cook it as light or as crispy as you like.
- (Optional) If you want to turn the sandwiches into mini sandwich appetizers then cut the sandwiches into small bite size pieces. I used a toothpick for easy grabbing and to hold them together a little while they cooled, but that’s not required.
Source: Tina’s Chic Corner
Here are some other smackin’ sandwiches.
Tomato and Herbed Goat Cheese Sandwich
Tina, this sandwich looks delicious and inviting! I love love love brie in my sandwiches, your flavor combination looks simple yet yummy!
Snazzed up classics are the best! I can only imagine how delicious brie makes a grilled cheese. Definitely trying these!
These look amazing! I love successfully copying recipes 🙂
Thank you!!
Brie Grilled Cheese!!! AWESOME! I just drooled a little. Okay, a lot!
Lol! I’ll send you a virtual napkin. 😉
I never thought of using brie for grilled cheese sandwiches. I delicious way of kicking it up a notch. Will definitely try this.
Awesome! I hope you love it just as much as we do. 🙂
I love easy recipe ideas like this! They may be simple, but they’re also the kind of food I love to eat.
Me too! 🙂
That looks incredible Tina! Love ham and melty cheese toasties! So good and very comforting! 😀
Oh yeah!
Now that is a toast, Tina. I love it. Melted Brie is one of lives best tastes. 🙂
Teehee… that is supposed to say *toastie 🙂
🙂
Totally agree!
These look amazing!
Thank you!