Toasted Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Apple Butter & Tomato Soup

Celebrate #GrilledCheeseSandwichDay with a gourmet version of Grilled Cheese featuring our Clif Family Organic Apple Butter and Bellwether Farms Carmody cheese.

This decadent Grilled Cheese & Apple Butter Sandwich happens to pair perfectly with our Clif Family Napa Valley Chardonnay and is one of our team's most raved about pairings.

Recipe by the Clif Family Culinary Team

Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Cheese

• 4 slices of hearty white bread cut into half-inch slices
• ½ cup Bellwether Farms Carmody Cheese, grated
• ¼ cup Clif Family Organic Apple Butter
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened

Tomato Soup

• 1-28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained and liquid reserved
• 2 tbsp. Clif Family Organic Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ¼ heavy cream
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Soup:

• In a six-quart stock pot, on medium-low heat, sauté shallot in Clif Family Organic Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil until tender, about two minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and stir in the flour, cook for about 30 seconds.
• Whisk in the chicken stock and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
• In a blender, add the diced tomatoes and the shallot and chicken stock mixture. Puree until smooth.
• Return the combined pureed mixture to the stock pot and bring to a simmer. Add in the heavy cream.
• Adjust the consistency of the soup to your liking with the reserved tomato liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the Sandwiches:

• On a parchment-lined sheet pan, lay down 4 slices of bread and butter each side with the softened butter.
• Turn the bread over and spread Clif Family Organic Apple Butter on each side of the bread. 
• Top the apple butter with grated Bellwether Farms Carmody cheese and sandwich the bread together.
• Heat a pan on medium heat and griddle each side of the bread until golden and cheese has melted.