This year I found out there is a National Grilled Cheese day, and there were a lot of amazing sounding grilled cheese recipes that flooded Pinterest; Grilled Mozzarella with Tomato Basil Soup, French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese, or Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese. But the one that had me running to the store was this Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwich with Honey Roasted Grapes and Walnuts by Cassie from her blog Bake Your Day.

I love goat cheese – especially with honey. My oldest daughter got me hooked on that, paired with a nice wine. (thank you sweetie). But I’d never heard of roasted grapes. I had no choice but to try this.

There’s something wonderful about Grilled Cheese. It’s one of my ultimate favorite comfort foods. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s about cheese – and well, that’s enough for me. But then take a grilled cheese sandwich and pair it with tomato soup and some apple slices, and I’m a happy 8-year-old again. And isn’t that what comfort food is all about? It brings you back to that time and place when everything in the world is “as it should be”.

The Pintesting:

The ingredients are few and simple. One note about grape seed oil, it has all of the same great health benefits that olive oil has, but it has a much higher smoke point. It also has a more neutral taste than olive oil, which can make it a better choice when cooking with delicate flavors. I keep both on hand in my kitchen at all times. Okay, back to the Pintesting.

Prepare the grapes for roasting by tossing in a little grape seed oil, honey and a tiny pinch of salt.

Roast the grapes in the oven. . .

. . .until they look like this and make you drool from how amazing they smell.

NOTE: You might want to pop them in your mouth, but they’re HOT. Please refrain unless you like the feeling of your soft pallet melting.

Build the sandwich by buttering the bread (don’t be stingy here). Put one slice buttered side down on the pan. Cover it with the goat cheese crumbles.

  Top it with the grapes, walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

Then put the other slice of buttered bread on top of the sandwich.

Make sure you preheat the pan and cook the sandwich no higher than medium heat. You don’t want to rush this or the bread will burn and the inside will be cold. This tip works on all grilled cheese sandwiches. Some things are worth the wait.

Cut, plate, eat. You’re welcome. After enjoying this over the weekend, I decided to make another to take to work on Monday. I ate half and cut the rest into bite-sized pieces to let my foodie friends to taste. I had marriage offers. Yes, they know I’m happily was married. THIS is how to win friends and influence people – with food.

The Pintesting Results:

Overall Rating: 4.85 Pins Accuracy:  These sandwiches are a fabulous twist on the traditional grilled cheese. The honey roasted grapes are pure genius! Roasting intensifies and deepens the flavor of the grapes. One of my co-workers said the flavor reminded her of concord grape juice or jelly. The combination of the tangy goat cheese with the sweet but not too sweet grapes, and the crunchy walnuts is a perfect trifecta of Umami. 5 Pins Difficulty:  The recipe is easy to follow, and the hardest part is to NOT pop a roasted grape into your mouth as soon as they come out of the oven. The hardest part was flipping the sandwich after the first side was grilled. I needed careful maneuvering to keep the grapes and walnuts from falling out; I used one hand to guide while flipping with the spatula. It was worth the effort. 5 Pins Time:  The grapes took 20 minutes to roast, and the sandwich was grilled in about 7 minutes since I cooked it lower and slower. I recommend making a double batch of the grapes and saving the extra for sandwiches or making these open-faced as an appetizer on crostini. 5 Pins Cost:  While none of the individual ingredients are overly expensive, grape seed oil and goat cheese crumbles are not common to all kitchens. Even though they are in most grocery stores, depending on where you live they could be a bit pricey. I happen to keep grape seed oil as a staple in my pantry, but had to run out to get the goat cheese. For that reason I give cost 4 Pins. Practicality:  This is a wonderful grown-up version of a grilled cheese sandwich that somehow makes me think of French cooking. I brought some to a friend who is French and was a restaurateur for many years; now he has a lovely wine shop with his lovely wife. He said that although it isn’t a French recipe that he’d heard of, it had a French quality about it and was delicious. Vive fromage grillé! 5 Pins