April is National Grilled Cheese Month! So let’s celebrate in grand style, shall we?

(Today’s post is sponsored by Arla Dofino, who makes insanely good cheese. However, the content and opinions expressed here are my own!)

Grilled cheese is a favorite here at home. It is also our “rescue food”, meaning it’s the food we make when there’s nothing left in the fridge/pantry. I mean, who doesn’t have bread and cheese at home? And even when we don’t, the deli is right around the corner and it’s 24/7!

Also, to make it even more special, grilled cheese is Tim’s specialty. At some point during our relationship, I decided to trust that he would be able to make an OK grilled cheese so I could get a break from the kitchen. Well, he ended up surprising me and now he’s the official grilled cheese maker of the Mesquita-Sullivan household. 

But not this time! 

This time we are celebrating in grand style! So I’m taking the reins of the grilled cheese making and going all in with a Trainwreck Grilled Cheese that will blow your mind!

My sidekicks in this grilled cheese journey are the fabulous cheese maker Arla Dofino and the Eureka! Baking Company. 

You might be familiar with Arla Dofino as they are the sixth-largest dairy company in the world. They make a delicious range of cheese flavors such as Gouda, Havarti, Fontina and Edam. They also have a “from farm to fridge” mission and their product is free of any added hormones and crafted with only quality, natural ingredients in an environmentally-friendly way.

I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with such a high quality product! I believe in nothing but the best for my readers and Arla Dofino definitely passes the quality test when their cheese is concerned! What else would you expect of a company that has been making cheese for the last 100 years?!?

For this recipe, I chose to use Gouda for its rich flavor and smooth, buttery texture. I took a bite of the cheese and I let it speak, asking “What do you waaaant, Gouda?”, and the Gouda said: “Caramelized Onions and Maple Whiskey Bacon!”. Oh, and wasn’t the Gouda right? All the flavors in this sandwich were born to be consumed together!

The next task would be to find the perfect bread. Being a “white bread for my grilled cheese” kinda gal, I was skeptical about Eureka’s Grainiac Organic Bread for this sandwich. But I gave it a shot and Oh My God! The chewiness and sweetness of this bread pairs like a match made in heaven with the rest of the ingredients to create the unrivaled Trainwreck Grilled Cheese!

Why “Trainwreck”, you might ask. Well, after several attempts of naming this grilled cheese and playing with extremely long names, like “Gouda, Caramelized Onions & Maple Whiskey Bacon Grilled Cheese”, I decided this grilled cheese needed a statement of a name! 

I mean, one bite and you’ll understand the title, I promise. It will seriously make your tastebuds explode with excitement and you might not want to ever go back to the plain old bread, butter and cheese. 

My husband even described this as “the best thing I’ve ever cooked”. I was taken aback and didn’t know if I should feel flattered or offended. I’ve cooked way more complicated things and so many delicious dishes… but, at the same time, this grilled cheese is really knocking the ball out of the park. Go big or go home, right?

If you’re used to having to eat 2 grilled cheese to be satisfied, be aware that this sandwich is a meal by itself! It is packed with good stuff (Don’t ever tell me bacon is not “good stuff”!) and even my little Hulk of a husband was satisfied with just one. (He liked it so much that he did ask me to make it again the next day though…)

To make this sandwich even more special I also added a “sauce” made with mayo and grainy Dijon. Just close your eyes and imagine: rich gooey Gouda + bacon glazed with maple syrup and good whiskey + delicious caramelized onions + creamy tangy mayo and Dijon sauce + chewy grainy bread packed with fiber. Are you drooling yet? I’m telling you, the flavors will be dancing in your mouth and you will be hooked on this sandwich forever!

If you end up making this, please invite my husband over so he can stop asking me to make this again and again. He doesn’t understand that the life of a food blogger is hard and that we don’t get to repeat dishes often because we have to be constantly creating new stuff! So please do this girl a favor and invite him over! :P

Oh, and I almost forgot! 

Do you like prizes? Do you have a Twitter account? And do you wanna make new friends?

If the answer for these questions is HELL YEAH!, join us on April 8th from 8-9pm for an Amazing Twitter Party sponsored by Arla Dofino and a chance to win one of two grand prizes, which include:

• Le Creuset® Sandwich Press
• Le Creuset® serving tray
• Le Creuset® plates (set of 4)
• Crate & Barrel OXO® Fish Spatula
• Anthropologie Apron
• Year’s worth of Arla Dofino cheese & Eureka! Organic Bread

Just login to your Twitter account and search for me @Olivias_cuisine and for the hashtag #GooeyGoodness. Start interacting with your new foodie friends and you might be one of the lucky people to win these amazing prizes!

P.S. Wanna keep in touch? Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to stay up to date with my posts! If you end up making one of my recipes, I would love to see it! Just take a photo and post it on your preferred Social Media and tag me or use the hashtag #oliviascuisine! :)

Continue to Content

Trainwreck Grilled Cheese

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 8 slices of bacon
• 1 Tbsp good quality whiskey
• 2 Tbsp good quality maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 8 Tbsp salted butter at room temperature, divided
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 4 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
• 6oz Arla Dofino's Gouda
• 8 slices sandwich bread of your preference

Instructions

To make the glazed bacon:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
2. Start by adding the whiskey, the maple syrup and the brown sugar to a medium sized bowl. Whisk everything together until well combined.
3. Add the bacon and toss it until evenly coated with the maple-whiskey mixture.
4. Line a baking sheet with foil and place an oven proof baking rack on top.
5. Lay the bacon on the baking rack in a single layer and bake it for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and crispy.
6. Drain the bacon with paper towel and, once cool, cut the bacon slices in half. Reserve.

To make the caramelized onions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter on a large skillet. Add the onions and cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the onions are caramelized. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.

To make the Mayo-Dijon "sauce":

1. Combine the mayo and the grainy Dijon mustard and mix well using a spoon.

To assemble the grilled cheese:

1. Lay the bread slices on a board.
2. On 4 of them, spread each with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. On the other 4, spread some of the Mayo-Dijon sauce.
3. Add the grated cheese to the buttered slices. On top of that, pile the bacon and the caramelized onions. Top with the remaining slices, sauce side down.
4. Butter (1/2 tbsp per slice) the outside of the sandwiches.
5. Preheat your grill over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Add the sandwiches and grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side or until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted.
6. Allow the sandwiches to cool for a few minutes, cut them in half and serve.