Grilled Pear and Cheese Sandwich

I still remember the first time I ever had a grilled cheese and apple sandwich. It was about 12 years ago at a little Belgian-style cafe in Toronto called Le Petit Dejeuner. The taste was new and foreign to me because I had grown up on your typical grilled cheese sandwich (which did not include any fruit). The addition of the apple was so fresh and delicious. I would get this sandwich with a salad to go on my lunch break quite often when I worked for a marketing agency down the street. It was total comfort food.

Since it's National Grilled Cheese Day I thought I would share one of Walker's favourite sandwich recipes. And yes... I love it too!

This sandwich may not be for everyone, because yes there is dairy and gluten, but I will give you options in the recipe to make it cow-dairy-free and gluten-free. But most importantly, this grilled cheese is made with 100% real food.

Speaking of real food...

Many of my friends grew up in the 80s and 90s on Kraft Cheese Singles. You know, the cheese-like substance in plastic wrap? It makes me shudder just thinking about it. I hated the smell of them. I have to give my parents thanks because they never gave my brother and I Kraft Singles cheese slices. Is that even cheese? We always had real cheese, I remember my dad being pretty adamant about that.

This grilled cheese tastes delicious with either white cheddar or goat cheese. If you can't or choose not to eat dairy, you could also use Daiya dairy-free cheese.

Here's the recipe for two people. I decided to use pear, but you could use either apple or pear.

What's your favourite way to dress up a grilled cheese sandwich?

Share it with me in the comments below!