Meatless Monday - Havarti and Kale Grilled on Seeded Rye with Tomato Soup

I should have known better than to venture into the kitchen while I was under the weather.  Dinner was good, but definitely NOT incident free...

Every now and then throughout the year I go on a new recipe binge.  I try out a bunch of new things, and then adapt them to my style and my family's tastes!  It looks like the binge came early this year.  

Rachel Ray got me again with the pictures of her Grilled Cheese and Kale Sandwiches with Tomato Soup.  It looked beyond yummy, and seemed like a good dinner for Meatless Monday.  With a storm a-brewin' to the west of us, and the temperatures steadily dropping, it seemed like the perfect combo!  Not to mention, I hoped that it would help my stuffed up nose along!

It seemed easy enough...

I forgot to pick up the havarti and bread at the grocery store when I did my shopping...greaaaat.

So today, on the way home from work, my dad and I stopped at the grocery store.  Not thinking, I had worn slippers in the car and couldn't go in the store, so I sent my dad in with a list and told him, "If they don't have havarti at the deli counter, get provolone."  What seemed like 40 minutes later he emerges...with havarti...in block form.  Crap.  Ok, so I will just slice it up when I get home...no biggie.  As I drive, I suddenly remember that someone, who shall remain nameless, ran my wooden cheese slicer through the dishwasher and cracked it beyond repair.  Hand slicing soft cheese...this is going to make for an interesting night!  At least he did me proud and picked up a real loaf of seeded rye in the bakery...bonus points for dad!

We get home and I get the havarti sliced in a decent amount of time, assemble 3 sandwiches, and start melting a pad of butter in the frying pan on medium heat.  Two sandwiches went in easily, and I dipped my kitchen brush in the melted butter and saturated the tops of both sandwiches.  I reached for my tried and true Campbell's Condensed and the milk and got the tomato soup going while they cooked.  After about 5 minutes on low to medium heat, the bottom layer of havarti had melted most of the way, so I flipped and pressed the sandwiches down with a spatula to help everything bind together.  My dad and sister's sandwiches came out of the pan and were the definition of perfection when I cut them in half and set them on a plate next to a heaping bowl of steamy tomato soup!

Then it quickly went downhill as I put my sandwich in the pan.  I threw another pad of butter in the pan forgetting that the heat was a little high.  It browned quickly and I though, "No biggie, I'll toss it in anyway'"  Yeah...not my best idea.  I thought it was ok, and dipped my brush in the butter to take care of the top piece of bread.  The brush MELTED IN THE BUTTER!

The burnt brush aftermath!

I scooped my spatula under the sandwich and started yelling for help.  My sister sauntered into the kitchen wanting to know what my problem was.  She got me a smaller frying pan for me and dropped a pad of butter in it.  I figured my sandwich was ready to flip and flipped it over into the new pan.  I burnt the bottom of my sandwich and the cheese didn't melt all of the way.  I managed to get it to melt most of the way and finally was able to enjoy my dinner!

After all was said and done, the grilled cheese was worth it and everybody loved it, but I guess I would have liked it more if mine had been a little less...cajun style?

Havarti and Kale Grilled on Seeded Rye 
Source: Every Day with Rachel Ray - February 2011
Yields approximately 5 sandwiches

Ingredients 
1 pound of havarti cheese
1 pound of kale
1 loaf of seeded rye bread
a few tablespoons of butter

To Prepare 
1. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over low to medium heat.
2. Spread a layer of havarti on both sides of the bread.
3. Place a layer of deveined kale leaves on one side of the sandwich and close the sandwich.
4. Cook the sandwich in the melted butter over low to medium heat. For the optimal  golden brown buttery sandwich, spread some melted butter on the top side of the sandwich while it cooks!  When you flip it there will be some butter to brown and bubble!
5. After you flip it, press it down with a spatula so everything starts to melt together. 
6. Pull the sandwich out of the pan when the cheese has melted!

It didn't quite melt all the way because I was afraid of burning it more!  It was still delicious though!!

On a fun little side note, I have to show how absolutely adorable my cat Vinnie is!  He LOVES tomatoes, so any time we have fresh tomatoes or tomato soup, he puts on his "I don't want it face," and starts purring so loud that it sounds like a semi is coming through the house.  Tonight he was eating the spoon full of left over tomato soup off a spoon.  He has manners, what can I say?  Here are a few photos of him with a slice of tomato...