Glorious Grill Cheese and Pickles! How Good is That? Longmeadow

I love cucumbers, and the next step in keeping cucumbers year round is to pickle them. There is nothing more glorious in nature then opening a processed and canned dill pickle from the summer months. Just biting into one sets off a whole memory of the previous garden and all the treasures it yielded. The second part of the recipe really is based on the typical and very heart warming grilled cheese sandwich. Talk about memories! Remember when you were a youngster, and the rain was pouring sheets outside? You were chilled to the bone from trouping around in it and Mom met you at the front door, helped you out of your wet clothes and gathered the old cast iron skillet out of the cupboard. She then buttered two slices of homemade bread with real butter and put two wonderful slices of cheddar cheese between the bread and grilled away until the sides of the bread became crusty and brown? The inside oozed the cheese out, as it was ready to be devoured alongside potato chips and a pickle. Since I saw this recipe from "Rachel Ray" I have adapted this for the use of my summer pickles and pumpernickel or rye bread. But really you get your pickle, get your bread, some great cheese slices and there you go. Stay in from the rain of the day, and use your cast iron skillet for a trip down memory lane.

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  tablespoons butter, softened
• 8  slices  pumpernickel bread (or use a bread of your choice)
• 8  teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2  large dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 8  slices swiss cheese, folded in 1/2

Directions

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Spread butter on 1 side of all 8 slices of bread. Spread Dijon mustard on the opposite side of 4 slices of bread.
3. Top the mustard coated bread slices with a folded slice of Emmentaler.
4. Top cheese with slices of pickle and set tops in place with the buttered side facing up.
5. Place the sandwiches in hot skillet and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side, toasting and crisping the bread.
6. Cut the sandwiches corner to corner and serve.