William-Sonoma's Grilled Fontina Sandwiches With Prosciutto and

Submitted by KellyMac6

"This is a sophisticated version of the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Italian fontina is a creamy, mild cheese with fine melting qualities. A Swiss-type cheese, such as Gruyère or Emmentaler, would also be good."

 

• Ready In: 22mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 12 slices firm white bread (french, sourdough, brioche, or challah)
• 3⁄4 - 1 lb Fontina cheese, sliced
• 6 slices prosciutto
• 1 ripe pear, such as Bartlett

directions

1. First, clarify the butter: Melt the butter in a small, heavy saucepan over very low heat, watching carefully so it does not burn. Remove from the heat and let stand briefly.
2. Using a spoon, skim off and discard the foam from the surface.
3. Carefully pour off the clear yellow liquid into a bowl.
4. Discard the milky solids left behind in the pan.
5. Lay 6 slices of the bread on a work surface and top evenly with the cheese, 1 slice of prosciutto and the pear slices. Top with the remaining bread.
6. Brush a wide sauté pan or stovetop grill pan generously with the clarified butter and warm over medium heat.
7. When it is hot, place as many sandwiches as will fit in the pan without crowding and weight them down with a pan lid.
8. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 4 minutes.
9. Adding more butter as needed, carefully flip the sandwiches, replace the lid, and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes more. The cheese will have melted.
10. Remove the sandwiches from the pan and keep warm.
11. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
12. Cut each sandwich in half and serve warm.

Reviews

[Babychops]

Though good, this wasn't a winner for us. It was a tad sweet from the pear (I used bosc, which I sliced very thin). We were hoping for a somewhat bold flavor and it just wasn't there. Thank you for the recipe.

 

[Krista Roes]

Wow! I think I died and went to heaven. I loved these. I don't really know if the clarified butter made a huge difference vs. just regular butter or olive oil, but the interior of the sandwich was amazing. Made for PAC Fall 2009

 

[alligirl]

This was an enjoyable sandwich, 'tho I think my pears were too sweet; may try a different kind next time...and there will be a next time! I really liked the fontina and the salty ham was a perfect foil for the creamy cheese. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe, KellyMac!

 

[Debbwl]

Superb! The sweet of the pear, the salt of the prosciutto, and the melt fontina all blend to make you feel like you having lunch at your favorite Bistro. Thank you so much for such a yummy sandwich.