Leftover Makeover: Beef & French Onion Grilled Cheese

My latest 8 & $20 is up today on WineSpectator.com and it is yummy: French Onion Filet Mignon.  What’s cool about this particular recipe (in addition to fact that it’s delicious) is that it’s actually a twofer--there’s a leftover makeover already included in the posted recipe.  You get the soup, plus the steak dish,

Photo Credit: Greg Hudson

French onion soup is just so good though, that I kept thinking of additional uses for it--most of which were pretty quick conversions or just a matter of rearranging the pieces of the puzzle. This spin on a grilled cheese was one of our favorite spin-offs. It’s really a non-recipe, so don’t get hung up on the exact quantities, adjust as needed, and use what you have. I used leftover beef, but this would be equally good with chicken, pork, or leave off the meat altogether. A little  meat goes a long way here, so it’s a good place to use up any bits and pieces you have straggling away in your fridge.

These sandwiches are fairly simple, but they’re rich, so even a small one is really satisfying. Serve with a simply dressed green salad.

Pair these sandwiches with a Belgian Trappist Ale like this Chimay.

Steak & French Onion Grilled Cheese

For 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

Leftover onion soup/sauce (½ cup should be enough), see recipe link above
4 slices of sourdough bread
½ cup shredded Gruyère cheese
4-6 oz of roasted beef
garlic clove
butter or olive oil as needed

Instructions

1. Heat the leftover soup over medium-high heat and reduce it down until most of the liquid is evaporated, leaving saucy onions.

2.  Lightly smash the garlic clove and lightly rub over each piece of bread.  Distribute shredded cheese on the ungreased side of 2 of the slices of bread, then lightly toast all the bread in a toaster oven.

3. Warm the roasted beef in a pan, or if you prefer to avoid using another pan, simply toss the beef in the warmed onion mixture until just warmed through.

4. Once all components are heated through, assemble the sandwiches by distributing the onions and beef equally between the 2 plain pieces of sourdough. Top each with the pieces of toast with melted cheese.

5. (Optional) Heat and grease a panini press. Spread a small amount of butter or olive oil over the exposed sides of each of the sandwiches. Place each sandwich in the panini press and sear until lightly browned and crispy. Serve.