Ode to the Caseus Grilled Cheese Truck Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Cheese

by: mrslarkin

April3,2021

5 Ratings

Ode to the Caseus Grilled Cheese Truck Recipe on Food52 (1)

Serves one

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

The best grilled cheese I’ve ever eaten was from the Caseus Cheese Truck in New Haven, CT. Golden, crispy sourdough bread, a mixture of melty cheeses, some good mustard, those little fancy pickles, and a glass-bottled co*ke. Here’s my version. You can customize the cheapness of this sandwich to what’s in your cheese drawer. I happened to find some Gruyere, sharp cheddar and robiola that needed to be used up. I make this for the kids all the time, minus the sage leaves, with plain old yellow American cheese in the plastic wrappers. It’s got superior meltability. - mrslarkin —mrslarkin

Test Kitchen Notes

We tend to think of grilled cheese as comfort food at its simplest, but the little touches here -- a few sage leaves, a grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano, a dollop of grainy Dijon and a garnish of bright little cornichons -- add up to a very sophisticated treat. Be sure to use the best sourdough you can find, and don't forget to wash it all down with an ice-cold bottle of co*ke. - Kukharka —mitschlag

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

2 slices sourdough bread
2 ouncesshredded or thinly sliced cheese of your choice (soft or semi-hard melty cheese only)
unsalted butter, softened
4 fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoonParmigiano Reggiano, grated with a microplane grater
cornichons, or regular pickles
whole grain mustard

Directions

Heat a non-stick skillet on medium/medium-low heat. Spread one side of bread with butter -- don't be shy. Press two sage leaves on the butter, and swipe the leaves with a little more butter so they adhere. Repeat with second slice of bread.
Lay one slice of bread in hot pan, butter and sage side down. Place cheese on the bread in the pan. Top with second slice of bread, butter and sage side up. Grill for a few minutes. You’ll hear the butter start to sizzle. Carefully check bottom of sandwich; you’re looking for golden-brown.
With a spatula, carefully flip the sandwich, and cook for another few minutes, again looking for golden-brown. Sprinkle the top of the sandwich with half of the Parmigiano, making sure to cover the sage leaves. Flip the sandwich back over and cook for a few seconds to crisp the Parmigiano. (Don’t leave it too long or the Parmigiano will burn.) Sprinkle the rest of the Parmigiano on the top slice and flip once more to crisp that side -- a few more seconds and you’re done!
Serve with cornichons, or their cheaper cousin the dill pickle, mustard, and a cold glass-bottled co*ke.

Tags:

Sandwich
American
Parmigiano Reggiano
Sage
Mustard
Pickle
Cheese
Lunch
Dinner

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46 Reviews

Karen B. February 21, 2015

Melty cheese on the inside, crispy cheese on the outside, crunchy sage leaves...what more could you ask for in a grilled cheese sandwich?

wahini March 31, 2014

At Trader Joe's--right now but not always--you can get a crumbly melty cheddar with bits of caramelized onions in it. You can also get--always--Asiago and pepper corn sour dough bread. Together these two make delightful grilled cheese sandwiches--or if you are in a hurry or cutting down on bread just toast one side of the bread, then barely toast the other side, add the grated or crumbled cheese , and broil until melted and golden. Yum.

WileyP September 23, 2012

Okay, so who in their right mind would put a whole sage leave on a sandwich and then fry it..much less FOUR of them! Well, I have had this recipe in my "to do" file for some time and I happened to notice that my sister has a sage plant that has grown out of control. So I stole a bunch, headed home and cooked one of these up for dinner last night. Well, kinda, anyway! After all, "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do," and if you don't have sourdough on hand, you use what you have. In my case it was Jewish Rye. That and some grated gouda as a filler. It was spactacular! I liked it so much, I'm going to stick a slice of pre-fried ham on it tonight and see if I end up with a new favorite sandwich! Thank you for yet another big-time winner recipe, mrslarkin!

mrslarkin September 23, 2012

Yup, that would be me, pushing the grilled cheese envelope. Hee! I'm so glad you liked it, WileyP! You're very welcome. Your ham idea sounds pretty darn good. Let us know how it turns out!

EmilyC September 11, 2012

Your crisper salad with grilled cheese croutons reminded me how much I've been wanting to try these. Made them tonight -- LOVE! Have a feeling I'll be making these a ton this fall and winter with soup (this dipped into butternut squash soup would be amazing) and salad. Thanks a million for the recipe.

mrslarkin September 11, 2012

thanks Emily! So glad you enjoyed it. Butternut squash soup - oh yes!

EmilyC October 8, 2012

Made these again last night to go along with butternut squash soup...divine!

mrslarkin October 8, 2012

Yummmm! Save me some; I'll be over soon. ;)

rachel W. September 11, 2012

Made this last night w/a few tweaks such as olive tapenade spread we had leftover from a party & switched out a co*ke for a seasonal pumpkin beer...DELISH! Thank you.

mrslarkin September 11, 2012

Yummm! That sounds so good. Hooray for pumpkin beer!

tylermmcdon August 21, 2012

Perfection. I'm going to have to make a pilgrimage to Caseus sometime soon, I think.

mrslarkin August 21, 2012

Thanks Tyler. It is seriously worth the schlep to New Haven!

Jenny C. March 10, 2014

the grilled cheese in the restaurant (Caseus cheese shop/bistro) is even better than from the truck. and you also have the choice of the world's greatest mac & cheese (bacon optional). some of us are lucky enough to live in the area and have the owner as an across the street neighbor!

deanna1001 August 20, 2012

Made this for dinner with a bowl of gazpacho on the side. I could've eaten at least three of them! Great recipe. Thanks!

mrslarkin August 20, 2012

You're welcome, deanna1001. Gazpacho sounds very yummy with this sandwich!

teamom August 19, 2012

Constructive criticism - one wants the sage flavour, but sage leaves are often just too tough to swallow. Think ahead - make a compound butter and use that. Even better - wrap a stick of butter in sage leaves, let it draw for a few days (or longer, for a stronger flavour), and use that to spread on the bread for a flavourful but more subtle effect. This method is used in France with rose petals - a vessel is lined with the leaves, the fresh butter is added, packed, and let draw. The butter often accompanies delicate pastries...
The butter freezes well.
When my kids were young, one way of getting them to eat "greens" was to bread or batter sage leaves. Crispy fried sage leaves (crumbed) would enhance this dish. Then serve fruit.

Jan S. August 19, 2012

I like your idea.