How To Combine Grilled Cheese And Baked Potatoes For A Fully Loaded Sandwich

Fusion cuisine entails combining comfort foods from different culinary cultures, like butter chicken pizza or Anthony Bourdain's favorite Korean American fried chicken. But fusion cuisine can also blend regional dishes within the same culinary culture; New York pizzerias often feature penne a la vodka as a pizza topping, while drool-worthy burgers come stuffed with macaroni and cheese or smothered in chili. Yet another national comfort food fusion to try is a loaded baked potato grilled cheese sandwich.

Cheese, butter, and other creamy dairy products melt decadently into both dishes on their own, making for a seamless combination. To make a loaded baked potato grilled cheese, you'll deconstruct a baked potato, stacking or otherwise mixing its main ingredients in with those of a grilled cheese. The pulp of a baked potato won't make for a very cohesive sandwich filling, so it's best to use thinly sliced potato rings fried or roasted. You can fry or roast them in the same pan or oven as the bacon. You can make a creamy aromatic condiment by blending sour cream with chopped chives.

To assemble the sandwich, start by slathering butter or mayonnaise on one side of the sandwich bread slices. Place the bottom slice butter-side down and start stacking your ingredients, beginning with shredded cheddar cheese. You can then layer the chive-sour cream mixture, a potato ring, strips of crispy bacon, more sour cream, and a final layer of shredded cheddar before. topping it with the other slice of bread and frying in a skillet.

For a sandwich this hearty, you'll want to use a type of bread that can handle the weight of a deconstructed baked potato. A crusty sourdough, thick-cut country bread, or panini bread are all sturdy options that'll crisp up beautifully on the skillet. If you want to condense the sandwich fillings even more, you can dice the strips of bacon you've fried or baked and mix it into the sour cream and chives. The sour cream will not only bring a loaded baked potato flavor to your grilled cheese, but it'll also act as a binding agent for the cheese and potatoes. Shredded cheese melds with sour cream into the gooiest melted center. The creamy cheese and sour cream melt will cement the potato rings, preventing them from sliding out of the sandwich with each bite.

Ensure the potato rings are no thicker than an eighth of an inch so they'll cook within eight to ten minutes. If you're feeling lazy, you could use potato chips or frozen shredded hash browns. They'll bring a crunchier texture, but will still taste delicious swimming in gooey melted cheese. Because there are so many elements to a baked potato grilled cheese, it may take longer to cook. Still, the same low and slow cooking tip for grilled cheese applies; fry the sandwich on low to medium heat, allowing the cheese to melt at the same rate as the bread toasts.