This evening, we made Grilled Fontina, Mushroom, and Sage Sandwiches, which we were originally going to have Thursday night. Tony describes exactly how they came together.

We had made these sandwiches once before, but had forgotten how quick and easy they are, a perfect quick dinner before heading out. It’s probably a little light for a full dinner, but we had a late lunch, so it was ideal for us. I have a feeling these sandwiches are going to work their way into our weekend lunch plans quite often.

When I say quick and easy, I really do mean it: this dish went from fridge to table in about 30 minutes, if that. The prep work was very minimal. I sliced up four medium-sized mushrooms as thinly as I could, grated about a quarter pound of fontina, and chopped up two teaspoons of sage. (As usual, we were cutting the recipe in half.) There’s also very little cooking to be done. I browned the mushrooms in butter for about five minutes. While this was happening, I had time to brush one side of each piece of bread – the side that will touch the grill, of course – with melted butter. We used a round loaf of whole wheat bread, which added d a little sweetness to everything, but have used country bread in the past, which was just as good.

Once the mushrooms were done, it was time to assemble. I placed the fontina cheese, which was nice and soft after sitting out for a few minutes, on the bread and the mushrooms on top of the cheese. Then it was time to grill.

While I was cooking the mushrooms and assembling the sandwiches, I was also pre-heating our grill pan over medium heat, so it was ready to go at the same time the sandwiches were. This step took me no time at all. I did two minutes a side and then one minute more on the first side, which wasn’t browned as much as I wanted it to be. I cut the sandwiches in half and plated them with a small green salad with dressing that Kim had made earlier in the week.

The sandwiches were amazingly flavorful, with the mushrooms, fontina, and sage coming together in a combination of earthy, nutty, and savory . The crunch of the toasted bread was a nice contrast to the creaminess of the fontina and the soft chewiness of the mushrooms. The ratio of taste delivered to work involved for this recipe is off the charts!