Harvest Melt

After eating (devouring more like it) the Grilled Cheese Truck's Harvest melt earlier this year, I was beyond determined to find a recipe to replicate the melt at home. It took me a while, but I finally found one and tested it out earlier this week!

I will say that my version of the harvest melt was not as amazing as the truck's but I think I can fairly blame that on the cook and not the recipe/ingredients. With a couple more practices, I think I should be able to come decently close to the real thing.

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, seeded and sliced crosswise ¼ inch thick
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 stick plus 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 leeks (whites only), sliced ¼ inch thick
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, finely chopped
8 slices multigrain bread
3 tablespoons agave syrup
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
16 slices Gruyère or Swiss cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Toss the squash slices with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until the squash is soft and its edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

2.Meanwhile, melt 1½ tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet over moderately high heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the thyme, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Assemble the sandwich: Butter one side of a bread slice with 1 tablespoon butter and place it on a platter, buttered side down. Add 2 slices of cheese, 6 slices roasted squash, 2 tablespoons sautéed leeks, and a drizzle of both agave syrup and balsamic vinegar. Top with 2 more slices of cheese and another slice of buttered bread (buttered side up). Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 3 more sandwiches.

4. Heat a large skillet over moderately high heat. Add the sandwiches and cook until golden-brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes (lower the heat if the bread browns too quickly). Flip the sandwich and continue cooking until the cheese has melted.

Recipe Courtesy of Tasting Table

Grilled Cheese Truck

Even though I've written my fair share of radio shows about the food truck craze that has overtaken the streets of LA, I've never actually had the urge or motivation to track any of these mobile eateries down (*Gasp* How very un-foodie like of me!). However, when the good people behind the Santa Monica Food Truck Lot decided to organize a Haiti food truck fundraiser, I figured it was high time I discover first hand what the buzz is all about and also give back while doing so!

Held this past Saturday at the TLofts in West LA, the food truck fundraiser featured 25 of the city's most trendy food trucks. Having done my research on the participating trucks, I knew what I wanted to try and bee-lined for the Grilled Cheese truck (which btw had one of the largest crowds). Standing in line I was having trouble deciding if I wanted to grease it up and go with the cheesy mac melt or be a little more frou-frou and go with the gourmet sounding harvest melt. In the end, I did myself proud and got both (with the help of a friend of course).

First order of business was the cheesy mac melt which consisted of creamy mac and cheese topped with tender BBQ pork, caramelized onions and sharp cheddar all sandwiched between two slices of toasted bread. In other words, a mini heart attack waiting to happen. This is the kind of food you crave after a night out on the town- late night greasy food that clogs your arteries with each bite you take. While the bread was perfectly toasted and the cheese and BBQ pork combination was down home American comfort food, there was nothing new or surprising about this grilled cheese. Perhaps had I grown up snacking on grilled cheeses, this sandwich would have evoked some childhood nostalgia. However, since I ate fish ball noodles and tao sar paos growing up, the verdict on the cheesy mac melt would be yummy but nothing special.

Next up, the harvest melt with roasted butternut squash, gruyère cheese, agave syrup, thyme and a balsamic reduction. Now this sandwich, let me tell you, was something else. The flavor combinations of the harvest melt were perfect and I simply melted away (pun intended). The woodsy overtones of the thyme coupled with the sweetness of the agave syrup and balsamic reduction elevated this sandwich in a way that is hard to describe, but easy to appreciate. I'm already drooling just thinking about it and have already begun an online search for a recipe to replicate it at home.

All in all, I will say that my virgin food truck experience was a delicious one. The harvest melt did the trick and I walked away a convert, believing that great food can come from a truck.

Details:

The Grilled Cheese Truck or follow them on twitter