This week’s recipe partially feels like a cheat. After all, it’s just a grilled cheese sandwich with a few extras.
But it’s been a long year and I needed some comfort food. Besides, it *is* made with a few additions that make it at least a little unlike any grilled cheese I’ve made before, starting with coating the outside in mayonnaise.
Before I get to any additional weirdness, though, I want to explain how I came to make this recipe to begin with. It’s a fun story time, I promise.
I came across a click-baity article a couple months ago that was about the kind of conspiracy theory I can get behind, one that is quite harmless and mostly meaningless. That is, the theory that the Nando’s brand medium peri peri sauce is in fact spicier than its hot variety. I’ve long been a fan of peri peri sauce, as it’s a not-too-hot hot sauce for my tastes and its extremely flavorful beyond just spicy. And Nando’s is the brand I typically buy.
So, I went ahead and bought a bottle of both and conducted a taste test with some quite tasty chicken wings. My sweetie, who had not seen which was which when I placed it on the plate, was fooled into thinking the medium was the hot sauce. While I could not likewise do a blind taste test, I shared his opinion.
The wings, however, did not use up all the sauce and we had two bottles (actually four, because I also sampled some other varieties) in our fridge, looking for an excuse to be used. So, I perused the recipe booklet that came with the bottles and couldn’t resist the toastie (read: grilled cheese) recipe. It had chicken, peri peri, cheese, and then was supposed to be coated in peri peri-based mayonnaise; while I didn’t have the Nando’s brand mayonnaise, I did have some powdered peri peri lying around, so I mixed it together with mayonnaise.
The result was more or less what I expected: spicy grilled cheese with chicken. And a lot of filling for two sammies. Which means, it was a frickin’ delight!
The mayonnaise cooked the outside a little too well, but I should have turned the stove down when the first side came up a bit blackened. Otherwise, though, I loved every unhealthy bite.
Here’s what I did, following the booklet recipe other than faking the “perinaise”:
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c. cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
- 1 ½ c. shredded sharp cheddar
- ½ c. peri peri sauce (whichever level of spice you prefer, but remember, the medium may be hotter!)
- ¼ mayonnaise
- Peri peri powder, to taste (optional)
- 4 slices of bread
- Vegetable oil
Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken, cheese, and peri peri sauce. In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and peri peri powder, if using.
Spread the chicken and cheese mixture over two slices of bread. Top with the remaining two slices of bread.
Spread the ½ the mayonnaise mixture on one side of the top of both bread slices.
Heat a 9-inch skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Add a splash of vegetable oil.
Place one sandwich, mayonnaise side down, and spread half the remaining mayonnaise on the top of the bread in the skillet while it cooks. Cook for 2 ½ to 3 minutes until golden, and adjust temperature as needed. Once golden, flip the toastie and cook on the other side for another 2 ½ to 3 minutes until golden and the center is warmed and melty.
Repeat the process with the remaining sandwich, using up the rest of the mayonnaise to coat the last bare slice of bread, and enjoy with a healthy salad to counterbalance this delectable dinner!