An Inspired Cook

Ever had bread cheese?  I hadn’t until now.  I saw a post by Marie “Proud Italian Cook” who used a cedar plank to grill the most delectable bread cheese.  I was hooked at the first photo and I’ve been wanting to try it ever since.  The thing holding me back was that I couldn’t find any bread cheese.  I searched Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to no avail.  By chance I found some at a market I rarely go to.  I had a cedar plank in the pantry just waiting for the perfect opportunity.  I bought a french baguette and stopped by the Mediterranean bar and picked up some roasted red peppers, sweet piquante peppers, sun dried tomatoes and some fresh cherry tomatoes to go with the cheese.  It’s the perfect appetizer and resembles bruschetta.  Our favorite was the sweet roasted piquante peppers.  Marie’s last words were that she hoped she inspired us to plank some cheese . . . I hope to do the same!

This is so simple to put together.  All you need is some bread cheese french bread and toppings.  It can be anything you like but I went with the more traditional . . .  tomatoes and red peppers.  You can go sweet or savory with this cheese.

Soak the plank at least 3 hours, really the longer it soaks the better.  I soaked this plank about 6 hours and it still burned on the bottom, no harm done to the cheese though.

I set it over a charcoal grill on the outer edge.  I left it on the grill about 5 – 6 minutes.  The plank began to warp and the cheese began to spread and slide a little.

Notice the changing in color to a warm yellow.  You can see that it is beginning to soften and bubble along the bottom so I took that as my cue that it was ready.  It was also starting to slide off the plank . . .

I drizzled olive oil over several slices of french bread and toasted them.  Take a chunk of two of the soft warm cheese to place over top.

Now add your favorite toppers.  I roasted some cherry tomatoes that went quite nicely.  The sun dried tomatoes always provide a tart burst of flavor, but the sweet roasted piquante peppers were sweet and tangy (my personal favorite).  I think there are endless possibilities as to what you can add to this cheese.





Grilling Bread Cheese (adapted from Proud Italian Cook)

1 package Bread Cheese
1 French Baguette, sliced thin
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes
1/4 cup Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
1/4 cup Roasted Piquante Peppers
Olive Oil for drizzling
1 Cedar Plank, soaked

Soak a cedar plank 3 – 12 hours.  Place  the bread cheese on top of the plank and set on a hot charcoal grill.  Close the lid and let it heat up.  The cheese will begin to bubble and spread out after several minutes (about 5 minutes in my case).  Remove the plank and cheese from the grill. Toast thin slices of baguette drizzled with olive oil.    Place a warm chunk of bread cheese on a toasted slice of baguette and top with roasted cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes or roasted piquante peppers.