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College Kitchen: Upgraded Sandwiches

It’s peanut butter and jelly time.
Updated versions of the classic PB&J make for a zestier take on lunchtime. Adding pickles, apples, pears, or brie cheese are just a few ways to enhance your sandwich.
Image by Juliet Farmer
Updated versions of the classic PB&J make for a zestier take on lunchtime. Adding pickles, apples, pears, or brie cheese are just a few ways to enhance your sandwich.

It’s day nine of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich binge. You’re getting really tired of PB&Js, but you can’t eat anything else because you can’t afford to go grocery shopping. What do you do?

PB&Js are cheap, easy to make and extremely boring after a while. But add some outlandish ingredients to the mix and the classic PB&J gets a facelift.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are the same way. They’re convenient and delicious, but it’s easy to get sick of melted cheese on bread. Aided by fruit and vegetables, the sandwich packs a new punch.

Classics are classics for a reason, but sprucing them up ain’t a bad idea.

 

 

PB&J

 

Tip: Grill your peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a delicious, hot and ooey-gooey treat.

 

2 slices of bread

Enough peanut butter (or any other nut butters) to spread on one slice of bread

Enough fruit preserves to spread on one slice of bread

Optional ingredients

 

To make it savory:

1. Add a slice of brie to your PB&J; it’ll give it a nice buttery taste that contrasts well with the sweetness from the peanut butter and jelly.

2. Add a few slices of pickles. They provide saltiness that your sandwich lacks otherwise.

3. Add some chips (salt and vinegar chips highly recommended). Maybe not the most original suggestion, but a nice crunch to a classic PB&J changes its whole aesthetic.

 

To make it sweet:

1. Add some slices of a Granny Smith apple. Any kind of apple would do, but Granny Smiths are tart and sweet.

2. Add slices of a Bosc pear. The Bosc pear is brown and is sweet and ready to eat even when it is hard, unlike many other pears.

3. Drizzle some honey on the peanut butter. This will add to the sandwich without making it too sweet.

 

 

Grilled cheese

 

Never eat a good grilled cheese sandwich without a hot cup of tomato soup.

 

2 slices of bread

5 teaspoons of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of your favorite cheese (great options: gruyere, white cheddar or both)

 

Variations of the classic grilled cheese

1. Add sliced avocados for creaminess.

2. Add tomatoes for acidity.

3. Add caramelized onions to mix in a little sweetness.

4. Add bacon — crumbled or sliced — for some extra salty goodness.

5. Add all of the aforementioned ingredients for a crossover of a BLT (without the lettuce) and grilled cheese.

 

1. Assemble your sandwich.

2. Heat up a grill pan or nonstick skillet on medium heat.

3. Add one tablespoon of butter to the pan, let it melt.

4. Place the sandwich in the pan and press down lightly. Heat until the bottom is golden brown.

5. Add two more teaspoons of butter to pan, then flip over the sandwich.

6. Press down lightly until the bottom is golden brown and the cheese melts. 

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