Luke has become my official taste tester for a lot of these cooking videos, which is how I ended up standing in the kitchen making a grilled cheese sandwich with blueberries in it.
He picked the Blueberry Brie Grilled Cheese from Nick DiGiovanni’s cookbook, *Knife Drop*, and I’ll be honest, I had questions. Blueberry jam, fresh blueberries, brie, sharp white cheddar, sourdough, and mayonnaise on the outside of the bread sounded like one of those recipes that might be clever on camera and weird on a plate.
I was wrong.
Nick DiGiovanni is one of those cooks you’ve probably run into if you spend any time on YouTube or TikTok. We’ve also been watching *100 Cooks*, where he’s a judge, so *Knife Drop* had already been floating around our house as a cookbook to actually cook from, not just flip through and forget.
This sandwich ended up being the right kind of odd.
Sweet, Savory, Crispy, Gone
The thing that makes this work is balance. The blueberry jam and fresh blueberries bring the sweet side, but the brie keeps it rich and creamy instead of turning it into dessert. Then the sharp white cheddar comes in with enough bite to remind you this is still grilled cheese territory.
The sourdough matters, too. You need bread with some backbone here. Once it crisps up in butter, with the mayonnaise helping the outside brown, the sandwich gets that crunchy edge that holds the whole thing together.
The sliced-open version looked exactly how you want a grilled cheese to look, melted cheese pulling a little, blueberries tucked into the middle, the bread browned instead of burned. There is a fine line there, and the trick is not rushing it.
Cook it low and slow. If you crank the heat, the bread will get dark before the brie and cheddar have a chance to melt. That is not a theory. That is grilled cheese law.
The biggest compliment I can give this recipe is that we made it four more times after filming the video.
That almost never happens around here. We cook a lot of different things, and most recipes get one turn before we move on to the next idea. This one kept coming back because Luke liked it, I liked it, and it was just strange enough to feel fun without being a stunt.
*Knife Drop* works well for that kind of cooking. The recipes are approachable, but they push just enough to get you out of your normal dinner habits. A blueberry brie grilled cheese is still a grilled cheese. It just happens to be one that makes you pause after the first bite and admit the kid picked a good one.
Disclosure: If you pick up *Knife Drop* through the book link in our TikTok profile, Okie Almanac may receive a small commission. It helps support future cooking videos and recipe reviews.
Nick DiGiovanni’s Blueberry Brie Grilled Cheese
Recipe from Nick DiGiovanni’s *Knife Drop* cookbook.
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 thick slices sourdough bread
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons blueberry jam or preserves
- 6 ounces sliced brie
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 cups grated sharp white cheddar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
Instructions
1. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat one side of each slice of bread with mayonnaise, using about 1/2 tablespoon per slice.
2. Place four slices of bread on a work surface with the mayonnaise side facing down. Spread a thin layer of blueberry jam over each slice, using about 1 tablespoon per slice.
3. Evenly divide the brie, fresh blueberries, and grated cheddar among the four slices. Close each sandwich with another slice of bread, keeping the mayonnaise-coated side facing outward.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick pan over medium heat.
5. Add two sandwiches and cook one side for about 5 minutes. Use a weight, such as a small pan lid, to gently press the sandwiches down.
6. Flip and cook for about 5 minutes on the other side, until both sides are browned and crisp and the cheese has melted.
7. Transfer the sandwiches to a serving platter. Melt the remaining butter and repeat the cooking process with the other two sandwiches.
8. Serve immediately.
Tip: Cook them low and slow rather than rushing with high heat. That gives the cheese time to melt before the bread gets too dark.
