Recipe Recommendation: ABC Sandwiches by Tyler Florence

All right, so Tyler Florence doesn't call them ABC sandwiches. He just calls them grilled cheese, but that doesn't do these sandwiches justice. I guess calling them ABC doesn't really do them justice, either, but I think it's kind of snappy. The ABC stands for apple, bacon, and cheddar, which means that these aren't your three-year-old's grilled cheese.

Here is Tyler Florence's original recipe from the Food Network, and here's my (slightly altered) version:

ABC Sandwiches

8-12 slices of bacon
2 apples (nice baking apples, like golden delicious or granny smith), sliced
8 ounces of cheddar cheese, sliced
8 slices of sourdough bread
Butter...for buttering

Cook the bacon however you like (I recommend laying it out on a baking sheet and sticking it in a 425-degree oven for 12-15 minutes; you won't have to tend it and it won't go all crinkly). Then assemble the sandwiches, each with two to three slices of bacon and enough apple and cheddar slices to cover the bread.

Butter the outer sides of the bread and grill for four to five minutes over medium to medium-high heat, until the cheese starts to melt and the bread gets toasty. Flip the sandwich over and grill on the other side for about the same amount of time.

You'll notice that Tyler Florence slathers the bread with dijon mustard during the assembly phase. I'm sure that tastes fantastic, but my husband doesn't like mustard, so we never have any in the house. Normally I'd say a sandwich needs some kind of sauce to keep it moist, but the apples work nicely in that regard, so I don't miss the mustard--too much:)

I've been looking for a great recipe to share for a while, and this one's a keeper. I'd never have thought to put apple on a grilled sandwich, but it's the ingredient that makes this recipe sing. The bacon's not so bad, either. Has anyone ever gone wrong throwing a little bacon into the mix?