Fancy Mushroom & Kerrygold Blarney Castle Gouda Style Melts

Two Wednesdays ago I woke up feeling under the weather. The Elephants (what I not so lovingly call my upstairs neighbors) have kept me up for hours by walking like...well, elephants, and dropping things on the floor and loudly talking. I stayed in bed after my alarm clock went off, tried to fall back asleep, and finally decided to just get up and start my random day of teleworking. Yes, I'm lucky I'm able to do this.

When I heard a knock on my door, I wasn't sure what was happening as I wasn't expecting any visitors. What greeted me outside my door was a surprise box with several cheese samples and a big block of butter from Kerrygold! I might have done a little dance because I was so happy.

After eating one of the samples and sharing another with my friend Cecilia, I decided to make something simple, but somehow simultaneously luxurious. That's how the idea for Fancy Mushroom & Kerrygold Blarney Castle Gouda Style Melts came about.

"Blarney Castle Cheese

Back in the day – way before your father’s day when he walked to school in the winter for eight miles, barefoot, uphill both ways – cows were as good as currency in Ireland. To protect one of the richest herds and most prosperous pastures of the time, Blarney Castle was built. Now almost 600 years later, our Blarney Castle Cheese is produced using the same verdant green rolling hills and sparkling pure streams that meander through these once fiercely protected lands. And of course, it’s made from the milk of grass-fed cows who graze there.

It would be hypocritical of us to produce a gourmet Irish cheese called Blarney Castle without living up to its heritage. So automatically it has to be a 100% natural grass-fed cheese without a speck of artificial flavors or additives. Blarney Castle is a mild and creamy cow’s milk cheese with rich and velvety undertones. It both feels and tastes similar to a young Dutch Gouda cheese and makes a perfect complement to fresh fruit and a glass of crisp wine, like Sauvignon Blanc."

Fancy Mushroom & Kerrygold Blarney Castle Gouda Style Melts
Ingredients
2 teaspoons Kerrygold butter
1 cup sliced fancy mushrooms {you can use shiitake, chanterelles, etc}
1/2 red onion, sliced
salt & pepper
sliced Blarney Castle Smooth Milk Gouda Style Kerrygold Cheese: as much as you want!
2 lightly toasted slices of whole wheat bread
2 teaspoons chopped parsley

Directions
1. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add mushrooms and onion, season with salt and pepper and saute till browned.
2. Top each slice of bread with the mushroom and onion mixture and slices of cheese.
3. Broil this incredible concoction for about 5 minutes making sure you don't burn the cheese! You just want the cheese to melt and get golden brown.
4. Garnish each melt with fresh parsley and eat as soon as you can safely avoid burning your mouth.
 

I ate both slices within ten minutes with a side of chopped tomatoes. This was such a decadent lunch!

Thank you Kerrygold for a sweet surprise!!

Disclosure: I received a few samples of Kerrygold products but was not under any obligation to post about it. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.