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Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would cook grilled cheese with Guy Fieri over Zoom in the middle of a pandemic, but if we’ve learned anything from last year, life is unpredictable.
In honor of National Grilled Cheese Day on April 12th and as part of Fieri’s longstanding partnership with King’s Hawaiian, the chef offered several private coaching sessions to teach people how to make their Ultimate Mac ‘n Cheese Grilled Cheese sandwich “prepared.
As a grilled cheese connoisseur who mastered the assembly of Guys BBQ Trash Can Nachos in 2020, I had to accept. And while I like to report that the sandwich was, as Guy would say, “dynamite,” the cooking process … wasn’t. If you think Zoom meetings are messy, multiply that by 15 and you have basically a Zoom sandwich coaching session.
Nevertheless, we continued. And I’m here to share the exciting story and recipe.
Gather the sacred ingredients
To start with, I unpacked the grilled cheese ingredients that had arrived conveniently on my doorstep earlier in the morning.
All the ingredients for Guy Fieri’s ultimate Mac ‘n Cheese Grilled Cheese.
If you’re looking to recreate this sandwich, the recipe calls for the following:
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1 pack of King’s Hawaiian Sliced Sweet Bread
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4 slices of provolone
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1 pound loose Italian sausage
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1.5 cups mac and cheese
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Non-stick cooking spray
However, to make mac and cheese from scratch you will also need the following ingredients:
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1 cup of American cheese, diced
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½ cup provolone cheese, crushed
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½ cup cheddar cheese, crushed
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½ cup smoked Gouda cheese, rind peeled and chopped up
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2.5 cups half and half
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1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
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1 teaspoon hot sauce
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½ cup of hot water
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1.5 liters of cooked elbow macaroni (1 pound of dry noodles)
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
The 30-minute preparation
The grilled cheese only takes 10 minutes to cook, but the sandwich takes a little longer to prepare due to the added mac’n cheese and sausage components.
Before hopping on Zoom with Guy, I was told to cook the pasta al dente and set aside. After Guy called and we exchanged some charming sandwich jokes, I carried my laptop to the stove and we made our way to our cheese sauce.
I brought half and half to a boil in a large saucepan, and in a true Schitt’s Creek moment, I stood – Guy was looking at me through my laptop screen – and folded the cheese. I tossed in the diced American cheese, shredded provolone, shredded cheddar, and shredded gouda and thanked Heaven for not being lactose intolerant.
When I smelled the lovely cheese mix I wiped and wiped and wiped some more, and when the cheese was melted enough and half mixed, the sauce thickened and I put the cooked noodles in the pan.
((Note: It is also recommended at this stage of the recipe to add one teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, one teaspoon of hot sauce, and “hot water as needed”. Did we do that? No! We forgot. But we’re only two people at Zoom. What the hell do you want from us? Another note: The recipe also calls for salt and pepper at some point, but doesn’t state at what point, so now I’m assuming that now would be a good time. You channel your inner Guy Fieri and do whatever you think is right. Fortunately, I can confirm that the Mac n Cheese will still taste great if you forget to use any of the ingredients above.)
After pulling out a David Rose and folding the cheese under, fold the cooked noodles into the cheese sauce, set them aside and switch to sausage mode.
Luckily my sausage arrived cooked so all I had to do was heat it up in a pan. However, for cooking it is recommended to fry the recipe over medium heat for about five minutes and break it open while boiling. Once the sausage is browned, drain off any excess fat and you’re ready to put your sandwich together.
The skillful assembly
Since this is called a camping sandwich, Guy’s Official King’s Hawaiian Grilled Cheese requires the use of a camping press – a cast iron square sandwich press with a hardcore fly swatter that can be held over a campfire flame or over the open flame of a gas stove.
If, like me, you are an unusual camper with an electric stove, there is still hope. You can use a panini press, griddle, or other pan that you normally use to make a grilled cheese to make this sandwich.
King’s Hawaiian sent me a panini press for the coaching session, and after heating it up, I tried spraying the insides with nonstick cooking spray like any good cook should. In the spirit of the zoom mayhem, however, I ran into an adorable nozzle problem and Guy told me to run to the fridge, get some butter, and rub it on the insides of the press instead.
Once I made sure the sandwich didn’t stick, I put a piece of bread on the press and followed it with a slice of provolone cheese, about half a cup of macaroni and cheese, two teaspoons of crumbled sausage, another slice of provolone, and a second Slice of bread.
I briefly admired the culinary tower in front of me, closed the panini press and looked for a clamp to lock or a temperature setting to adjust. Of course, none of these things were in the press in front of me (fun!), So – very professionally – I weighed the lid of the panini press down by placing the pot of mac and cheese on top.
As a first-time panini press user, painfully unfamiliar with this machine that had arrived at my doorstep minutes earlier, I realized I was a newbie. The sheer amount of smoke and sizzle rising from the tiny grill in less than a minute admittedly made me nervous, and for a brief moment I feared I was going to make a little kitchen fire in front of Guy Fieri on Zoom. I raised the top of the press ahead of time to check the sandwich before the required two to three minute cook time had passed, and if I can give you any advice, don’t do this!
If you ever make this grilled cheese with Guy Fieri in your kitchen via Zoom, don’t raise the panini press when your heart tells you – raise it when Guy tells you to. Otherwise or otherwise he will be forced to yell at you: “That ain’t burned, Nicole! Who’s the trainer here?”
Guys golden grilled cheese.
The sandwich may sound and feel like it’s burning crispy there, but apparently that’s how panini presses work sometimes. Who knew! However, in my defense, I walked past this single picture of the grilled cheese I had seen that looks beautifully golden and not burnt at all. 👀
The taste test
After the proper cooking time ran out (sorry Coach Guy) I took the sandwich from the panini press and took a big ole bite. Let me tell you, with all the mess that went into cooking the grilled cheese, this thing was MONEY.
It was my first time trying King’s Hawaiian bread, and the slight sweetness of the toasted slices matched the hearty flavors of cheese and sausage perfectly. The provolone slices made for some melty, stringy cheese, and the mac and cheese were a delicious surprise that added some serious texture. However, the taste of the sausage really sets the sandwich apart from your traditional grilled cheese. 10/10 would do again. And I did!
My second attempt at a sandwich.
Splendid.
After my video chat with Guy was over, I faced my newfound culinary fear and turned on the panini press again. I made another special grilled cheese sandwich and am happy to report that I am now a professional at assembling it. The second sandwich really sealed my deal, and while I like a simple cheese-only cheese grilled, I suspect the next meal I’ll be missing the extra Fieri pizazz.
You can learn more about Guy’s partnership with King’s Hawaiian and see the full recipe for Guy Fieri’s “Ultimate Mac ‘n Cheese Sandwich” here.
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