Another sort of nod to National Grilled Cheese Month, as I usually warm these in the oven. Not a fan of the traditional pb & j, here’s a new twist – the pear, brie and jambon!
a new pb & j
serves two
2 loaves ficelle
4-6 slices brie
1 bosc pear, sliced
2-4 slices jambon
Slice ficelle loaves lengthwise, leaving one long side intact. Layer jambon, then pear, then brie – if not eating right away, layering the pear slices in the middle keeps bread from becoming… damp.
Optional – warm under broiler a few minutes to melt the brie and soften the ficelle.
Enjoy!
Since I don’t eat ham, mine is a pear and brie sandwich, while Jason loves the whole pb & j!
Today is one of our anniversaries, so I wrapped up some picnic dinner for us tonight. Cross your fingers that the sun will still be shining, or our picnic will be on the living room floor! 
how do you like brie –> rind on or off?
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I just ate dinner and I’m certain I could eat at least two of those! Love the flavors!
haa… Paula, I love it! it could be dessert, right?
I just had to comment and say, are you serious???
RIND OFF!!!! :p
Looks amazing. I don’t eat ham anymore either, but this makes me miss it. Black Forest Ham was my very favorite ham and it’s one of the things I REALLLY miss from non-veg days.
I’ve never really been a HAM FAN, so I am completely happy without! and YES, rind off!
Mmm…I could live off of fancy sandwiches like this. Pear and brie is one of my favorite combinations.
I could too. well, throw in some sushi every so often, I’m set!
Ohhh, I used to be rind off all the way but I am learning to love rind on – less of a hassle and I don’t waste any of the gooey goodness!
I love your version of the pb&J. Is it wrong that my hubs and I will sometimes get a big loaf of french bread, slather it with butter, slices of brie and prosciutto and broil it, then proceed to eat the whole thing?!
PS I like your knife – if that one of those ceramic kinds?
that is SO NOT wrong!!
when Jason and I were first dating it was VERY common for us to get a baguette, brie and a bottle of wine. a quick salad and that was dinner!
Love this take a on ‘gourmet’ grilled cheese! Before I knew dairy did not seat well with me I loved brie; luckily now there is goat brie that my stomach seems to handle pretty well
yeah, the goat cheese brie is really good – and I’ve heard it’s more mellow and manageable for most.
I love Brie. Rind on, but I don’t really like the huge chunk of rind at the end of the wedge. That’s a bit much!!!
I want to make a grilled cheese with pear, brie, no ham, and maybe add some pepper jelly. OMG.
yea, YUM – I make this with jelly sometimes too… this is THE FIRST time I made it with ham, and that was Jason’s… I say no to ham!
I have a FIG JAM that is SO good with this. pepper jelly would be AWESOME.
Brie is one of those cheeses I don’t care for. Sometimes it’s got just a weird chemical (?, that’s not quite it, it’s been SO long since I’ve had it) taste to me.
not really chemical, but yeah, I know what you mean, a hard to describe thing. it’s different, definitely.
I don’t know if I’ve had brie — or if I have I didn’t know it. I’m sure I’d like it, but I’m sure my stomach would not
The sandwiches are super cute though!
brie doesn’t seem to bother me like some other cheeses do. there’s a goat brie that is more mellow for many people!
Wow…that sounds absolutely fantastic!!
it’s pretty dang good!
ohhhhh yum. i looove this.
meeee toooooo…
This is probably weird, but I love brie with the rind on! The texture makes it!
These sandwiches look delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
no, not weird – from the comments here the consensus has been about even!
If I could eat it, I would! Dang those look amazing! The best thing I ever ate was a grilled tomato and cheese sandwich in France with Tony…I don’t know if it’s the memory of the trip or the actual sandwich.
oh, yes, tomato and cheese is SO good… and food memories are good, but probably the trip, or a mix of both?
Rind off! And I’m an expert at sneaking the middle part at dinner partays and acting like someone else is the peasant who ruined the brie
Where did you find that bread?? I’d give away my granny for a loaf of that!
BAAA – I do that too!! scoop out the middle, I’m good at it! aren’t the ficelles awesome!?? it’s hard for me to always find, we have a bakery here that makes them. so while it’s not gluten free, it’s so skinny and lovely and yummy it’s not TOO much to take..
Oh, and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY for whatever the event was! I bet Jason is glad you didn’t make a bean dish before the evening festivities (insert eyebrow wiggle).
*tee hee* Nellie Girl, you crack me up. All The Time. our paths have to cross at some point.
Now that’s my kind of pb & j. Really, you could put Brie-flavored toothpaste and I’d be a fan!
haaa… brie toothpaste. that is awesome.
Looks delicious (minus the ham of course
)
Honestly? I didn’t know anyone ate brie without the rind. lol
yes, mine was minus ham also!
I will eat it rind on, but prefer most of it off…
c’est delicieux!!! this looks awesome girlll! I looove brie, and i love the rind too! it adds a funky twist to it.
I can and will eat the rind, but I prefer without… or half off, you know? and I LOVE the French!
Happy Anny! I would totally eat those. Ham or not. Yum! I have been on a pear kick lately. I am totally a ‘Rind Off’ kind of girl. OMG I might have to make something like this soon. Dang I am drooling.
thank you, friend!! (Jason and I say “happy anny” all the time…)
I have been loving the pears lately – so delicious and juicy!
Growing up, my French Canadian grandfather told me that if I wasn’t willing to eat the rind, I wasn’t allowed the cheese. So I went Brie-less for years until my palate adjusted. And now… I don’t even see the *point* without the rind! As long as it’s aged properly (and I also prefer that its not aged too far, either), I actually prefer the end pieces—so I can get three sides of rind on the edges. Yum!
Oh, wow. Thanks for this—brie is my FAVE cheese of all time. Another story! Once, after I’d moved out West, I was at a wine and cheese and someone said “oh, well, there’s brie and camembert, but not like anyone knows the difference.” I became like a party trick when I could tell—is it weird or common amongst the foodie crowd to be able to discern?
haaa… going brie-less. tragic! that’s pretty cool of your grandfather to… what… introduce you to culture? if we ever share brie, I will give to you the three sided end!!
oh, and yes… I think true foodies probably do know the difference. but… yeah. I don’t know. I should probably stop typing now… I see a many people who refer to themselves as foodies who… aren’t?
I have no interest in a traditional PB & J, but this one I could go for! (Adjustments for food intolerances, of course.) Happy to hear there’s goat brie! I’ll take mine rind off, please.
xo,
Shirley
same here, Shirley!! I have never been a fan of traditional pb & j… separately, yes, but… not even really in a sandwich! rind off here, too!
Love this dish! Amazingly beautiful and delicious. Never thought to use pears before but it definitely works and I love brie. The sweetness is great with fruit. Anyway, just stopping by for the first time and love your site! Will be often! Would love for you to join my recipe challenge next Wed. The challenge is to make something you have never made before but always wanted to (kind of like a bucket list). Just send me the pic of it and I will link it to you! you can see more details on my blog sidebar! XO
hey, Jessica! very cool, I’ll definitely check that out, thanks for letting me know about it! I love a challenge and to get out of my Kitchen Comfort Zone…
So funny – right after reading your post I watched a DVR’d episode of Modern Family & Mitchel brought Cameron a PB&J sandwich while he was “on set” of the local middle school’s musical. I was very proud that I knew what he was talking about since I saw your post first!!
I usually don’t like brie cheese unless it’s on a sandwich (on crackers makes me gag, seriously, it tastes like feet). My favorite so far is turkey, brie and grape jelly with lettuce, tomato & red onion. YUM!
oh, I KNOW !! that was CRAZY – I obviously hadn’t seen the show yet, and what an awesome coincidence! I was watching and was… like… WHAT did he just say!!??!!
so very cool!
ha, i just saw this and wanted to ask if you got the idea from modern family – i guess not! what a crazy coincidence. also, i luuuuuv that show.
isn’t that CRAZY?? I made these that day – posting the blog that afternoon sometime… I was watching Modern Family later that night and was blown away. amazing, weird and FUN coincidence!! I was stunned.
yummmmmmmmmmm!!! brie is my fave cheese ever! I’m a rind off girl too
my favorite too… Mmm…
Rind offfffffffffffffffff!!!!
totally.
Classical combination! Looks very good! (But, you know, I’m not a cheese eater.
)
yes, I know! I do so appreciate you coming by to say hello anyway – always nice to chat! (Basil says WOOF).
I’ll have to give this combo a try. My current fav is creole cream cheese, pear and gorgonzola. Nom nom nom. Out of good bread? I’ve been known to make it into a quesadilla. Happy to have found your blog!
Hello Mamma~! I’m happy you found me, too!!
your combination sounds amazing – and I love wraps & quesadillas too! Cheers!
So cute! Love that this serves two
yes! they were good!
I don’t mind a little bit of rind (a poem even!) but I don’t like a big chunk of it. That sandwich is fabulous! I like ham (but not the cured salty ham) and I think it would be awesome with the pear and brie.
Jason loves it! I’m not a ham fan, so I just go with what he says, but yes, I can imagine the sweet and the salty are good together!
Haha! Love the use of the word “damp” instead of moi…nope, not gonna say it!
I’ve only tried brie once, with the rind, and I wasn’t a fan. I had it cold straight out of the fridge…maybe I need to try it warm? I’m definitely willing to give it another shot though…when I first tried goat cheese, I didn’t like it and now I couldn’t live without it!
oh MAN, Heather, I am SO glad you noticed that. AND you knew what word I was avoiding – ew!
I love the folks who READ my blog, you know? like really read, not skim? 
yes – give brie another shot? it is best after ‘warming up’ to room temp – or YES… heat it. have you had brie en croute??? a brie wheel wrapped in puff pastry!! GAAH so good!
No I haven’t, but I’ve seen it before. It usually has some sort of jam involved to, right? Oh, I don’t know how that could NOT taste good!
And I totally get what you mean. I mean, why comment on a blog if you didn’t bother reading it? I comment to SHOW the author that I’m reading, not to promote myself!
This sandwich looks amazing! I love cramming fruit into everything so it’s right up my alley
Hi Andrea! yes, I think this is one of my favorite combinations (mine was pear + brie only, I’m not a Ham Fan…)
I love a savory + sweet together, and I like adding fruit to pretty much everything too! Cheers!
was this inspired by last weeks modern family episode?
no! it was crazy, I posted the same day (about 4 in the afternoon) and it was a freaky coincidence when I saw that later!
yes please
right?? Mmm, so good.
Don’t murder me, but I dont like cheese. I know, I’m awful, but ever since I was a kid I gaged at the stuff.
But…..
Um, jambon? pear? bread?
Yea, I’d tap that.
If I get a chance to make you a P & J sandwich, Eden, I will gladly take your portion of brie. You can have my jambon!
AND – I just saw you say something about brussels sprouts, which I LOATHE. we’re even!
We just had this same sammie minus the pear but add a small schmear of spicy brown mustard at New Seasons on Sunday after church. I have been thinking of it ever since. Now you post this!!! I am going to have to get the stuff and make it now. My mouth is watering just typing this. Dang, I was trying to forget the deliciousness that was this sammie and now….now I must eat this again. Right now!! Hahaha
haaaaa, this is clever! and looks very tasty to boot!
this is great, love your originality.
*chuckle* this is great!! and sounds delectable too!
now you’ve done it – brills!
Huh, I didn’t know you weren’t vegan! How did I go all this time not knowing that? Well thanks for providing so many other fantastic vegan recipes. I do like the simplicity of this sandwich, it sounds very French, the whole fruit-cheese-bread combo
hi Amber, my natural inclination is primarily plant based, but I have always been a flexible vegetarian – I don’t regularly eat meat (the jambon in these sandwiches was for Jason!), haven’t for years.
You are very welcome – I love to create vegan recipes, the challenge to make them taste great for everyone is something I continually strive for!
Thanks for replying! I got bored tonight so I started going through your archive. Apparently for a long time I had only been reading the entries that had been posted on findingvegan so I didn’t realize you were a flexible vegetarian, haha, but it’s nice to be enlightened.
It’s really cool when you make a vegan+gluten free recipe because I’m vegan and my roommate is gluten intolerant, so those recipes are ones that both of us can enjoy!
oh Amber I am so happy to hear this – I love to hear from my faithful readers, especially when they are enjoying my recipes! If there is a recipe you or your roommate would like to see here, please let me know!
Cheers, Kristina
Thank you Kristina! I do love your pictures. The pics of the carrot waffles yesterday were gorgeous, and actually my roommate and I made them for breakfast this morning (Saturday = big, fun breakfast
). Fantastic!
Now, for the last two months or so she’s been obsessed with making mugcakes every night. Chocolate. I was thinking, gosh, wouldn’t it be fun to make a savory mugcake? You know, for those times when you want a quick microwave meal? I don’t like desserts, but I like the simplicity of the mugcake, so I was thinking of making some kind of lunch-type mugcake. Thoughts? I love spicy foods, so maybe a chili-infused cake of some sort?
hehe, funny word play. sandwich looks good too
glad you liked that
interesting and funny, I just got it!
did you get this from modern family
nope, just a coincidence!
this was published before that original airing.
brilliant wordplay! I do not eat the meat either, but would enjoy the version like yours!
this is SO good, and heh heh, really fun.
thanks Sam – I know you love this one!
oh GOSH, that DOES sound good. I love to make something savory that is normally made sweet… I just love to create the unexpected! I also like that you said spicy, in the last several years I have really started to appreciate spicy foods. Hmm… I will think on this one!
SO glad you made the carrot waffles and liked them! as far as I know, you are the first!
Yay! I can’t wait to see what you come up with! I know it’ll be fantastic, as always. <3
My roommate (Zoe. Don't you love how I'm "A" and she's "Z"? We keep saying how it's fate for us to be roommates, haha) and I love adding produce into things that don't normally have them, like carrots in waffles, zuchini slices as the base for a pizza (that was your idea, right? It was a while ago…), spinach in pancakes… (you can tell we make quite a few of your recipes
). Thank you for that inspiration, I'm going to be raving about those carrot waffles for a long time! We poured the cinnamon all over them, cuz we love cinnamon too, and it goes great with everything!
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