Grilled Monterey Jack with Prosciutto, Basil, and Fig Preserves

Last April, Food Network Magazine ran a feature on dressed up grilled cheese sandwiches. I just ran across a page I'd ripped out. I didn't have the dates called for in the original recipe, but it inspired my own twist...with a smear of chunky fig preserves (from Snow Goose Produce near Mount Vernon, WA), a gift from my good friend Gayleen who knows I love to cook. :) I love the sweet-salty combination from the prosciutto and the fig!

Ingredients:
asiago cheese bread
butter
prosciutto
monterey jack cheese
fresh basil leaves
fig preserves with ginger

Butter one side of each slice of bread (any crusty bread will do, but I had the asiago on hand). Place slices, buttered side down on a hot skillet. Top one side with a slice or two of prosciutto and a slice of monterey jack, the other with a tablespoon of the fig preserves, basil leaves, then another slice of monterey jack. I had my cheese sliced extra thin, so two slices wasn't overwhelming...and as it melted it helped hold everything together. :)

If you can't find fig preserves, I imagine
an apricot jam would compliment the
prosciutto well, too.  -- or go for the
original idea of thinly sliced dates.