Corn Cookie, Ham & Cheese Melts

Cookies and grilled ham & cheese. What could be better?

I'm a big fan of pastry maven Christina Tosi and her treats from Momofuku Milk Bar  -- whenever I have lunch at David Chang's má pêche, I stop there on my way out for some compost cookies.  I also love her blueberry & cream ones.  I'm not a huge fan of her corn cookies for dessert (I don't like sweet corn bread either), but Chris likes them, and there was a cool recipe using them in the latest version of Chang's new magazine venture, Lucky Peach. Naturally, when Chris and I met for lunch at má pêche last week, we grabbed some so we could make it for New Year's.  It's basically a grilled corn cookie, ham & cheddar melt sandwich. Which is okay with me, because I can see the corn cookie working well that way.

So, on New Year's Day, we bought some sharp cheddar and deli ham and some coleslaw -- for our version of the traditional pork and sauerkraut dinner.  We went home and put a cookie flat side down on a cast iron pan that was heated to medium-high, added the cheese and ham, topped it with another cookie and then did the same for the second one.  We cooked the sandwiches until the cheese was melty and the cookies had browned on both ends, about 6-8 mins for each.  I didn't even need to grease the pan, the cookies were so buttery...

Btw, Chris got a soda machine for Christmas from someone in his office, so he made some homemade cola  to go with our lunch.  I'm looking forward to having homemade fizzy drinks more often. Tasty!

The sandwich was sweet, salty, gooey and greasy -- the perfect thing after a night of lots of bubbly.  The cold, crisp soda and crunchy coleslaw paired well with it, too.  I think we went directly into a food coma after finishing the sandwiches, but they sure were fun to eat, and a cool way to ring in 2012.

Next time, I might use a cheese like pepper jack to add some spice, but I can see this working really well for a Superbowl party.  (Chris thought we could make mini versions using cornbread for party bites.) Good news for those of you not living near NYC: Williams Sonoma now sells the Milk Bar cookie mixes and you can get the Milk Bar cookbook here.

Let me know if you get either!
xoxo