Home of the Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Yesterday, it was time to head to Earth Fare Solon and get my free ice cream sundae. And buy some cheese. I have looked through Earth Fare’s cheese department but only once bought cheese from there. It was time to truly search through their cheeses …
It is the time of year when pumpkin, and apples, are found in everything from coffee drinks to ice cream. Grilled cheese sandwiches are not immune to this fall craze and so I begin this Grilled Cheese Roundup with a couple of delicious recipes for …
Another, somewhat longer, installation of the Grilled Cheese Roundup. Hope you enjoy, especially because somehow Thomas Jefferson and cheese are mentioned in the same sentence!
(courtesy Parmesan.com)
A case could be made that one of the American founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, helped popularize Italy’s Parmesan cheese in America.
It seems likely that Thomas Jefferson, an educated man who enjoyed living well, had tasted Parmesan cheese in American homes even before becoming the U.S. ambassador to France. He took up this post in 1786, long before Parmesan began to be called Parmigiano Reggiano® cheese.
Who would have thought that Thomas Jefferson was a fan of Parmesan cheese and wanted to bring it to the States? I surely didn’t! Smartly, though, he realized that trying to produce true Parmesan cheese in the United States was futile as part of the allure of the cheese was the fact that it was produced in Italy itself. Regardless, his love for Parmesan cheese, definitely helped begin the intrigue of such an awesome cheese.
(courtesy How Sweet It Is)
Fall is in the air and the leaves are changing color. That means it is time for a fall grilled cheese. Caramel apple‘s tend to show up in grocery stores and farmers markets at this time of year so why not try it as a grilled cheese? This amazing sandwich uses REAL caramel sauce and honeycrisp apples to make a unique and wonderful fall grilled cheese.
(courtesy Smells Like Home)
With me keeping Kosher and not eating bacon, I normally wouldn’t post this sandwich. However, it looks good and fig is a unique ingredient that seems to be popping up as of late. Plus, just because I don’t eat bacon, doesn’t mean the rest of the world doesn’t eat it also. Brie and fig jam (and bacon) seems like a great combination that should be tried by all the bacon lovers out there (which I know there are a ton).
(courtesy The Naptime Chef)
I love caramelized onions. I really, really love caramelized onions. The flavor is simply amazing. So when I saw The Naptime Chef made a grilled cheese consisting of caramelized onions (and swiss cheese), I had to post it for everyone to see.
(courtesy CHOW)
When someone posts a gallery of 10 original grilled cheese sandwich creations, how can I not post it? The above, “Cheezy Peas,” features mild cheddar and cooked peas. Looks and sounds pretty good to me! Other creations include “The Swiss Fun Guy,” featuring gruyère cheese, sautéed mushrooms, shallots, and fresh thyme; “Cruciferous Cheese Sandwich,” featuring gruyère cheese and thinly sliced roasted cauliflower; “Garlic Fries Melt,” featuring white cheddar cheese, thinly sliced roasted potatoes, and whole roasted garlic cloves. Definitely take a look through yourself and see which one is your favorite!
On this, the one random day I was actually on Twitter for more than 2 seconds, I was treated to this grilled cheese sandwich, thanks to @alosha7777 and Serious Eats. For some reason, maybe because of the photo (courtesy Serious Eats), I have taken a …
In a tribute to Valentine’s Day, I had to create a grilled cheese sandwich with strawberries, a main ingredient of the holiday. Last year, I went with a strawberry/mango grilled cheese, so this year I had to switch it up just a bit. I kept …
A quesadilla is a Mexican snack food made of cheese (and occasionally other ingredients) wrapped in uncooked masa (cornmeal dough) and fried, or cooked inside a corn, wheat or flour tortilla. The word comes from Spanish, and literally means “little cheesy thing” or “cheesy” (from queso, or “cheese”, + ada, an adjectival suffix, + illa, a diminutive suffix). (Quesadilla @ Wikipedia)
So, a quesadilla is made of dough or flour or wheat and usually contains cheese and other ingredients and literally means “little cheesy thing.” Doesn’t that sound exactly like a grilled cheese sandwich? I think so. Therefore, today, I christen a quesadilla a Mexican grilled cheese. If you disagree, please take it up with the boss. Now onto the veggie quesadilla.
Previously, I tried Cocina Selecta’s Queso Quesadilla cheese and I really enjoyed it. The Queso was a great Mexican cheese that I loved so when I decided to make an actual Mexican grilled cheese, I tried another Cocina Selecta cheese: Asadero. Prior to cooking, I take a minute, try the cheese, and form an opinion. Tonight, upon tasting the Asadero cheese, I almost decided to skip the meal and continue to munch on this heavenly cheese. That is how good this cheese was.
This famous cow’s milk cheese from the Oaxaca region is a stretched curd variety similar in texture to Provolone. White or pale yellow, the semi-soft cheese is kneaded and wound into balls before being plunged into brine for several minutes. It has a mild to sweet and buttery flavor…learn more about Mexico and The Caribbean cheeses.
This cheese was mild. It was sweet. And it was buttery. Oh and did I mention that it was awesome? I do not really have anything to add to I Love Cheese’s description other than to say, if you are able to try this cheese, you should. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Now that I have told you to go buy some Asadero cheese, let’s move on to the other cheese of the evening: Colby-Jack. Although I believe we have used it before, my search says we have not. Like the Asadero, this cheese is soft and buttery, but it has a nice, subtle kick to it. Although it is not the preferred cheese of the evening, it should not be discounted.
Take two things you love a lot and blend them together. That’s the story of Colby Jack. A combination of Colby and Monterey Jack, Colby Jack’s flavor ranges from mild and mellow, to lightly sweet, to sharp and tangy.
Usually marbled white and orange, Colby’s as fun to eat as it looks. Slice some Colby Jack and eat it with apples, pears or dark breads like pumpernickel and rye. (ILoveCheese.com)
Tonight’s veggie quesadilla mixture included the following ingredients, which were inspired by this recipe at AllRecipes.com.
I tried to use ingredients within the veggie quesadilla that are a-typical and I believe that I have succeeded. I mixed all of the above ingredients together and then sauteed them in a pan until they were beginning to soften. Once that happened, I scooped the mixture onto half of the tortilla shell, placed the Asadero and Colby-Jack cheese on top and then folded over the shell. I then popped that into the oven and baked it until the cheese was completely melted. Pretty simple, if you ask me!
One of my go-to complaints when creating these sandwiches is that there is not enough of a kick. Well, let me tell you, tonight’s veggie quesadilla was definitely not missing the kick. It was there and present. I am glad that I finally created a grilled cheese with a kick, although, it probably would have been better toned down a bit.
I believe that all of the ingredients included in the mixture, of which there were a lot, worked perfectly together. I was not able to taste any of the ingredients individually, but together, they tasted great. There was some crunch and some smooth, all leading to a great texture combination. Oh and with the melted awesome cheeses, this was something good. At times, the cheese did overpower the other ingredients. To combat this in the future, I may use less cheese, so just so the vegetables could shine as well.
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No matter if you agree with my assertion that a quesadilla is just a Mexican grilled cheese sandwich, you should try this. It was good and something I would make again, regardless if I was looking for a grilled cheese or not. The typical veggie quesadilla is usually just a few different types of cheeses, so this is definitely a step-up. I have a third left to eat, which I plan on doing tomorrow evening. If any other thoughts pop into my head, I will make sure to add them.