Search Results for: grilled cheese

Spicy Smashed Avocado & Asparagus with Dill Havarti Grilled Cheese

Roasted asparagus and spicy smashed avocado are fun additions to this grilled cheese, that features a dill-flavored havarti and seedy whole wheat bread.

Why the heck do I always feel the need to stack sandwiches?

Call me a dare devil (or maybe not) but maybe it’s just a bit more fun when I can challenge myself to a game of Jenga with a fantastically good, hot, melted sandwich.

See what one resorts to when one works alone? Please send someone if I start calling my sandwiches Wilson.

Since the first year that I started la bloggity blog, the flip of the calendar page to the month of April (make that the swipe of the screen on your iPhone if you’re living in 2015) promises an event of epic proportions.

Towering proportions even. An event that not even spring showers, cotton tails or bunny trails can top.

Or topple over.

It’s NATIONAL GRILLED CHEESE MONTH!continue to the recipe… about Spicy Smashed Avocado & Asparagus with Dill Havarti Grilled Cheese

Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese and Grilled Cheese Academy’s Recipe Showdown

If you hadn’t noticed, I sort of have a thing for cheese, especially grilled cheese. Yes, I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to the grilling of the cheese.

I think it stems from some of my first cooking experiences as a kid, when one of my standy-by lunchtime masterpieces was a melted cheese sandwich, forever inking the taste of melty cheddar cheese and white bread into my tastebud memory bank. And it’s now become a favorite of my Smudge too. How could it not?

Last year I celebrated Grilled Cheese month by creating a new grilled cheese recipe to share each week during the month of April. With so much melted goodness to be had they’re still some of my favorite posts.

[ 1 ] Turkey and White Cheddar with Caramelized Onion and Grape Grilled Cheese [ 2 ] Honey Smoked Ham with Fig Spread Grilled Cheese [ 3 ] Sweet Pear and Rosemary Honey with Havarti Grilled Cheese [ 4 ] Truffled Mushroom with Prosciutto and Tallegio Grilled Cheese

I hope you like them too because it’s time to break out the cheese grater and warm up the sandwich flipper because we’re doing it again this year. My mind just can’t quit thinking of some of my favorite ingredients to melt together.

And here’s a reason yours should get churning too.

My friends at Wisconsin Cheese and I are announcing Grilled Cheese Academy’s 2013 Recipe Showdown, where aspiring cheese heads can put their creative talents to the test to compete for the title to be crowned the queen—or king—of the grilled cheese sandwich for an entire year.

And lucky me, I will be one of the contest judges stuffing my face with amazing creations. Is there a crown? Possibly. A sash? I’ll make you one. But I do know there will definitely be prizes ($5,000 in value to the grand prize winner plus more!) bragging rights and some serious cheese cred.

All you have to do is create and enter your best grilled cheese sensation. Oh, TWIST MY ARM! Oh wait, I can’t enter since I’m a judge. Well then people, don’t let me down and please cook me a sandwich to make me and your mama proud.

Now about those prizes…

continue to the recipe… about Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese and Grilled Cheese Academy’s Recipe Showdown

Parmesan Crusted Fondue Grilled Cheese and Grilled Cheese Academy Recipe Showdown

April ended, May wormed its way in under a blanket of snow and announced the official end of Grilled Cheese Month. Sigh.

While many blogs are moving on to Mother’s Day celebrations—all pretty and lacy with flowers and sweets galore—I have just one more grilled cheese to share with you. Just because I can’t help myself.

And because I couldn’t bear it if you missed out on the chance to win some crazy, great prizes by simply creating your own grilled cheese sandwich, I really needed to remind you just one last time about your chance to wow the world with your cheeseness.

I’ll be one of the judges of the Grilled Cheese Academy’s Grilled Cheese Recipe Showdown next month, eating my way through toasted bread and gooey middles to choose the finest cheese sandwich of 2013.

The entries have been rolling in but I couldn’t resist giving you one more prod, one more push to enter for yourself because the prizes are just too good to not give it a go.

If I could enter, I oh so would. But I can’t, so you need to.

You only have until May 12 to enter the contest, and here are over 5,000 reasons you should…

continue to the recipe… about Parmesan Crusted Fondue Grilled Cheese and Grilled Cheese Academy Recipe Showdown

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This grilled cheese is like everyone’s favorite jalapeño poppers melted between two slices of bread for the ultimate gooey grilled cheese sandwich.

It’s finally here and if you’re at all like me, you’ve been patiently waiting like a toddler patiently waits for his or her turn behind 8 other kids for a ride on the slide, or to be told to wait until after lunch for that popsicle. Tantrums, tears and frustration may or may have not all played a part in this waiting game.

But the wait is over and today we’re enjoying a different kind of meltdown. It’s National Grilled Cheese Day!

Since I first started the blog, April has heralded the arrival of one of my favorite themed months: Grilled Cheese Month. See for yourself and check out my other grilled cheese recipes here. This year I’m thrilled to be partnering with Arla to share recipes featuring their cheeses and we’re starting things off with a cheesy classic: grilled cheese sandwiches of course!

This recipe all started with “the pull”. No, not tractor pulls. Not the pull of the moon either.

We’re talking about the determining factor of every perfectly made grilled cheese. It’s “the pull” of melty, gooey cheese when two halves are divided from one.

And this recipe has what it takes to get “the pull” every time.

continue to the recipe… about Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Crab and Avocado Grilled Cheese

Uh-oh. Looks like I’ve entered an eating contest. It won’t be for hot dogs. It won’t be for pie and it’s not for chicken wings.

This eating contest won’t be with me as a contestant either. Instead, I’ll be on the other side of the table, as a judge. And I won’t be judging others eating. Nope, it’ll be me and a select few who will be doing all of the tasting.

This June I’ll be reprising my role as a judge at the Wisconsin Cheese Academy’s Grilled Cheese Recipe Showdown. And loving every crumb of it.

Now, if you haven’t yet entered a recipe that will put me into a dead faint that has me dropped straight into a wheelbarrow and wheeled out the door, now is the time.

With the chance to win a $10,000 grand prize package, it’s probably worth a spin at this game of grilled cheese recipe roulette.

So let’s play!

continue to the recipe… about Crab and Avocado Grilled Cheese

Kennebunkport Lobster Grilled Cheese and Grilled Cheese Academy Contest

It’s no secret around here that I’m a big fan of cheese. Whether it’s in gooey sandwiches like this one or mixed into salads like this one or in cheesy chorizo dips too.

I love cheese.

And thus, my lust of cheese makes it even more exciting that once again this year I’ll be a judge for the 2014 Wisconsin Cheese Grilled Cheese Academy’s Grilled Cheese Recipe Showdown.

Last year I traveled to Madison, WI where I judged the Grilled Cheese Recipe Showdown and ate an amazing assortment of cheese in between buttered bread.

Eating 15 grilled cheese sandwiches in one sitting? Sure, sign me up.

continue to the recipe… about Kennebunkport Lobster Grilled Cheese and Grilled Cheese Academy Contest

French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Today is a big day in the world of cheese lovers. It’s National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. Two snaps and let’s celebrate.

I know. They make food holidays out of the oddest of food themes: Bologna Day (October 24). Fruit cocktail day (May 13). Bicarbonate of soda day (December 30). What?

But for pretty much every food lover everywhere, Grilled Cheese Day is officially one to break bread for. I mean, it’s cheese. And I’ve made it my goal to share a cheesy fave every GCDay since I started this bloggity blog back in 2011. So let’s dig into this melty onion, cheesy favorite between two slices of sourdough bread.

Who needs brothy soup anyway?continue to the recipe… about French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Brown Sugar Pecans and Sweet Bacon with Havarti Grilled Cheese

Meeting in the middle of savory and sweet, this candied bacon and pecan grilled cheese is great for lunch but makes a unique dessert too.

Today is a gooey day. Certainly meltable even if we have yet to hit the heights of summer. Ring the bells and warm up your skillets, it’s National Grilled Cheese Day!

Throughout the month of April I’m partnering with one of my favorite cheese makers, Wisconsin’s Arla Dofino, to create and share three recipes featuring three of my favorite, meltable cheeses: Dill Havarti, Creamy Havarti and Smoked Gouda.

I started off the month at a good clip, with my Spicy Smashed Avocado & Asparagus with Dill Havarti Grilled Cheese. If you haven’t yet tried Arla Dofino Dill Havarti, tick tock, this is the time.

This week I’m keeping up the pace with this savory meets sweet (sounds like me and my man, but who is which?) grilled cheese sandwich that melts somewhere in the middle of lunch and dessert.

It’s simply the best place to be.continue to the recipe… about Brown Sugar Pecans and Sweet Bacon with Havarti Grilled Cheese

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and How to Take an Epic Grilled Cheese Photo

Grilled cheese sandwiches are probably one of the easiest, most classic sandwich recipes ever invented. Taking a photo of one is sometimes another story.

You know how the recipe goes: 2 slices of cheese, two slices of bread, 2 slathers of sweet butter. Seriously, can comfort food really get any better? Okay, maybe when dipped in homemade tomato soup, but that’s kind of a given.

Then you have us recipe makers who just can’t seem to leave well enough alone. We simply cannot just make a simple grilled cheese.

We get all inspired and load on stuff like bacon, lobster, strawberries and definitely avocado. Sometimes they’re even healthified with trendy foodie ingredients like kale and shiitake mushrooms or begging-for-5-napkins-or-more buffalo chicken.

And that’s where the fun really begins.

continue to the recipe… about Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and How to Take an Epic Grilled Cheese Photo

Raspberry and Chocolate With Almonds Grilled Cheese

Havarti cheese, creamy mascarpone, tart raspberries, milk chocolate with almonds and orange zest get melty and gooey pressed in between hunks of angel food cake in this surprising and delicious take on grilled cheese.

Grilled Cheese—it’s standard fare at our house. Savory? Sure! But, sweet? Absolutely!

Sometimes we all get in a rut with that cheddar-on-white-bread-with-tomato-soup thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that there’s so much more cheesy goodness out there to be melted, gooed and strung into our mouths.

Especially when the cheese is paired with classic almond studded chocolate bars and a bite of sweet, fresh fruit for a savory take on a grilled dessert sandwich.continue to the recipe… about Raspberry and Chocolate With Almonds Grilled Cheese

Chorizo and Peppadew Pepper Grilled Cheese

What is that you see? A towering inferno? No, just a deliciously lipsmackerlicious Spanish-style grilled cheese sandwich. What? What’s that you say? Oh man! Say it ain’t so! Grilled Cheese Month has nearly closed it’s doors, making way for Mother’s day brunch, Cinco de Mayo spiciness and so many asparagus recipes bopping about the web we probably won’t even have to eat the tender stalks to feel their superpower affects.

I may have to rebel and stay in April with my gooey grilled cheese. Although I do have one final grilled cheese recipe that I’m saving to transition into May. I have a hard time saying goodbye.

So. I’m going to be judging a contest, the Grilled Cheese Academy Recipe Showdown, and I can’t believe the goodness that’s been submitted so far. Like a marathon runner in training, I’ve been doing my due diligence and expanding my stomach in preparation for the big event. Like that was hard. If you haven’t yet, I really, really hope you enter. Because there are some SERIOUS prized to be won. Like serious. And I can’t win them. So I want you to instead. Plus I want some inspiration to glean for grilled cheese month NEXT year. Enter and get more info at the Grilled Cheese Academy site.

This photo of my husband hand modeling is for Chung-Ah of Damn Delicious. We have a thing about using our men for free labor. And have you seen her amazing grilled cheeses? Blueberries on a waffle. And cheese!

And now let’s get to that recipe with more cheese…continue to the recipe… about Chorizo and Peppadew Pepper Grilled Cheese

10 Cranberry Recipes plus a Turkey Cranberry and Grilled Brie Cheese Sandwich

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner table conversation could turn from a mild meet-up to a combative melee depending on one’s beliefs. Why? Here’s one reason why.

Thanks for the stimulating conversation but I’ll be staying far from the fracas.

Thanksgiving brings out opinions aplenty in areas other than current events or whether the Redskins or Cowboys will take the turkey honors. Some of the strongest are tied to food and the stalwart stands we each take when it comes to defending our turkey day dinners.continue to the recipe… about 10 Cranberry Recipes plus a Turkey Cranberry and Grilled Brie Cheese Sandwich

Cobb Grilled Cheese and Friday Faves

Okay, okay, I know. This grilled cheese is much more than just cheese. It’s a cacophony of flavors. Fresh, California-esque flavors packed and stacked into the theme of a grilled cheese sandwich.

With Grilled Cheese Month in full swing, completely creative cheese concoctions are popping up all over the web. Which makes coming up with something original not the most original idea.

Case in point: Last week when I posted my Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese I knew from the get go that the ingredient list may not be the most original, but the combination wasn’t something I had recently seen. That is until later that night when I was perusing my Feedly blog feed and BOOM, right there in the popular post column (natch) I saw a version of the same sandwich on Joy’s site from 3 days earlier.

I took comfort in my duplication that at least I was somewhat in the same hemisphere of recipe creation as a doyenne food blogger and hey, there aren’t that many original ideas left in the world. And who cares? Nothing ever comes out the same way twice from the exact same cook anyway. There’s plenty of room for all of us.

Some food bloggers scour the web to see if their recipe ideas have been posted on sites far and wide. I’m not into that. If it’s something I think sounds tasty, I’ll post it. If someone else features the same recipe idea, I’ll consider that fate, fluke or simply a happy accident with the world telling us we need more Spinach and Artichoke Sandwiches. Of which we do.

continue to the recipe… about Cobb Grilled Cheese and Friday Faves

Strawberry Bruschetta Grilled Cheese and Friday Faves

It was that sock that sat right in the middle of the floor for over a week. And her flip-flops that were haphazardly strewn about the living room along with a pile of papers and markers and other 8 year old stuff. And the pile of yet to be cleaned paint brushes sitting on the counter after my husband deposited them, left to languish next to the pile of clean towels that never seemed to get put away.

The little annoyances that last week gave me prickly heat every time I saw them, melted to the background after several national events reminded me that life as we know it can change in an instant.

I’m just grateful I get to once again have this gentle nudge to not take “stuff” so seriously. It is, afterall, just stuff.

As I show you my favorite recipes or share the latest shoes I covet, I don’t want to be insensitive—or on the flip side too melancholy—to events beyond our control. I think it’s important to remember that while we’re all affected by national circumstances, and while saddened or frustrated by them, we must also learn something from them. So I’m working on learning to turn a blind eye to MY issues with what gets my dander up, and be thankful I have loved ones to contribute to my self-induced peeves.

Yesterday I asked Facebook what you were craving to continue my Grilled Cheese Month Friday recipes: Savory or sweet? While the savory side seemed to weigh in pretty heavy, there were a fair number of you in the sweet camp as well. So I made a compromise: Let’s do a savory AND sweet grilled cheese this week. And here she is.

I present…Strawberry Bruschetta Grilled Cheese.continue to the recipe… about Strawberry Bruschetta Grilled Cheese and Friday Faves

Sweet Pear and Rosemary Honey with Havarti Grilled Cheese

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. They’re not just for lunch anymore…and National Grilled Cheese Month continues.

This past weekend was a rainy one, where the clouds hugged the mountains and raindrops fell in sideways sheaths thanks to the whipping wind and fast moving storm. There is pretty much nothing I like better than a rainstorm, except for a thunderstorm. Or an epic snowstorm. Cocooning. That’s my idea of a good day.

With Smudge’s soccer game cancelled we had an unexpected opportunity to slow down from our regular weekend schedule filled with postponed errands, playdates and soccer games. Yep, the life of a parent is rarely your own. But its pretty damn awesome.

It was too wet to wander out for brunch, so we were definitely eating at home. And what did Smudge request? Grilled cheese. I don’t know why I was surprised—what kid doesn’t request grilled cheese as their go-to meal? But for breakfast?continue to the recipe… about Sweet Pear and Rosemary Honey with Havarti Grilled Cheese

Honey Smoked Ham with Fig Spread Grilled Cheese

There are few meals in my life that once I light upon them become an obsession. The humble grilled cheese is that sandwich.

No matter what form, no matter what level of haute- or low-brow cuisine, the cheese a la grillé is a magnet that won’t let me go. And I am totally okay with that.

The beauty of any grilled cheese is the multitude of limitless combinations to create gooeywiches. Any kind of cheese from stinky French milks to hard aged cheddars will match with humble potato bread or artisan sourdoughs. Throw in an infinite number of add-ins and there you have an enviable sandwich.continue to the recipe… about Honey Smoked Ham with Fig Spread Grilled Cheese

Ham and Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

This easy to make recipe is made with deli ham, smoked gouda, fried egg, tomato, and arugula, and it’s everything you want in a breakfast sandwich!

I once had a boss who had a habit for emphasizing the sensational.

He gauged quality and effectiveness by his gut, his intuition. By his visceral reaction. With a squint of his eyes, he’d push his glasses back up his nose, clench his hands and fist pound the air in front of him as he said the word visceral. “Back when I worked at [insert company name here], we created x, y, z product to get consumers to respond with a VISCERAL reaction.” You always knew he meant business when the word visceral spit out of his mouth with an extra dramatic paused slur in the middle of the word.

After pulling this sandwich from the grill, I had a flashback to those days of hearing that statement over and over. This sandwich. I had a visceral reaction to it. Visceral! My gut, my intuition, it all said that his sandwich, even before tasting it, was a fist-pump-in-the-air success.

My former boss would be proud.

continue to the recipe… about Ham and Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

Mushroom and Kale Grilled Cheese and Friday Faves

Cheese. Cheese. Cheese. Oh, and can I get a side of cheese with that please?

My day yesterday was a cheese lover’s-cheesehead-dream sandwiched between slices of pretzel bread, sourdough and even a shout out to challah (hollah!) all to be consumed in less than two hours.

Over the last few months, I’ve shared the details of this contest with you and it’s finally all come down to this. The day had arrived. A grilled cheese reckoning. Homage to the great grilled cheese. The medal of honor to all things gooey and melty. The day I became an official judge for the Grilled Cheese Academy’s Grilled Cheese Recipe Showdown.

Following a selection process that had been narrowed down to the final seven recipe contestants, I went to Madison, WI to meet with my fellow judges from Wisconsin Cheese to determine which of these recipes would become the grand prize winner of a $5,000 prize package. (photos thanks to Mike)

continue to the recipe… about Mushroom and Kale Grilled Cheese and Friday Faves

Garlicky Avocado Grilled Cheese with Tomato Pesto

I’d have to admit, this post is all about the goo. And maybe a little avocado to compliment the garlicky plot.

I love cheese. And if you’ve followed this blog for a nanosecond you’d know why. Maybe thanks to this and this and this.

We all have our weaknesses.

But recently I’ve felt a disconnect. I felt something’s been missing. I’ve missed my grilled cheese.

Maybe it’s because I know that Grilled Cheese Month is nearly here. So I started brainstorming some tasty combos I hope you’ll love. Hey, tell me, what do you love, anyway? The comments below are a great place to say.

continue to the recipe… about Garlicky Avocado Grilled Cheese with Tomato Pesto

Fried Green Tomatoes Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I’ve had a hankering to post a fried green tomato recipe, for, oh, say, the past 2 1/2 years. And lucky Mrs. GreenJeans, the day has finally come.

You can thank my underabundance of ripe, red tomatoes that instead produced a lovely harvest of green tomatoes for this recipe.

I’d have to say after eating this grilled cheese sandwich, it was nearly worth forgoing another burrata caprese salad in place of the plethora of my under-ripened fruit. The sweetness of these tomatoes paired perfectly with the spiciness of the monterey jack cheese oozing out from it’s edges.

Green tomatoes are still stunners, afterall.