Hello... is this thing still on?

Hello, is there anybody out there?

Grilled Amazingness with Something Special

So I had less than an hour before I had to head out to coach the young ones. I knew I would be home in time for a good dinner so something had to be called to action. I wanted a grilled cheese, but not just the normal deal. No, that is not how I roll, I have to do things differently.

By now you looked at the picture and said, what the hell. Mayo, just keep reading. You will understand soon enough junior.

Call to Action:
Velvetta slices, 2 to be exact
Norwegian Jarlsberg Cheese, buy the chunk, slice it yourself. This made up most of my cheesiness.
Hard Salame, 4 discs or add more to your liking
Prosciutto, 3 large slices were in order for me today
Fresh made Sour Dough French bread. 2 nice sized slices
And the secret ingredient.... OMG MAYO. (don't say ewwww, honestly, if you want to taste butter the whole time you eat a grilled cheese, then go eat buttered toast.) Use mayo instead, spread a thin even layer on the outside of both pieces. No need to butter the pan, just drop your sandwich on with the mayo side down. I promise you will not taste any mayo, if you do then you put far to much on. Thin coating, it grills it nicely and leaves no taste behind to ruin your beautiful sandwich.

See the even spread of Mayo on the bread. That is all you need.





All finished. Throw some Cool Ranch in the mix and you are golden.

The Garlic Cheddarella

Ingredients:

- One slice of mozzarella cheese (per sandwich)
- One slice of cheddar cheese (per sandwich)
- Garlic powder
- Butter
- Two slices of bread (per sandwich)

You start off by buttering the bread as you would any other ordinary grilled cheese, but on the inside of the bread you add garlic powder.



I then decided that instead of just laying the pieces of cheese atop of one another I would split each slice in half and lay one half of each slice on each side, so that half would be cheddar and the other half mozzarella.



The next layer I alternated the halves.



I then added garlic butter to the inside of the top pieces of bread as well and proceeded in cooking like normal.



Now you cook until done to your satisfaction. I like mine lightly browned, just enough to melt all the cheese.



Deliciousness in a pure and simple form. Enjoy.

-Naegleria fowleri

Jalapenos, Cheddar, Provolone and Tabasco? Kicking it up a notch

I mentioned in my previous blog that it was the first part of a doubleheader, well I figure I better get around to that second part sooner than later. I'm not going to spend a bunch of time droning on about the build for this sandwich since it is nearly identical to the my previous Jalapeno Bread, Cheddar and Provolone sandwich. However I would like to showcase what makes this version a bit different for altogether a different sandwich.

The star of this game needs no introduction, but since I've gotten this far I suppose I might as well. The special ingredient used to take our sandwich to the next level is Tabasco.

Tabasco has been around for well over 100 years (141 actually) and is a worldwide standard in hot sauce. While not the hottest or necessarily the finest of quality Tabasco is recognized as one of the most prolific sauces available. The sauce is a staple on the Space Shuttle, aboard Naval vessels and an essential part of every soldiers MRE kit. If Tabasco sauce can make an MRE taste good, imagine what it could do for your sandwich.



For our sandwich we chose the appropriately flavored Jalapeno Tabasco Sauce. The Jalapeno flavored sauce is mild and tangy with a nice Jalapeno taste and a muted vinegar flavor. This is my sauce of choice for many soups and side dishes.

Earlier blogs discussed the liberal use of butter on my sandwiches, here is a decent shot of that edge to edge coverage.



Here is a good view of the Jalapeno Cheese Bread, you can actually see the lines of cheese in the bread as seen below. I'm 1/2 way through this loaf now, I don't expect it will last through the weekend.



One minor difference that was key to the success of this sandwich that we failed to do on the previous one was to put the provolone smack dab in the middle of the sandwich. This proved to be a crucial difference in the consistency of the cheese mix.

We made a couple of these hot sauce sandwiches in preparation for this presentation and while ILPUL's method of sauce on cheese works, as does adding sauce on top of the buttered bread the best method we discovered is to sauce the bread first, spread the sauce into the bread allowing a minor amount of soak to occur before adding the butter. This method really seems to seal in the taste more than the other methods tried. Try all of the methods and let us know what works best for you.

Grilling in progress. Check out the overall thickness of the sandwich. It actually towers over the side of the skillet. This is no mere midnight snack, this bad-boy will put a good dent in that appetite and in the unfortunate event you are still hungry, that cast iron pan will still be nice and hot and ready to go.

Quick picture of the sandwich once flipped. You can see the cheese is just starting to peek out the sides as it melts into a gooey mess.

Plated and ready for presentation and cut in half.

The finished product. As you might understand it can be difficult to enjoy a sandwich like this and put it into words. I literally found myself unable to focus on notetaking while eating this sandwich. I remember the taste of the Tabasco was amazing, a hint of heat without being overbearing, the cheese mix was near perfect, the Cheddar provided a nice bite, while the Provolone had provided what can only really be described as a chewy center. This cheesy core coupled with the spongy toasted texture of the bread definately plays on the pallate. I dare you to duplicate this sandwich, you won't be disappointed.

As always, Taste the Adventure my friends!!

See you soon with my next installation... the last installment of the Jalapeno Bread series the full on Original Tabasco Cheddar Killer Sandwich.

Sharp and Spicy

For this installation in the great quest of ultimate cheesiness I have chosen a simple yet delicious combo. The bread is a mountain oat nut style containing bits of oats as well as some hints of pine nuts and others for a bit of texture. Sharp cheddar was selected tonight for its great taste and a bit of an extra flavor kick complemented with the Cheech's own habanero chipotle sauce.


Once the cheese and hot sauce was applied to the bread, as was a generous slathering of real butter all over the outside of this sandwich. I chose to use the sandwich griller seen here for its simplicity and because it cooks very evenly and even cuts the sandwich diagonally.


Now usually I use my do-all of the kitchen world, a cast iron skillet, but one of the room mates has this device and it works great for a quick late night job with great results. The cheese was fully melted, and the bread and butter toasted to perfection.


This is definitely a full flavored GCS with a bit of kick. After enjoying this one, I do believe it can be made better. Jalapeno slices as well as maybe a hint of pepper jack in there would be a great addition.

Untill we cheese again my friends...

Jalapenos, Cheddar and Provolone... Simple Gourmet

Greetings again fellow seekers,

Today we present you with the first of a doubleheader of cheesy goodness. Our first sandwich up to bat is a delectable little number built on a foundation of Jalapeno Cheese Bread made from scratch at our local bakery then held firmly together by a core of Medium Cheddar and Provolone.

The Jalapeno Cheese Bread is not simply a bagged loaf of bread. The bread is baked fresh daily and isn't sliced until purchase. We ordered the bread to be sliced "Texas Toast" thick.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this term. "Texas Toast" generally refers to bread that is sliced to a thickness of about 1 inch. Texas Toast bread is perfect for grilled sandwiches because of the versatility and utility it has. Not only can it hold a serious load of meat or cheese it also manages to absorb and communicate the complex flavors and essences cooked into it.

Before I get to involved in the build, I'd like to introduce one my handy cooking tools. This is a classic 6 inch cast iron skillet. This is the smallest size you will typically see. This size skillet is perfect for grilling sandwiches as it provides even heat and control when cooking.

You will also notice I cook on gas. An open flame is in my opinion essential for grilling a sandwich, I know others might not share this point of view, but the proof is self evident in the results. This isn't to say a good electric griddle won't do the job.

Enough about that, let's move on to the sandwich.

As with any of our classic grilled cheese sandwiches a liberal coating unctuous substance is applied, in this case we chose a simple butter to perform the duty. Don't be afraid to lay it on thick because your going to cook off most of it anyhow. We will review several different ingredient, but this will probably be my coating of choice. There are several premium butters on the market which we will explore in depth as time goes on.

So now we've slathered our butter and preheated our skillet, it is now time to lay the bread in the pan and add the cheese. Cheese placement can be crucial especially with typical loaf bread because the cheese can easily melt over the sides of the bread and burn on the pan. However when your working with a generous portion of Texas Toast it's like having the wide open praire to work with the cheese can be laid out easily on the bread and there is plenty of thickness to the bread so even if it melts over the side, your going to be OK.

As I have mentioned multiple slices of cheese I believe are essential to the success of your grilled cheese. The layering of the cheese not only provides extra cheesy goodness but provides for different textures and consistancies within the center of the sandwich. Something we plan to discover is what cheese lends itself to the production of the finest grilled cheese. The classic American, a fine Swiss, or spicy Jack?

Who knows each cheese carries with it a different character and taste. Ultimately, the best cheese might be the one you can get your hands on. because sometimes you just can't wait. As you can see here we stacked two pieces of Mild Cheddar, later we added a slice of Provolone to the mix, to add bit more eccentric taste.

As I mentioned before the Texas Toast provides an excellent base in which to build your sandwich. Normally sliced bread tends to be fairly thin and the cheese can easily outweigh the bread, this is not so with our choice baked loaf. As you can see here even when the cheese managed to overflow from the side of the sandwich the spill was contained in a rather delicious looking way.

Once you've achieve a nice melt like this you know you've made something special. You can even see a bit of the Provolone peeking out from the edge of the sandwich. This isn't the ultimate in grilled cheese by a longshot, but it's a pretty decent start.

The finished result did come out a little on the dark side, but that's not always a problem. Some Cheesemason's actually prefer their sandwiches with a bit of "extra" toasting, especially along the crusts. I have yet to fully understand this facination but some swear by the extra bit of burn on the bottom.

Regardless, the sandwich did not disappoint, the bread was thick and maintained a kind of spongy quality and the cheese mix was fabulous, the cheddar providing a strong taste but yet married to the thickness of the provolone.

We will definately be trying this one again, maybe with some hot sauce added (thanks to ILPUL for the idea).

If you've got any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know by adding your comments to the blog.

Thanks for reading and remember to TASTE the ADVENTURE!!

DKJ

A little spice to a classic masterpiece.

As I sat here gazing at the cloudy sky, taking in the cool breeze my thoughts drifted to warmer climates and warmer foods. I wanted a light snack with big taste...a taste with some kick... I stole off to the kitchen in search of something to scratch this itch. As if it were calling to me this wondrous creation made it's appearance known and I instinctively knew what I needed to do. Next step was to find a way to "kick it up a notch" as so eloquently put by Emeril. The solution was clear, it was time to test out the new hot sauce I picked up yesterday. It's called Yucatan Sunshine, a habanero pepper based sauce that despite the heat has a rather delectable flavor. So after applying liberally onto the cheese and bread it was time to put this puppy into the pan and transform it into the wonder we know as The Grilled Cheese Sammich. Taking the advice of fellow Cheesemason Punished Dynamics, instead of applying butter to the bread I slathered on a light coating of mayonnaise. I do have to say I was rewarded with a beautiful looking sandwich with a wonderfully fiery flavor! With just the right balance of heat coupled with the wonderful cheesiness of the pepper jack I must say that this did not disappoint.

Eat up friends!

- ILPUL