Grilled cheese isn't that complicated. There's the issue of whether you smear the butter on the bread or let it melt in the skillet (the latter means never tearing the bread with too-cold butter). A little fresh-ground pepper on the inside is good. A lid helps.
Four good kinds:
- Gruyere, Dijon mustard, ripe tomato if available (accept no unripe substitutes), bread of your choice
- mozzarella, pesto, ripe tomato (ditto above), bread of choice
- Irish cheddar, fig paste or chutney, bread of choice
- a nice Brie, anything (grilling and bread optional)
- American cheese, white bread (with tomato soup!)
And now, Grilled Cheese: The Recipe Contest. Before we get too far into this, please note that while The Contest is sponsored by the Seattle Cheese Festival, there are no prizes. To wit: "The winning recipe will be demonstrated during a cooking demo... [at] the Seattle Cheese Festival, which takes place at Pike Place Market on May 16-17, 2009.... [and] featured online... and on the menu at the café at DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine."
This is patently absurd. THE SEATTLE CHEESE FESTIVAL can't give the winner of their own damn grilled cheese recipe contest a prize of, oh, I don't know, A BUNCH OF DELICIOUS CHEESE?!
Actually, I'm just going to put the contest details after the jump. If you want to leave your grilled cheese recipe in the comments, you'll at least get the prize of other people's admiration (or, you know, abuse—even abuse is better than NOTHING, NOT EVEN ANY CHEESE).
Photo by faeryboots from flickr.
FIFTH ANNUAL SEATTLE CHEESE FESTIVAL SPONSORS
GRILLED CHEESE RECIPE CONTEST
SEATTLE — Feb. 17, 2009 — The Seattle Cheese Festival is conducting a recipe search for the best grilled cheese sandwich. The contest is open to home cooks and professional chefs. The winning recipe will be demonstrated during a cooking demo on the weekend of the Seattle Cheese Festival, which takes place at Pike Place Market on May 16-17, 2009. The winning sandwich will be featured online at www.seattlecheesefestival.com and on the menu at the café at DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine.
Deadline:
The deadline for entry is May 1, 2009. To enter your recipe, please email it to info@seattlecheesefestival.com. The winner will be notified by May 5, 2009.
Recipe guidelines:
The recipe should contain readily available cheese and bread.
The recipe can contain up to 6 ingredients.
Include a brief description (75 words or fewer) of the inspiration for the sandwich.
Judging:
The recipes will be judged based on creative use of cheese, flavor profile and relative ease of method.
About the Seattle Cheese Festival:
The Seattle Cheese Festival is an annual destination artisanal cheese festival for the general public and the foodservice industry to taste, celebrate and better understand artisanal cheese made locally and around the world. The festival, founded in 2004, takes place at the famous Pike Place Market in the heart of downtown Seattle. DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine is the founding and primary sponsor of the event. For more information, visit www.seattlecheesefestival.com and www.delaurenti.com.
