National Grilled Cheese Month! Get Grilling Folks

Every year when April rolls around I forget that it is National Grilled Cheese Month. When I first heard about this, I thought someone was pulling an April fool's joke on me, now I am just happy that I remember before the month is gone and I get to play around and make some super awesome grilled cheese sandwiches. So here are some ideas for you to enjoy during National Grilled Cheese Month, of course knowing me most of them are internationally inspired, but oh well, Happy Eating!

Spanish Grilled Cheese

Grab a loaf peasant bread or even better grab a Barra Gallega, shred up some Manchego and Iberico cheeses, spread on some Spanish olive tapenade, add a slice of Jamon Serrano, Cantimpalo-Style Chorizo, or Bellota Iberico Salchichon Sausage, or even better one of all three and get grilling.(All of these items can be found at LaTienda) 


Irish Style Grilled Cheese

Grab a loaf of thick sliced potato bread, pile on some shredded Irish cheddar cheese, a slice of corned beef, a little mustard, and some onions and you are good to get grilling. Or keep it simple and use a Cahill cheddar (I love the Irish Whiskey, and the Ballintubber Cheese with Chives) on potato bread.


French Grilled Cheese

Roast up some squash, red onions, and zucchini sprinkled with herbs de Provence, grab a French baguette and get slicing, shred some Beaufort (if you can't find it you can use gruyere, munster, or Swiss cheese instead), pile it all on and get grilling. Or go traditional and whip up a Croque Monsieur just don't forget the béchamel sauce!


The Kali
Oh, yeah! I saved the best for last, this is THE grilled cheese when you aren't going the bread and cheese alone route! Bacon, avocado, tomato slices, and sharp cheddar cheese, piled onto sliced San Francisco sourdough bread. One bite of this one and you will be giving three cheers for National Grilled Cheese Month!


If this was not enough to get you grilling up some super grilled cheese and doing your part to enjoy and support National Grilled Cheese month well then I hope that the Grilled Cheese Academy  can get you looking at bread and cheese in a different way. Get grilling folks and celebrate a month that tickles your taste buds, but packs the pounds on. :)

Lemon Bread

This recipe is a family favorite. My dad has been making it for as long as I can remember, and since I got married I have been making it too. I hope that this recipe becomes a tradition for you too.

Lemon Cake/Bread

One loaf

2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¼ lb. butter
11/2 cups flour
11/2 tsp. salt
21/2 tsp. Baking powder
¾ cup milk
6 tsp. Grated lemon zest

Glaze
sugar
fresh lemon juice

One standard size loaf pan smeared lightly with butter and with a piece of waxed paper on the bottom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, sugar, and eggs until creamy. Add peel and beat into butter mixture. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture. Add a bit of the milk while mixing. Continue until all ingredients are combined. Pour into loaf pan. Bake for at least 40 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick, which should come out clean when done.

While the bread is baking combine add enough sugar to the lemon juice to make the glaze. Add the sugar slowly. The lemon glaze should be pourable.

Take the loaf out of the oven. Place it on a rack to cool. While still hot pour glaze on top.

Notes: If wrapped in plastic and placed in bags after it has cooled the loaf will keep in the freezer at least 4 months. Glaze and peel will keep tightly closed in the refrigerator for a month.

Eggs in a Basket or Eggs in a Covered Basket?

Some people may call them frog eyes, but since V for Vendetta I think most people know this great dish as Eggs in a Basket. I have been making this since high school, it is one of those great midnight snacks after being out drinking, it is also a great breakfast. My son has never had one and so I NEEDED to make this for him. He said that this was one of his new favorite breakfasts, but the big flatterer may have been trying to just make mommy happy because he has yet to ask for this again. So for those of you who don't kn0w about this tasty morsel at all let me give you a crash course in making an egg in a basket.

The first thing to consider is the bread, me I like a nice thick Texas Toast so that the eggs has enough room to stay in the basket rather than get all over the bread. The next thing is to butter the bread on both sides and then cut out a hole for the egg. By this time I already have my skillet heated and after I get the hole cut out I place my bread in the heated skillet and toast it on one side until it is nice and golden brown, at this point it is time to flip the bread and add the egg. I then place the cover on the skillet and after about 3 to 5 minutes it is time to decide whether or not to cover the basket. If you want it covered take a piece of cheese and cover the egg and toast with the cheese, reduce the heat, and place the cover back on the skillet, check after 2 minutes and it should be good to go. Add some salt and pepper if you wish, serve and enjoy.

New Egg Salad

I have not been cooking much for dinner as the days are sooo very long for me lately. I have been playing around with my lunches. One experiment was this egg salad. I made this yesterday and must have been feeling like eating something green to celebrate St. Patty's Day.

Egg Salad with Dill and Capers

2 hard boiled Eggs (use only one yolk)

1 tablespoon of capers with juice

1/2 teaspoon of fresh copped dill

1 tiny little bit of mayo

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 pieces of toasted Sourdough Bread

1/2 cup of arugula

Dice eggs, place in bowl and mix with other ingredients. I hate mayo so I only used a tiny bit to try and glue the mixture together, for those who like mayo, use more. Place arugula on toasted bread, top with egg salad, serve and enjoy.

Just a note on this recipe; I may try to play with this more, I was not able to really get the salad to stick together, probably due to the lack of mayo... I also need to work on my picture taking...