Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Grilled Cheese Heaven



There is absolutely nothing as hearty yet velvety as a good grilled cheese sandwich. I have always loved grilled cheese sandwiches with that smooth cheese oozing out and the crispy textured buttered bread, but I never got to do experimentation and alteration of the concept until recently. As a kid, my taste buds were pretty basic. I never really cared about the quality of the individual ingredients that goes into a certain dish. For me a grilled cheese sandwich was simple, supermarket sliced white bread, packaged sliced cheese, and butter, all smacked together and grilled on stove top or electric grill. Thats it! Now that my taste buds have developed and my understanding of the need for better ingredients has raised the bar too high that the plain'ol grilled cheese sandwich doesn't do magic anymore. I had to do something about it. I really missed that feeling I got from eating it, so I had to come up with a plan. Experimenting with different kinds of freshly baked bread, gourmet artisanal cheese, and luxurious butter gave me a base to work with. The idea of adding extra ingredients havent crossed my mind, so I began making modifications to the base idea. Adding anything from truffles to pine nuts to sundried tomatoes and fresh basil. Now I have the concept all stuck together, and all I have to do is create more and more and more, so here is a few :-
  • Ciabatta with buffalo mozarella, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, roasted pine nuts, cracked balck pepper, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil.
  • Indian Paratha filled with tangy mango chutney and emmental cheese.
  • Buttered thick-cut Texas loaf with American cheddar, bacon, caramellized onions, and BBQ sauce.
  • Rustic sourdough bread brushed with rosemary olive oil with sliced pears and blue cheese.
  • Sliced Rye bread with grilled portobello mushrooms marinated with gralic, parsely and olive oil and thick slices of raclette cheese, all grilled to perfection.
  • Flour tortilla with Asadero cheese, jalapenos and grilled onions grilled on cast iron pan.

16 Comments:

Blogger Equalizer said...

Samanthaq8 nope I did not. I can do better :p

8/30/2005 02:46:00 PM  
Blogger Mama Fusla said...

I have to vote for the Ciabatta with buffalo!

How about this:
Buttermilk toast with Immitation crab, shaved apples, a dab of Mayolite, Emental or your favorite creemy cheese.
Then toast to perfection..

8/30/2005 04:01:00 PM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Samathaq8: You mean me building a state of the art kitchen? :p

Mama Fusla: Haven't you had enough of Maki? :p It sound's Makiesque, but I have to try it from you :)

8/30/2005 04:06:00 PM  
Blogger MissCosmoKuwait said...

man that sandwich looks great...and the recipes sound very tasty...I really enjoy coming to your blog but in order for me to stick to my diet...may I suggest your words don't sound so mouth watery...it sure would help!...:)

8/30/2005 08:45:00 PM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Corazon: Velveeta? Thats the kid of cheese I would avoid, simply because its processed cheese, not real. Try real matured cheddar cheese instead and see the difference. I understand it wont be oozing out as much, but for that you can try many soft gourmet cheese varieties like brie.

Misscosmo: I think such mouth watering words are what is needed to keep people like you coming back :p Seriously I'm very bad with words. It's the only way to practice my english descriptive writing hehe.

Salty you are back!!! missed ya :) You know part of the objective of this blog is to educate people about food as art rather than an energy source. You eat to enjoy, not to fill your hunger. I'm still waiting for my muffin :p

8/30/2005 11:53:00 PM  
Blogger Mama Fusla said...

Equalatorizer!
Confession: Inspired by the way you write about food, I blogged something of a similar air to it.
Howwwwwwwwever, I did give credit to u.

p.s. They say you pulled out of compeition (does, that make me a winner?)lolololooooo...
PEACE My Iron Chef!

8/31/2005 12:26:00 AM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Samanthaq8: I'm really flattered, but how come no one tells me that in person? hehe and no I dont look like shrek lol!

8/31/2005 12:34:00 AM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Salty ok back to your blog whenever you like, but never leave me alone! hehe and you must try to do it. A famous chinese saying : A journey of a thousand miles, start with a single step. Take that single step Salty and you will be amazed at where it will get you. I know Mama Fusla did :)

8/31/2005 12:49:00 AM  
Blogger Mama Fusla said...

Yeah Salted Caramel
There is this ad by Nikei that goes "Just do it"!

There is also an ancient saying from "Starsky and Hutch" that says "Do ee, Do eet"

Oh and another saying from "Waterboy" that goes "You can do eeet"

(Mama Fusla waving her cheerleader ponpons up in the air)

8/31/2005 01:14:00 AM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Mama Fusla: LOL I really like the way you take things out of perspective. It's like deconstructive cooking. Zaha Hadid would love you!

Samanthaq8: I was lying :p

Salty: Hey mama what starbucks are you talking about?

8/31/2005 10:42:00 AM  
Blogger Mama Fusla said...

Salty!
Starbawhaaa???
Who said anything about starbux? lol, this is helarious. Salty, ur ma new best friend!

Equalaterrorizor
Indeed, I think so much out of the box that I have actually lost the box sometime ago, and thus my connection to reality which lead me to drown in my world of Fusla.
'Where Fact meets Fiction!'

p.s. Zaha Kicks serious ass, I'd like her to design my beachfront house! How would she do the kitchen? hmmm... :P

8/31/2005 10:57:00 AM  
Blogger Spontaneousnessity said...

weird, I got a little sick when I saw that! I guess am not much of such food person!

8/31/2005 11:42:00 AM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Sponta: LOL ok not everything that is considered food is appetizing to everyone. So i will do something different :p

8/31/2005 12:15:00 PM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Salty: the dont and I really want some now!

9/01/2005 01:33:00 AM  
Blogger Zaydoun said...

Here's one for you:

Walnut bread from Bredz, sliced
Good chevre cheese from Sultan Center
Fresh green zaatar leaves

Lay ingredients on bread and grill in sandwich press.

Sweet & Sour alternative: substitute the zaatar with sweet ripe moist figs

YUM!

9/21/2005 08:32:00 PM  
Blogger Equalizer said...

Zaydoun: Man you have taste!! Finally someone has my taste haha Regarding fresh figs, I just did a Fish Tagine with frsh figs and apricots and chickpeas. Phenomenal.

9/21/2005 08:46:00 PM  

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