Grilled Cheese...

Grilled cheese, an appropriate dish for... not sure. Possibly a six year old, or an eighty-six year old, when they don't have teeth anymore and desperately need something easy to eat. But then again, the tough crust wouldn't feel too good on the gums.

I have never been a big grilled cheese fan. I am lactose intolerant, a sophisticated way of saying that dairy products make my stomach hurt, so the thought of eating cheese has never been super appealing. To me, grilled cheese is comparable to Kraft Mac and Cheese. When I see someone cooking it, I want it. Other than that, I only get a craving for it somewhere between beer number four and twelve... and sometimes the next morning.

Honestly speaking, I didn't think I would have to do much to out perform The Melt. The farther I get away from eating their sandwich, the less and less I ever want to go back. I was going to make my sandwich simple, understand the flavors I wanted and with good ingredients, and I did.

I started with Watsonville sour dough bread. Now from what I understand sour dough bread is different everywhere in the world. Apparently the yeast that makes the sour dough unique is only found in the specific regions where the bread is made. Around here, San Francisco sour dough bread reigns supreme. But I am Croatian, and Watsonville has a dense Croatian population, so I went with the Watsonville yeast. Next I got some good, thickly sliced pepper jack cheese, followed by a ripe heirloom tomato and apple wood smoked bacon. (I bought everything at Whole Foods, a desperate attempt to appear caught up in quality, truthfully showing my weakness to brainwashing and marketing. I am sure that Safeway cheese and bacon would be just fine... but mine was better!). After putting the sandwich together I layered both outside pieces of bread with unsalted butter, put it on my panini press and let it cook. After one bite my wife said, "You kicked The Melt's ass!" 'Nuff said. I may not like them, they may not be that hard to make, but I make one kick ass grilled cheese.

Till next time... NEXT ROUNDS ON ME