Throughout my food journey, somewhere around my late 30s, I began entering a new grilled cheese idea year after year into a Wisconsin based competition, Grilled Cheese Academy. I had a thing for entering contests, sending audition tapes to any food show that struck a chord, and continually watching my favorite tv chefs. From the kitchens and cooks of my childhood, to the techniques and creations of inspiring chefs, I kept using the kitchen as my therapy and art studio.
Grilled Cheese Academy was a bit easier than auditioning. This was during a time where making videos was not efficient. For this contest, I had to make the grilled cheese, write down the recipe exactly, and then take a good photo of the final grilled cheese. The application was a bit long, but I would fill it out each year explaining my love for cooking and how I came up with that year's idea.
I thought it would be fun to share my grilled cheese creations with you here on Tableforsue! I think the verdict is in - I just can't get enough CHEESE!!! What is your favorite grilled cheese?
An old link - but it also takes you to so many "underground" cheesy adventures!!
And this one offers even more cheesy recipes!
I have a thing for titles. Lol. All Grilled Cheese Academy contestants' creations started with the word, "THE." Which I loved. So this one I created was called "THE Minnesota Brew." Pretzel bun, bratwurst patties, fried pickles and handmade, MN brew beer cheese. Beer cheese and fried pickles are pretty much my two favorite things.
The Minnesota Brew before she was sliced in half and ready to enjoy. Ahhhhhh..... cheese!
Nope, didn't win the 10 grand.
This one is called THE Hot Date! Okay, it's super lame to have huge peppers and dates on the plate, I know. I must've wanted them to see the ingredients. (eye roll). lol. This was soon after I met Lars in 2015. I remember finding this amazing bread with all kinds of nuts and seeds in it at a local bakery near my apartment. Lars and I discovered our mutual love for brie and he found this brie called BLUE EARTH that I am obsessed with! It's an Alemar Cheese from Southern MN - https://www.alemarcheese.com/shop/p/blue-earth
So I made a chutney with very spicy serrano peppers and fresno peppers and fresh dates. I slathered the bread with the chutney, some brie & fresh spinach and oila!!! THE HOT DATE! Loved it! But only for those who like kick! Nope. Didn't win or place. :(
I called this one THE Tomato Soup! Instead of making fried green tomatoes, I made fried red tomatoes loaded with basil on a crusty ciabatta bun and it is slathered with two cheeses - cream cheese & American! When you take a bite, those fresh juicy tomatoes are like having the two stars in one bite! (Grilled cheese and tomato soup!) Top 50 that time :)
This was my very first entry! I called it THE Crunchy Goat! Oh ya baby!! I panko crusted some goat cheese discs and used some bakery soft bread, arugula, and thinly sliced green apples that I soaked in lemon juice. I was so excited about it. I thought I would win. :) But nope.
Here is THE Harlem! It was the entry that got me into the final 20! I was so excited when it appeared on the "live" final judging. That year, my dear Harlem was beat out by some lobster grilled cheese. Ugh! I was so bummed. As big of a cheese lover as I am, I do not bring cheese to my seafood party. Ever! I prefer my seafood pure without extras. Oh well. Some very happy contestant took home 10 grand! Scroll to next picture for The Harlem's description.
I seasoned some chicken breasts, panko crusted them and shallow pan fried them before setting them in a warm oven to keep warm and crispy. I made some homemade waffles, but I found that these frozen, organic ones were more sturdy & sandwich-worthy. I just toasted them with butter. I used melty, nutty gruyere cheese, dunked my panko'd chicken breasts into a homemade serrano pepper honey and topped it with fresh herbs. I would love to make this for everyone!! Maybe some day. This idea was inspired by my first visit to Harlem in the 90s & the delicious chicken & waffles I had!
This was the last one I created before discovering that the contest was not continuing. I called it The Tona because it was the year my Godmother Tona passed away. She was an amazing cook and porketta reminded me of her. My sister in law made the porketta on their traeger (pictured below). Iron Range, MN porketta is different from the classic Italian porketta. Believe me, Lars is VERY technical and cooks classically so when he had Iron Range porketta he immediately said it wasn't porketta. Ya, it is. It's really the only porketta. lol. Anyway, I grabbed a beautiful bun, made a homemade cranberry-mustard and piled on the oozy fontina! Italiano for my Tona!
That's the best porketta I have ever had right there! My sister in law, Michelle knows how to do it! I think even vegans would eat dat!
From the basic grilled cheese that our school cafeteria cook, Mileva made for us every week with a hot bowl of tomato soup to all of the variations I have tried since, it is pretty clear that a Grilled CHEESE is definitely for me! If I had a food truck, definitely! I would always have at least one grilled cheese on my menu.
I want to add here that throughout my nearly 30 years teaching 5th graders, they were often a part of my auditions and applications. They knew my dreams beyond the one I was living as their teacher. Just like I knew many of theirs. They saw me fail many times. They also saw me never stop trying. I would share with them that although I am a competitive kat!, I also don't really feel like I failed something when I have tried it. When we try things, we can uncover if we want to keep trying at it. Do we love it enough to feel successful without world validation? When it comes to being your teacher, performing, cooking - yup, I do! I definitely do. I love them enough to keep trying my best at them whether I win or lose.
If you would like any recipes, don't hesitate to reach out.
Otherwise, just have fun! I love creating recipes from the flavors that are my favorite. oxox
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