$10,000 grand prize: best grilled cheese

[tejon]

Mmmmm. Dense white bread, sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, a bit of horseradish tucked in, made with lots of butter. Heaven.

[marlena spieler]

Wonderbread, kraft singles, and PICKLES.

I win.

oh god yeah. except i use whole grain bread, sharp cheddar, and you are so right though: its the PICKLES that do it!

i have a gorgeous photo, believe it or not, of a grilled cheese and pickle sandwich (open faced, its gotta be open faced) in my book. of course, i always think that pickles are cover-girl gorgeous anyhow.

sweet, bread and butter, gherkins or kosher dill: they're all delish, just delish, on my grilled cheese. on your grilled cheese. oh god, the tragedy is that i have pickles in my fridge and no cheese or bread in the entire house. and the shops aren't yet open!

[andiesenji]

Speaking of Grilled Cheese and it's first cousin, the Panini

I have news!

Sam's Club has the VillaWare Uno Pro-Press Panini Grill for $38.81 This is a very good buy.

Up to now the best discounted price has been about $75.00.

Happy Grilling!!

[Gifted Gourmet]

How about one, or all, of you entering the contest now??

Seriously would like to see an eGulleteer win this one!!

the application!!! Marlena, you could go up against this judge on grilled cheese any day!! Ooops, you have to be 18 or older! Still viable, Marlena??

Edited July 14, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[marlena spieler]

hmmmmmm......

gifted. I really did think about entering, and actually there is a little behind the scenes stuff too which i don't want to go into........

but anyhow ii did think about entering and looked onto the website for the rules of the game.

cause like i'm thinking: i have at least fifty really nifty grilled cheese sandwiches waiting in the wings to send on off.......

then i read the rules:

i managed to SQUEEZE through the age limit successfully but then ran into an itty bitty prolblem.

And that is this: All submissions will belong to the company putting on this shindig, which is fine if you are a member of the public but not if you make your living at coming up with this stuff.

and as my book is a rival to the book being plugged, and as the background stuff which i don't want to go into etc, don't think for a minute i would win. they would simply get my submissions, and heigh ho, a new book is born! or recipes to give away on sandwich makers etc.

so thats why i have decided against taking part iof it.

but i'd love to see an egulleteer win! ! ! And 10,000 bucks is 10,000 bucks. you can buy a lotta cheese with that!

[flip6577]

I'll probably be banned from E-Gullet for letting on that these items are available in my fridge, but my favorite grilled cheese came out of necessity. 2 slices Wonder bread 2 slices Kraft Deluxe American Cheese, 1 slice cotto salami, and here's the kicker, MIRACLE WHIP. Slather one side of each slice of bread with Miracle whip sandwich salami with cheese. Fry on low heat until golden brown, and serve with a claussen's kosher pickle.

When I say born out of necessity I mean there was nothing else in the fridge

[Gifted Gourmet]

Miracle Whip?? Banned from eGullet is too good for ya. flip6577!!

but the thought of heated Miracle Whip boggles my feeble mind!!

[sashimi]

Being that I don't live in the US, I'm not eligible to enter. However, I have a kickass sandwich to contribute. If anyone wanted to submit it, we could split the prize should we win. :)

It goes like this...

Grilled Taleggio Sandwich with Mission Fig "Ketchup"

Ingredients:

Sandwich:

2 slices of thin white bread (potato bread works very well)

Taleggio

4 slices of paper thin lardo

Olive oil

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Ketchup:

1 shallot minced

1/2 tbl balsamic vinegar

Salt to taste

1/2 lb Mission figs

Method:

Sandwich:

Drape each slice of bread with Taleggio. Add 2 slices of lardo to each side. Season lightly with cracked pepper. Put the sandwich together. Brush the outsides with olive oil. Roll in the grated parmesan. Fry in duck fat until the cheese on the outside turns golden brown and the inside becomes nice and melted.

Ketchup:

Melt the shallots in the vinegar with pinch of salt. Cut each fig into 8 pieces. Add to shallot, and stir to combine, breaking up figs slightly and cook down to the desired consistency (something similar to a chunky relish). Serve alongside your sandwich.

Recipe © eGullet member, "sashimi" ;)

[agbaber]

Miracle Whip??   Banned from eGullet is too good for ya. flip6577!! 

but the thought of heated Miracle Whip boggles my feeble mind!! 

I use mayo on lots of hot sandwiches!!

And Miracle Whip is certainly a fantastic condiment!!

I used to make sandwiches at home with boars head spicy turkey, sharp cheddar, white bread, and miracle whip mixed with horseradish (2/1 horseradish to mayo), then I would press it between 2 cast iron skillets.

So tasty.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Contest Period

The Contest begins at 12:00:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time ("EDT") on July 4, 2004 and ends at 11:59:59 pm EDT on August 20, 2004. Entrants agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules.

How to Enter

You can enter one of three ways, either (a) online, (b) mail, or © fax. (a) To enter via the web, go to http://www.teflon.com/grilledcheese and complete the registration form by entering your name, street address, city, state, ZIP code, e-mail address, date of birth, and daytime phone number along with your recipe, name, category and story behind your grilled cheese for “The Search for the Greatest Grilled Cheese Sandwich in America.”

I want to have this award go to one of us from eGullet .. the publicity alone makes it valuable ... I am entering and hope some of you will join me in doing so!! and the written part is not particularly difficult ... how about it? any takers? The rules say thirteen and older .. this is good news for you, agbaber, even though you advocate the use of Miracle Whip ...

Edited July 16, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[agbaber]

I may just do it then!!

$10,000 could buy a lot of miracle whip.....

[Gifted Gourmet]

$10,000 could buy a lot of miracle whip.....

ewwwww ... if you were of the "female persuasion", ag-baby (I can call you ag by now, no??), I'd say "You go girl!!" but that doesn't work here ...

[agbaber]

absolutely

[Gifted Gourmet]

absolutely

absolutely you are going to be a girl??

absolutely you are willing for me to call you "ag baby"??

absolutely you will stop drowning your sandwiches in Miracle Whip??

Clarify already, ag!!

[agbaber]

I believe you only asked one question, gg!!

[Gifted Gourmet]

I believe you only asked one question, gg!!

What have you done now, put that Miracle Whip in your shampoo, ag? Lissen up, baby:

GG nevah evah asks only one question ...

so are you actually planning a grilled cheese entry (entree)?? Spill!!

[agbaber]

Just submitted it. Nothing fancy. I don't "do" fancy grilled cheese.

And I left the mayo out.

---------------------

Kid's Favorite

"The Old American Classic"

Two slices of white, original Iron Kids bread.

1 T Land O' Lakes whipped butter

2 Slices Yellow American Cheese (natural, not processed)

Necessary equipment:

1 Cast Iron skiller and one ligher pan

Instructions:

Butter one side of ONE piece of bread with half of the butter. Heat cast iron pan to medium high. Heat lighter pan to medium high as well.

Put two slices of cheese on non-buttered bread (aligned the same way as the bread, not alternating corners).

Put buttered slice of bread on top.

Put other half of butter in cast iron pan (1/2 T).

Let butter melt, then foam, then let the foam subside.

Put sandwich in hot butter, with the buttered side on top.

Put other, ligher pan on top of the sandwich, so that the two pans are stacked on top of each other. Lower cast iron heat to medium.

The top pan will toast the top, and more evenly heat the sandwich.

After about a minute, take top pan off, flip sandwich, and replace top pan.

After 30 more seconds, take top pan off, remove sandwich, (if child requests, cut crust off)

Cut sandwich diagonally with a sharp knife, taking care not to crush it. (or vertically, if child requests. Children can be picky, and will refuse to eat a sandwich if it is not cut the "right way." This is even more important to them than the taste of the sandwich itself. There is no "fail-safe" way to do this. You must ask.)

Serve with tomato soup. (but not too hot, or will burn the child's mouth).

---------------

This was the sandwich that was my favorite as a small child. Occasionally I would want it with ham, bacon or tomatoes, but this was always the original.

At first, it was made by my mother and grandmother, then I finally began making it myself. These days, I make it slightly more complicated, but the technique remains the same.

(For the record, I like mine with crust on, sliced diagonally)

---------------------

If nothing else, I'll win for most anal directions.

Edited July 16, 2004 by agbaber (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

If nothing else, I'll win for most anal directions.

Well I shall out-anal you on my intricately crafted directions, ag ...

That didn't come out right but I know I will win in the "seniors division"!!

Headlines: Gullet Gourmet Grinds Down The Grueling Competition!Filmz at 11!!

[Mabelline]

I am of the opinion that if our mamas, daddys, grams, or whoever made our favorites could compete, there would be grilled cheese mayhem figuring out a winner. Nearly all of us got our idea of the best grilled cheese from our caregivers.

[Poppy Quince]

Nearly all of us got our idea of the best grilled cheese from our caregivers.

That's for sure. And my mom's was the BEST. She had a small cast-iron pan in which she would melt a bit of butter, then put in a slice of Kraft American cheese, let it melt and spoon/pour it over a piece of toast, not forgetting the most important part: scraping the crispy burnt bits onto the top of the resulting yummy sandwich. Only one slice of bread...think it qualifies for the low carb entry?

okay, help out a new member--how do you get the quote to credit the quotee? (using a Mac, of course.)

[agbaber]

In their post, the top right hand corner has a button "quote".

It will appear in a window under your reply, and will be stuck in the top of your post.

You can edit it, but you really only should to highlight, or cut only a part you want.

And welcome to eGullet!

Edited July 16, 2004 by agbaber (log)

[browniebaker]

I've been submitting one recipe a day, the maximum permitted. This is day five, and I am starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel of ideas. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to grilled cheese.

BTW, I notice that some of you have mentioned cast-iron pans in your recipes. I use cast-iron, too, but since this contest is sponsored by Dupont/Teflon, maybe recipe-submitters should just specify "skillet" if you can't bring yourself to specify "non-stick skillet" (which we all know doesn't give you half-as-good browning as cast-iron).

[Gifted Gourmet]

I've been submitting one recipe a day, the maximum permitted. This is day five, and I am starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel of ideas.

Aaagh! I need to get busy and do my submissions this weekend! Thanks for the warning on the pans used!!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Not giving up on the $10,000 grilled cheese sandwich competition, I have located this as yet another "technique" to use in my experiment ... another way to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich blackened is another Prudhomme specialty ...

[Gifted Gourmet]

With the deadline coming up shortly (August 20), this contest still looks like something well worth entering, you folks who love grilled cheese .. and you know who you are!

Would love to see one of us from eGullet be a winner in any of the categories! and then $10,000 ain't half bad either ....

the contest rules and information

entry form here!!