Grilled Cheese Month: Grilled Brie & Pear

I can't go on enough about how much I love ooey gooey melty cheese and soft bread with a hard crust that has been grilled to golden brown in butter.  Seriously if it wasn't wildly unhealthy I'd eat it three times a day.  Lucky for me, but not my waistline, this month (also known as Grilled Cheese Month) gives me an excuse to eat grilled cheese more than I normally would.  While brainstorming ideas for different takes on this wonderful sandwich the Boy helped out with the core idea of this one¸ by suggesting pears and brie.  I took those ingredients and expanded on it with fresh baked artisan bread, thinly sliced red onion, peppery arugula and fresh cracked black pepper.

Can you use grocery store mass made bread for this? Of course. Do I recommend it? Absolutely not. The master recipe for Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is so ridiculously easy that you really have little excuse not to make a loaf.  If that just isn't in the card for you, or you don't have the book (to which I say buy it right now) a loaf of French or Italian bread from your local bakery or even grocery store bakery will do.  When it comes to bread, always go for fresh made even if it's not from you own kitchen, it makes everything exponentially better.

Superbowl Eats: One-Bite Fried Mozzarella & Spicy Tomato Sauce

I LOVED mozzarella sticks growing up.  Even in college we would buy the frozen ones and to make them even better, pan fry them instead of baking.  There is something about the ooey-gooey melting cheese dipped in marinara that is just pure perfection to me.  Even as a grown up I'm not too good to order mozzarella sticks or any kind of fried cheese when we're out. When the Boy and I go out for Greek the one given is always that we will get Saganaki,  this flaming cheese that is far more flashy than it's Italian cousin, mozzarella sticks but they will always be my favorite.

When brainstorming good Superbowl snacks, I knew I wanted to try my hand at fried mozzarella,  but I wanted to make a super spicy marinara to help cut the richness of the cheese.  What I realized in making it is that this is a great make ahead party snack.  You can cook the sauce and bread the cheese in advance, refrigerate the cheese until you're ready to fry and just reheat the sauce.  It won't take more than 5-10 minutes once your guests arrive and you'll impress your friends with a delicious and nostalgic gameday bite.

Grilled Cheese Goodness #3

I'm a bit behind on my promise of a grilled cheese per week this month, working nights will do that to you. I think I made up for it with this amazingly delicious treat. I love cheese with fruit and anything sweet as is demonstrated in my first sammie of the month with the Apricot Mustard. But I especially like apples with cheese and figured what could be better in a grilled cheese than a Granny Smith. We had some Rosenberg blue cheese leftover from delicious burgers the boy made a few weeks ago and I decided to pair that with a homemade green apple chutney and since the blue cheese is so strong I toned it down with some Emanthaler cheese. All in all it was a perfectly tasty and rich sandwich.

Grilled Cheese with Green Apple Chutney
makes 2 Sandwiches

4 slices of whole wheat bread
1/2 wedge of Rosenberg Blue Cheese - cut into thin slices or crumbled
2-4 slices of Emanthaler cheese or any type of Swiss
Apple Chutney (see recipe below)

1. Preheat your panini press according to the directions for making sandwiches. Layer blue cheese and 1/2 to a whole slice of Emanthaler on 2 slices of bread. Go easy with the blue cheese as it's strong and will get very melty and spread, just be sure the slices has a nice thin layer of cheese. Top with 1/2 of the apple chutney. Top chutney with another thin layer of cheeses and remaining slices of bread.
2. Place one sandwich at a time onto the press (unless it can handle two at a time). Close press and toast for 5-7 minutes, until toasty grill marks appear. Remove from press let sit for 3 minutes, cut and serve.

Green Apple Chutney

1 medium Granny Smith apple - peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
2 slices red onion - diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp dry white wine
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp sugar

1. In a small saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add apples into heated pan and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add in onion and saute for another 5 minutes.
2. Add in cinnamon stick, ginger, sugar lemon juice and wine. Stir to combine. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes until apples get tender and juices reduce down. The apples should be soft but still hold their shape, you don't want it to be like applesauce.
3. Remove from heat and serve or use in a fabulous grilled cheese.



I chose to use my panini press to make this sandwich because I knew I wouldn't need to butter the bread to get it all toasty and delicious. I love blue cheese and was excited to use it this way, but recognize that's it's extremely rich and didn't think the sandwich needed the additional richness from the butter. The panini press was a good call and the bread was perfectly toasty and the sandwich was perfect even without the butter. That being said if you don't have a panini press this can of course be made traditionally in a pan with buttered bread like this one. If you are in the market for a panini press check out the Breville one I have in my Amazon store, while I haven't tried it yet it can also be used to grill meats and veggies. Either way you make this sandwich will work and while it takes a bit more time than some of my others, it's still extremely easy and well worth the extra time to make the homemade chutney. Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese Goodness #2

This weeks ooey gooey grilled cheese came about based on some left overs we had, namely the Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken. The boy was away for work last week and had to listen to me plan out different grilled cheese creations. After torturing him like that I knew once he was home, I had to make him something delicious and wanted to try something I hadn't before. Reusing leftovers was also key. I know most people hate leftovers but turning one meal into two or even three is a great way to save money and really forces you to be creative. While this use of the pulled chicken is that different from how I originally served it it's a twist that was tasty and satisfying especially if you give yourself a couple day break between.

Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese
serves 2

4 slices Prairie Grain Raisin Bread - this is something my local grocery store bakery makes, but you can easily use any kind of honey oat bread and get the same flavors
4 1/8" thick slices of Smoked Gouda - if your deli doesn't slice it cut enough to cover each piece of bread in a thin layer
1/2 cup of Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken
3 Tbsp butter

1. Warm up pulled chicken either in the microwave for a minute or so out in a saute pan over medium heat. Reheat until warmed all the way through.
2. Butter one side of two slices of bread. Place a small fry pan over low heat. Place one slice of bread buttered side down in warmed pan, layer 1 slice (or layer) of cheese on the bread. Top with half of the heated chicken, one more slice of smoked Gouda and the remaining slice of bread, buttered side up.
3. Cover pan and let sandwich cook on low until butter is melted. Carefully flip and cover pan and repeat on the other side. Flip again, cover and keep on low until bread is golden brown and toasty. This will take up to 5 minutes or so. Flip and repeat on the other side. Remove finished sandwich to a cutting board.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the remaining ingredients. Let each sandwich rest a minute or two before cutting.


The Smoked Gouda wasn't as melty as I had hoped, but cooking the sandwich low and slow and keeping it covered got the cheese to melt. The creaminess of the cheese really complemented the chicken and the prairie bread. The chicken is the in-your-face star of this sandwich, but the cheese is what really makes it special, the mellow smokiness completes it. Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese Goodness #1

Here we are with my first official Grilled Cheese Month post. This may be my favorite food holiday all year, so excuse me if I go a bit overboard with the posts! This first sandwich I threw together with stuff we just had on hand in the house. It's simple and basic but oh-so-delicious! The star of this sammie is a delicious semi-soft cheese out of Quebec called Oka. Its name comes from the town in Quebec where it was originally made in 1893. It's got a very pungent aroma and is soft creamy on the tongue with a slight nutty flavor. I first tried it when I was at the Toronto Wine & Cheese Show and fell in love. It's a very versatile cheese that I can't wait to use in Mac & Cheese, on pizza and who knows who knows what else! Post any ideas in the comments.

Oka & Apricot Grilled Cheese
makes 2 sandwiches

4 slices of multi-grain bread sandwich bread
3 Tbsp of room temperature butter - for easy spreading
Oka Cheese - don't have exact measurement, enough for a nice layer on the bread
Apricot Mustard (recipe below)

1. Heat a skillet over medium low heat. Spread a generous layer of Apricot Mustard on two slices of bread. Top mustard with a layer of Oka Cheese, slices should be 1/8"-1/4" thick it melts really well so you don't need a ton, just a single layer. Top with remaining slices of bread.
2. Butter top of sandwich. Carefully place in skillet, buttered side down. Butter other side of sandwich.
3. Cover skillet and cook sandwich on low just until the butter on the skillet side is completely melted. Carefully flip and repeat on other side. Flip again and bring the burner up to medium heat. Cook until ones side becomes golden brown and toasty, flip and repeat on other side.
4. Take out of skillet, let sit for 3 minutes (this step isn't necessary and really hard to do if you are hungry! but helps in the sandwich being a little less oozy than in the picture), cut in half and serve.


Apricot Mustard

Mix 1 part Dijon mustard with 1 1/2 parts apricot jam. Mix until well combined. Taste and add more jam as needed.


This sandwich was simple and oh-so-delicious! Oka is a great cheese for grilled cheese because it melts beautifully, with no oil separation. Basically most semi-soft cheese will work well in grilled cheese, but the flavor of this cheese is just amazing and the nuttiness pairs perfectly with the sweet tang of the Apricot mustard. I used a jam that had apricot chunks in it which made it all the better.

The boy is out of town for work so you don't have the benefit of his take on this one, although I made him a plain Oka grilled cheese over the weekend, which he loved. And the Apricot Mustard is similar to the dipping sauce I made with the onions rings, which he also liked. I have a feeling I'll be making this one again for him, have to go buy some more Oka.
Every cheese monger around here carries Oka, but I'm not sure how easy it is to find in the States. Not to worry though, the Springbank Cheese Co ships Oka and many other cheeses to the U.S. Enjoy!

What I learned at the Toronto Wine & Cheese Show

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Toronto Wine & Cheese Show at the International Center in Mississauga, sponsored by Metro and the Toronto Star. I was able to do this courtesy of Food Buzz. The show is billed as an event not only for wine & cheese lovers but chock full of gourmet foods as well. It was the cheese and gourmet foods that really made me want to attend the show. I love wines, but am admittedly far from an expert. It was great to try some new wines, some of which I've even bought since the show, but I was really hoping to use my time at the show to get some inspiration for some new recipes and write about some of my fabulous gourmet food finds. While my friend and I tasted a chickpea curry from a new family run business, Gourmantra ( a company that found a way to get their family recipe into an easy kit), had some fresh P.E.I. Malpeque Oysters and bought some tasty sausages for our boys at home, this Wine & Cheese show was much more about the wine than cheese or anything else. It was a bit disappointing, since I was craving some good cheese and to learn something during my time spent at the show. Luckily there was one cheese centered seminar, sponsored by the Dairy Farmer of Canada. The class promised to educate us on tasting cheese and how to put together a cheese tasting on our own. Exactly what I was looking for!

About 40 minutes before the demonstration was set to begin, there was already a line forming outside of the demo area, so my friend and I did another circle of the hall and got a bit more wine to have during the demo and got into the line-up. We ended up right in the second row of tables which was perfect to see and hear everything that our teacher, Anne-Marie Shubin, a teacher at the Cheese Education Guild in Toronto, said. The seminar started with a bit of Dairy Farmer's of Canada info. 2009 is their 75th anniversary and something that I never knew is that milk from Canada is one of the highest quality available. I liked this one because it means their cheese is of a higher quality. Definitely something that made me happy to be in Canada!

We then got into the meat of the seminar, Anne-Marie began by talking about the importance of keeping a cheese journal. A way to record the cheeses you've had and how much you liked or didn't like them. It could contain anything from a written description to a simple 1 to 10 rating system. I can't believe I never thought to do this before since the boy and I go to the cheese monger fairly regularly and while I love tasting the cheeses to pick the ones I like, it would be great to be able to go in and ask for the ones I know I've loved by name.

After reinforcing that cheese is always best served at or slightly below room temperature, Anne-Marie spent some time going of the order of cheese a service. You should start with the softer, more mellow and generally younger cheeses and gradually move through to the older, harder and more pungent cheeses. The only exception to this rule are the blue cheeses. They are a soft cheese that will almost always end a cheese service. Once you have your order of the cheese, for a true cheese service you should also have some very neutral crackers or baguette on hand to be used as a palate cleanser between cheeses. Then much like with wines, you should consider the appearance and smell of each cheese before tasting while also noticing how the taste compares to the smell.

We went on to try six different Canadian cheeses, all were excellent and I decided that rather than show and write about these cheese we had in the class that I would put together my own cheese tasting, putting to use all I learned from Anne-Marie. While the whole class was extremely informative and the best part of the entire day, the most interesting tidbit I took away from Anne-Marie was her suggesting to do a cheese tasting with beer or cider. This was something I had to try! I spoke with her after the class to find out which beers or ciders she suggests for a cheese tasting. She said the Du Minot sparkling cider or Strongbow cider and Hoegaarden for beer.

I walked away from the demonstration wanting to visit my local cheese monger picking out a few and setting up a little tasting for the boy and I at home. The boy and I met at The Art of Cheese, a cheese shop very close to our house that we had yet to try. We spent some time there tasting and carefully picking the cheeses for our own cheese tasting. And amazingly had the willpower to wait until the next night for our cheese adventure.

When we sat down of our tasting. I made sure we had some baguette as well as a nice cold Hoegaarden to try. Our first cheese was a Grey Owl goat cheese from Quebec. The rind has that interesting grey color because it's rolled in olive tree ash. Appearance wise, this cheese is nice and gooey near the rind and more chalky towards the center, something that denotes a younger cheese. It smells a bit like a goat cheese would, but not nearly as pungent. On tasting it, it tasted very fresh and milky, a symptom of it being a younger cheese. Overall it was very enjoy and went so well with the beer. I was fan. After some baguette, we moved onto the Le Migneron de Charlevoix an cow's milk cheese also out of Quebec, it is a nice semi firm cheese, with a complex aroma and a creamy, nutty taste. I could imagine making a grilled cheese with this one.

Our next cheese was also from Charlevoix but was the Hercule, an Oka-style raw cow's milk cheese, The one was more firm than the Migneron, but in retrospect should have been tasted first, as the Hercule was much more mellow in flavor than the Migneron. Thus far it was my least favorite cheese. Next up was a 3-year old organic cow's milk cheddar. When we tasted this at the cheese shop the boy asked for extra, he loved it so much and have to say trying it again during our tasting I am inclined to agree. The is a solid sharp cheddar, it's nice and firm, with a fabulously pungent smell and just the right amount of sharpness. It also paired perfectly with the slight sweetness of the Hoegaarden.

While we could have left it with the fabulous cheddar, both the boy and I are fans of blue cheese. When we were at the cheese shop we chose the Roaring Forties Blue Cheese, out of Australia. It was the only non-Canadian cheese we chose and while I had intended to get only Canadian cheeses in honer of the Dairy Farmers seminar I was inspired by, this one was too tasty to pass up. The beautiful yellow color comes from the Jersey cows milk that is used. I found this blue interesting because while it is definitely pungent in smell, it was much less in your face than the blue's I generally gravitate towards. On tasting it just melts in your mouth this delicious rich taste with a slightly sweet and nutty flavor. It just stays with you, with the most pleasant aftertaste. Even this one worked with the beer! This cheese is getting a 10 in my cheese journal, I love it.

So there you have it, what I learned at the Toronto Wine & Cheese show, while I tried a ton of wines and tasted some yummy treats, the Cheese seminar is what made it all worthwhile. I will very soon be hosting a beer and cheese party for some of our friends and family and promise to share the outcome. Enjoy!