Grilled Cheese Invitational, by Absentee

April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month, you know.

If I could have been lucky enough to participate in the 1st 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational in LA on Sunday, I would have definitely tested these recipes first. In theory, I had two winners. (But I always think that, heh).

There were four categories this year: Missionary Position (make a classic: butter, bread, and Cheddar or American cheese only), Spoons (any flavor butter, bread, and cheese), Kama Sutra (grilled cheese sammie with added ingredients), and Honey Pot (dessert grilled cheese). I chose to enter the Missionary and Honey Pot categories (yeah, in my own little world, okay).

Okay, Missionary. Let's start with English muffin bread. If you haven't tried it (English muffin bread), I implore you. It is something in and of itself. It tastes (kind of) like an English muffin, but more importantly, it toasts like one. Crunchy toasted bread holding in all that butter. Yum! (I even went so far as to bake my own, but that's another story.)

Next, cheese. I love sharp cheddar, all the way. Now, to shred or slice. It has only recently occurred to me that shredding is an option. I grew up eating grilled cheese sandwiches with sliced cheddar; that is how it was done. But, shredded? Some authorities swear by it, but this time I chose to stick with a good old-fashioned slab. (I did slice it pretty thick.) Yes, I will try it the other way some time.

Finally, butter. I am a die hard fan of unsalted butter, especially with good bread, but in this case... I'd have to say, go salty. It adds a savory quality to that crispy grilled cheese crust. This time around I would try a salted Irish butter. This beautiful deep-yellow colored butter had me checking the label for colorant. No silly, it's the cows; they're grass fed, and higher nutrients going in equal higher nutrients coming out. (That's quite a picture.)

The cooking experience itself went as expected. Bubbly butter, browning crust, melting cheese. It looked even better than anticipated. Dark golden buttery goodness as far as the eye could see. But here, the digression. It wasn't nearly as crispy as I would have liked. The bread on the outside had a fabulous crunch, but it didn't carry through the sammie as it should. A real grilled cheese (in my opinion) should have a toothsome wall surrounding an oozy center. This type of bread, while very crispy, is truly only so when it is toasted (implying both sides of the slice), which in this case, it isn't. What's more, as the cheese melted it settled into the nooks and crannies of the bread, further adding to its softness. Don't get me wrong, that part in particular was quite incredible, I just wouldn't call that a classic grilled cheese. I would call it crispy buttery cheesy bread. Back to the drawing board, I suppose.

The next category, dessert: the Honey Pot. Again, English muffin bread, and Irish butter. But I happened to have some Brie on hand, and then there were a few strawberries left over from a recent go at frozen yogurt. Then there was the sugar. I felt the strawberries alone were not sweet enough to turn a grilled Brie sandwich into dessert. So, after I got a wrinkle-nosed response to the suggestion of honey or maple syrup finding their way into the sammie, I decided sugar was the way to go. I would add a bit a sugar to the butter destined for the bread slices. Truth be told, I couldn't resist and I snuck some maple syrup into another bit of butter. I made two versions, both exactly the same, except one with sugar-butter and one with maple syrup-butter, we'll just see which one comes out on top.

Given my response to the bread in my first experiment, one might wonder I would use the very same for my dessert entry. Simple, this cheesy bread-attribute may make it just the thing for dessert. This is not a classic, this is a twist. A little crispy, a little soft and gooey. I like the sound of that.

Oh goodness. This is good stuff. I have to say, the maple syrup won me over. The flavor combination just sang, it was quite good. Even a winner, perhaps. The sugared butter provided a caramelized crunch to the bread, which was pleasing but made for very messy cutting (of the finished sandwich, which isn't necessarily necessary, I suppose) and the maple butter sammie stuck to the pan during cooking, which made for messy flipping. But still, delicious. Lick-your-fingers (and the plate)-clean-good.

Out of all of this, I think next time I'll start with different bread, clearly the foundation of a winning grilled cheese sandwich (and you thought it was the cheese). Overall, I would have made for some stiff competition, but with a year between me and the next Grilled Cheese Invitational, it's on.