The cover illustration from Grilled Cheese: 50 Recipes to Make You Melt is more than enough to stop any grilled-cheese lover in their tracks. And fortunately, when it comes to cookbooks, making your selection based on the cover illustration isn't an entirely bad idea.
The single-subject cookbook contains 50 recipes that are the very embodiment of comfort food. Some are simple combinations and others are a bit more involved, but all result in a warm, satisfying and delicious meal. The book opens with a detailed discussion of various types of cheeses and the pros and cons of using each for this particular type of sandwich. Some of the ingredients, in addition to various types of cheeses, that are added to the sandwiches are prosciutto, creme fraiche, fig jam, pesto, fresh herbs and sausages. And in addition to simply listing the various ways in which the ingredients can be combined, the book is filled with tips for toasting them to perfection (very helpful if you don't own a panini press) and on how to select the right sorts of bread for grilling. Highlights include Bacon and Cheddar with Chipotle Relish, Halloumi Sandwiches with Lime, Goat Cheese and Cilantro Mint Ginger Quesadillas and Grilled Ham, Cheese and Pineapple.
May is National BBQ Month and National Hamburger Month
Cupcakes, not for dessert (unless beef is your idea of a treat)
Because eating French Fries in the car is so tough
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-21-2007 @ 9:42AM
Jonathan Harford said...
Hey! That book is by my mother-in-law, Marlena Spieler!
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1-21-2007 @ 1:35PM
Angela Pitt said...
I don't mind another cookbook, but do we really need
recipes to make grilled sandwiches? All you need is a
vivid imagination and willing spirit. Have cheese,
meat and bread, will grill.
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1-21-2007 @ 1:54PM
calamari said...
Angela, I see this one as part of the phenomenon that people now need recipes for everything because they don't know how to cook.
If that's the reality, I'm totally in favor of Marlena Spieler profiting from it -- she was my favorite SF Chronicle food writer because she so obviously enjoyed the taste of food, not just the chicness of the food scene.
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1-22-2007 @ 1:13AM
GhaleonQ said...
Though I've needed neither, I prefer the other 1 ("Great Grilled Cheese"), but I agree that the opening analysis of cheeses is quite helpful to the inexperienced.
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1-28-2007 @ 5:20PM
marlena spieler said...
as the author of this book i would like to say 1. how pleased i am to be slashfoods book of the day and 2. am perplexed about the comments (except of course from my delightful son-in-law.
For the comment about how does one need a book on making grilled cheese sandwiches when all you need ia an imagination--well, a vivid imagination might propel you into the kitchen with enthusiasm, but it is amazing how really badly so many different cheese and bread combinations can happen (and take it from me, the often did in the testing; it was a surprise). there are so many different types of sauces and techniques and ingredients included in the book that are delicious with other things than grilled cheese, that i can only think that you guys haven't read the thing!
so go to my website and read my column, no grilled cheese sandwiches involved, or check out my other zillion books. just because something is as simple as grilled cheese sandwich, doesn't mean its easy. doesn't mean there isn't much to learn about it. after all, think about...an omelet: what could be simpler: eggs, butter. but how many have you eaten that are blissfully delicious? its not just about slapping stuff together!
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1-29-2007 @ 12:33AM
Nicole Weston said...
Marlena - Thanks for stopping by! It was a pleasure to include the book.
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