"GrilledCheese" news and stories

Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."

Oh, beloved pimento cheese; the Southeast's answer to cheese dip and queso.

The bright-orange spread is nothing more than extra-sharp cheddar, mayonnaise, diced pimiento peppers and cracked black pepper. Homemade pimento cheese is a snap to make and leftovers are a cracker's best friend. You could spruce up the spread with serrano peppers, garlic, cayenne, different types of cheese or even bacon. But to most, nothing is better than the classic four-ingredient mix between two pieces of bread.

Grilled cheese. Photo: adactio, Flickr

• Move over, pizza! Grilled cheese sandwiches are sent to the outdoor grill.
• Rather than spending a fortune on premade custom spreads, take a few hours and make condiments that will last a month.
• Since they're all over the farmer's market, skip ho-hum green beans in favor of haricots verts.
  
• Those super-huge summer zucchinis make great relish.
• Wine picks: The Westrey "Willamette Valley" 2008 Pinot Gris is a notable find, and as is the 2007 Chinon Domaine Jean-Maurice Raffault.
  
• In this week's On Our Desk, the Oregonian likes the "Adaptable Feast" for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, and loves the secrets of "Mother's Best."
• Recipes: Pork Chops with Blueberry-Ginger Relish and Stuffed Baby Eggplant with Bulgur, Feta, and Pine Nuts.
  

When I was a kid, I loved grilled cheese with a crusty outside and soft melted cheese inside. I've probably eaten hundreds of grilled cheeses in my lifetime and now that I'm a healthy chef, I haven't stopped enjoying them; I just make them smarter. So you can still savor a grown-up version, keeping the gooey melted cheese, but with some add-ins to make it healthier and more flavorful.

A Crust Above the Rest
I love to use thinly sliced whole grain breads like pumpernickel, rye and wheat. Not only do they taste great when they crisp up, but whole grains have a host of health benefits including fiber and minerals. Use cooking spray and a teaspoon of olive oil to lower saturated fat, but keep that delicious crusty texture that makes grilled cheese so heavenly.

Get more delicious grilled cheese tips from Jennifer after the jump.

It's National Grilled Cheese month, folks, and boy are we fans. Americans chomp upwards of 2 million sammies each year. Of course, as is typical of populist foods nowadays (burgers, fried chicken, mac 'n cheese) even high-minded artisans like Terrance Brennan and Thomas Keller have gotten into the act to put their spins on the classic. Brennan will take it one step further at Artisanal, his New York bistro and paean to all things fromage, with a grilled Cheese Sandwich Contest on April 29. It should be quite the showdown, with food-lebrity judges to boot.

But wait! You don't need to be local to enter this thing, and still have till Friday to wow the cheesemonger with a creation that will win you one of 12 places in the cookoff. And we're going to help you cheat. With the deadline looming, we went straight to Brennan for tips and were unsurprised to find that he hews close to a simple, winning formula: Use good bread, great cheese and no more than three ingredients.

Fave fromage? "I just love a good Comté," he says. His bread of choice, which he prefers on the crunchy side, is pain campagne. "It's a good bread and it's still kind of a little airy. [With] a baguette, you have too much bread. It's a texture thing." Stay away from using Parmesan for filler, he warns, but feel free to dust the outside with a few shavings as a seasoning agent to get a swell crust.

Not on the East Coast but need a fix? Head to L.A., where the Grilled Cheese Invitational began with a few dudes in an artist's loft caught up in a dare over which of them was a grilled cheese god. Seven years later the summit has more than 100 participants and processed cheese giant Kraft as a sponsor. Not bad for a simple little sammie.

Got a recipe that would destroy the competition? Let us know in the comments.

The distinctive smell of barbecued provolone topped with chili and oregano will forever remind me of a barbecue I went to in Buenos Aires. Before being served a series of different meats in a typical Argentinian asado, grilled provolone is often eaten with a savory chimichurri sauce that's made with parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and paprika with olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar.

In supermarkets thoughout Buenos Aires, you can find frozen provoleta that you can simply heat up in the oven or microwave. Sometimes you can even find it stuffed with ham, bacon, red peppers, and tomatoes. This incredibly rich and crispy treat makes me think of the salty Greek appetizer Saganaki - fried Greek cheese. I'm wondering if one can find these frozen provoletas in supermarkets in the United States. Although it's easy to make, the frozen ones I purchased in Argentina were absolutely delicious!

Below are a couple of Provoleta recipes:

1. Grilled Provoleta
2. Provoleta with Crushed Red Pepper

While both recipes seem identical, the first one also offers an excellent recipe for chimichurri sauce. When entertaining, I highly suggest you make this dish as an appetizer. It's sure to be a crowd pleaser.