Cheese Please!

I love cheese. Except limburger, can't handle that one! But I do like most cheeses. Here in America, it can be hard to get good cheese. However, I have a secret weapon!

Osceola Cheese is about 60 miles or so south of us. They sell about 120 varieties of cheese and they are good! (Albiet very different from what you would find in Great Britain, sorry!) They have samples of everything out that you can try. Their cheeses run the gamut from blueberry white cheddar to habanero montery Jack. They also sell a wide variety of salsas, dips, mustards and jams and jellies. I like their party rye chips! They also have soda and candy, trinkets and sell T-shirts, etc.

We were down south last weekend and stopped in. We didn't buy a lot, but what we did buy is very good. I got some Edam, some green onion cheese and some cherry white cheddar. The green onion is a processed cheese, so it is very soft and mellow. The Edam is always good. The cherry white cheddar is very good. We did try a blueberry white cheddar that was lightly smoked and I thought it was fantastic! However, no one else shared my enthusiasm.

Usually around Christmas, we make a trip down and get some of our favorite cheeses to have on hand for snacking during the holiday season.

Today I am going to share not a recipe with you, but more of an idea.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Everyone likes grilled cheese, right? Well here is how I make my grilled cheese.

First pick your cheeses - cheddar, parmesan, edam, gouda, swiss, muenster, mozzarella, provolone, blue, gorgonzola, whatever you have handy, but try to get a good mix. You don't need a lot of each, just a bit. Mozzarella is always good for the melty-stretchy-stringie factor!

Then get out some bacon - how much is up to you. Fry it slowly on top of the stove, but first snip it into little pieces with a pair of kitchen shears. Drain well on paper towels.

Onions - or shallots, spring onions, whatever you like. Saute them in a bit of the bacon drippings until they caramelize a bit.

While your bacon or onions are cooking, shred your cheeses, large shred. For some reason, shredded cheese seems to melt better than slabs.

Then get out your bread. Mix this up too - rye, pumpernickle, sourdough, whole wheat, oat, whatever you like.

Mayonnaise. Not butter, mayonnaise. For some reason, it browns better and you absolutely cannot taste it. DS hates mayo and I always use it on grilled cheese - he loves my grilled cheese. But use real mayo, not miracle whip.

Keep your heat low. Spread one piece of bread with mayo and put in your preheated skillet. Now pile on the shredded cheese, bacon bits and onions. Top with the other piece of bread, mayo up. Stick your head in the fridge and find the pickles. Pour you a glass of whatever tickles your fancy. Flip your sandwich. Oooh, it is nice and toasty! Try to control the drool as you wait for the other side to brown.

There, all done. Devour your sandwich while waiting for the next one to cook.