Cheesey Soiree Ticket Winner!

Once again the Foodie-file bunch has made it way to hard to pick a winner from all of your mouth watering submissions, and besides, if this Foodie took on all of that cheese on her own she would be in an intestinal coma right now. Therefore, I solicited the help of the Canadian Living Test Kitchen to go through the submissions and help me choose a winner.

Here are the nominated grilled cheese recipes.

Grilled Cheese #7 by Angie:
“Layer on light rye bread soft brie cheese and then a couple slices of tomato, season with salt and pepper, then add a thin slice of ham and then add some more brie cheese on top. Put on the top slice of bread and lightly butter both sides of the bread (to make it easier butter one side first put it face down into the hot frying pan and then butter the other side) then put your sandwich into your hot frying pan and fry each side until nice and golden brown and your brie cheese has started to melt. yummy.”

Grilled Cheese #9 by Kathy:
“My version of a great grilled cheese:
I use aged cheddar and sliced onions. I slice the cheese and onions and build it in layers. After buttering the bread, I place the butter side down in the frying pan and put a layer of cheese then a layer of onions then another layer of cheese on the bread and top with bread, buttered on the outside. It sounds strange but the combo of onion and cheese is very very good, well tis to me. Try it, you might like it too!”

Grilled Cheese #14 by Ella:
“My ultimate grilled cheese sandwich was a treat I made for myself on a cold day over the holidays that really hit the spot! I used a nice rye bread spread with pesto and put a layer of sliced homemade roasted red pepper, a few pieces of baby spinach and then a generous crumbling of goat’s cheese and a quick crackle of black pepper to finish it off. It was so simple, but the goat cheese and roasted red peppers were both fantastically rich and smooth and the baby spinach added a nice lighter green element with the pesto. I grilled it in my George Foreman Grill which I actually find quite nice for pressing all the ingredients together and really helping the flavours meld.”

Grilled Cheese #23 by Debbie:
“Butter marble rye bread. Pour on the grated medium cheddar cheese, and add a couple of strips of bacon, and a little chopped onion. Grill in a hot frying pan. Grill until golden brown. Cut in half and stretch the cheese as far as you can. Warning, bacon may slide out with this action, but so what. It’s finger food. Excellent if served with a bowl of tomato soup on the side.”

Grilled Cheese #36 by Meaghan:
“My Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich
You’ll need:
2 slices of bread, buttered.
1-3 mushrooms sliced.
2-3 slices of bacon
Fontina Cheese -as much or as little as you like.

Slice your favorite mushrooms and cook in a pan until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside. Cook your bacon – I’ve been using turkey bacon to cut some of the fat. Remove from heat. Butter your slices of bread – I’ve even gone as far as using foccacia buns to mix things up if I’m feeling extra indulgent. Assemble mushrooms, bacon and grated cheese onto open sandwich. Close sandwich place back into frying pan or onto sandwich maker and cook until golden brown. Enjoy!”

Grilled Cheese #38 by Andrea:
“Light rye bread, buttered on both sides… inside: a hearty squiggle of honey mustard, slices of Royal Gala apple, slices of aged white cheddar and finely chopped fresh rosemary. Delicious!”

Grilled Cheese #41 by Toni:
“Growing up Italian I missed out on eating grilled cheese sandwiches, until I would say grade 7. I used to go over to my girlfriends house during lunch, and her mother would make them for us…of course when offered what we wanted for lunch, I always asked for grilled cheese. I have since perfected the grilled cheese to my taste which includes an Italian touch to it. I know in those days I ate it on white bread, and it was amazing and still is on white bread but now I prefer my version, which my family loves. I buy the sliced round Italian bread (makes bigger sandwiches) I slice some old cheddar, top it with sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and few caramelized onions. Pour some of the oil from the sundried tomatoes into the pan grill both sides until the cheese is just melted and the bread turns crispy golden brown. The taste is so amazing you may not even need to use ketchup. (I still do, it brings back happy memories) guarantee a sure hit with your family. Oh, I almost forgot you need to serve it with a big cold glass of chocolate milk! Enjoy.”

One of our editors, Donna Paris, and I, want Toni to know it’s a disgrace he’s eating this sandwich with chocolate milk instead of a nice glass of red wine.

Grilled Cheese #44 by Kelly Burkholder:
“I have 2, my first is pumpkin seed bread lightly buttered with thin slices of pear, red onion and sliced blue cheese. Second is a Holiday treat, panetone a thick slice-cut a pocket fill with cream cheese and your fruit of choice. Grill both to perfection!!”

Grilled Cheese #52 by Virginia:
“All those recipes look so yummy! Here’s my vegetarian version:

2 slices of good grainy bread – I like Ancient Grains
butter the outside of the bread
smear grainy Dijon mustard on one side
spread roasted garlic hummous on other side
a couple slices of gouda
slices of tomato & red pepper
sprinkle of fresh basil leaves or spinach
add more slices of aged cheddar
top & grill

this one I made for my husband:
2 slices of the good grainy bread
butter the outside of the bread
spread grainy Dijon mustard on one slice and mayonnaise on the other
fill with gouda then honey ham
add red pepper slices
spinach
maple cheddar
then grill! He says it’s amazing!

The test kitchen staff deliberated, and the cheesiest submission and winner of the two tickets to a Cheesy Soiree is Toni with his Italian style grilled cheese wonder (#41)!

Congratulations Toni, enjoy the cheese!

The runners up are Ella (#14) – a very close second, Andrea (#38), and Meaghan (#36). You will all receive copies of the beautiful West Cookbook. Look for an email from me in your inbox!

Thanks to all who entered recipes! Remember I’m still giving away Green & Black’s Fondue sets to Foodie-file subscriber.

Happy Valentine’s Day and have a great Family Day weekend!

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