National Culinary Review - November/December 2010

is a way to make a spread, and Americans like ‘jam’ or ‘marmalade’ words,” he says. Smith chose Emmentaler because of its nuttiness, sharpness and melting ability.

“Duck confit is overlooked as a meat for sandwiches,” he adds. “It has a good meat taste. It is very tender and easy to chew.”

• Marc Forgione, chef/partner at Marc Forgione, New York, menus a Marcelli soft pecorino, black pepper brioche, fig jam and micro arugula grilled cheese sandwich. • Candied bacon grilled cheese served on Pullman loaf with Colby Jack cheese is the creation of chef Brian Reyelt, Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar and Tasty Burger, Boston. • Executive chef Santosh Tiptur of Co Co. Sala, Washington, D.C., serves truffle- scented brioche and aged cheddar cheese, which arrives with roasted tomato GRILLED CHEESE AROUND THE COUNTRY soup and a cheese fritter drizzled with chipotle/chocolate/tomato cream sauce. • At RH Restaurant & Bar, West Hollywood, Calif., executive chef Sebastien Archambault layers housemade plum and fig chutney, prosciutto, mozzarella, cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese atop locally made bread for his grilled cheese. • Chef Paul Olson, Mission Table, Traverse City, Mich., builds grilled cheese with sourdough, Taleggio, local Leelanau Cheese Co.’s Raclette, heirloom tomatoes, arugula and basil mayo.

At Salt Lake City’s Huntsman Cancer Institute’s The Point restaurant, executive chef Brandon Howard prepares grilled cheese using foie gras, Piper’s Pyramid goat cheese, dried apricots and rosemary bread. First, he rehydrates sliced apricots in balsamic vinegar. Then he combines pâté de foie gras with unsalted butter. He spreads that mixture across rosemary bread, and tops with apricots and goat cheese. “The sweetness of the balsamic and apricots enhances the richness of the foie gras and subtleness of the goat cheese,” Howard says. “Rosemary provides a fresh and earthy tone to the bread while blending well with the goat cheese.”

ATTRACTIVE CONDIMENTS To further dress up grilled cheese, Smith suggests adding unusual pickles and relishes, such as pickled cherries mixed with diced raw fennel or pickled jalapeños minced with capers and green olives.

The Tomato Head, Knoxville and Maryville, Tenn., jazzes up grilled cheese with tomato jam. Chef/owner Mahasti Vafaie ate tomato jam that Maryville chef Robert Birkholz made, and thought it would taste delicious on grilled cheese. “The tomato jam is slightly sweet, so it blends well with the slightly salty taste of the cheese,” she says.

The jam is prepared with roasted Roma tomatoes combined with balsamic vinegar, light brown sugar and salt. Vafaie assembles the sandwich with slices of country loaf French bread, tomato jam, Monterey Jack, smoked turkey and Benton’s bacon strips.

Red-onion marmalade imparts a sweet/
sour balance to Eric Gruber’s nouvelle three-
cheese grilled cheese. “It cuts some of the fat
from the cheese and adds a crunchy texture,”
says Gruber, who is executive chef at Shore
Lodge in McCall, Idaho, a resort that operates
four restaurants on the premises.

When planning the sandwich, Gruber looked for diversity in cheese flavors and meltability. He chooses fontina for its melting qualities and strong, pungent flavor, manchego for its meltability and great nutty flavor and Brie. “Brie’s the strongest flavor of the bunch, and gives a different texture with the rind,” he says.

UNEXPECTED TWIST For some chefs, it’s the surprise element that makes their grilled cheese sandwiches both memorable and adult-friendly. That’s exactly what Barrie Lynn, The Cheese Impresario, a cheese educator based in Los Angeles, thought when she created the Oohhh Sandwich, which showcases Salemville Amish Blue cheese and peanut brittle between La Brea Bakery’s country white bread. She serves the sandwich with a dollop of honeycomb. “It’s a sweet/savory combination,” Lynn says. “At first, people think this is a horrible idea. Then they taste it. Then they crave more.”