In honor of June Dairy Month, I'm highlighting a few places that serve up some of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've tasted, as well as a few websites that offer some great recipes for that iconic sandwich.
Both cheese and bread are ancient foods, but the two really came together in the 1920s when Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa, who is considered "the father of sliced bread," invented the bread slicer, which made distributing white bread easy and affordable. Shortly before that, James L. Kraft patented processed cheese, and since then, cheese and sliced bread have been inseparable.
Although Kraft Singles get a lot of attention when it comes to grilled cheese, Wisconsinites know that our state makes a plethora of cheeses that melt sensationally between two slices of bread.
For some great recipes featuring several varieties of cheese and bread choices, visit the Grilled Cheese Academy online (www.grilledcheeseacademy.com). You'll find a spectacular array of cheese sandwiches that will keep you grilling all month long.
However, if you're too busy to make a sandwich, may I suggest a few places that craft some tasty ones?
1. Most people are quite satisfied with cheddar melted between two slices of white bread, but, for my vegetarian friends, a stop at Alchemy Cafe on Atwood Avenue in Madison for their Stuffed Grilled Cheese is in order. It's filled with broccoli, roasted carrots, tomato, red onion and local cheddar and Swiss topped with cilantro pesto sauce on toasted sourdough. Your taste buds will thank you.
2. For my carnivorous friends: Anything on the menu at Melthouse Bistro on East Kenilworth Place in Milwaukee will satisfy your meat and melted cheese craving. Two of my favorites are The Dominique featuring Wisconsin Gorgonzola, parmesan, dried cranberries and grilled chicken breast smothered in walnut pesto on ciabatta bread. And The Maliblue, which is a classic club sandwich meets Cobb salad meets grilled cheese. Wisconsin Blue Cheese is the star, alongside smoked turkey breast, Pecanwood Smoked Bacon, fresh avocado slices, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, hard-boiled egg crumbles and roasted garlic mayo on country French bread.
3. And fear not my Northwoods friends, if you're anywhere near Ashland, head a few miles southwest to Delta and try the Delta Diner's Stuffed French Toast. Grilled cheese purists may not consider this a true rendition, but take my word for it, it is grilled cheese. It's stuffed with house-made Mascarpone cheese and fresh berries, dipped in a custard egg batter and grilled. Totally worth the trip north to stuff your belly with this delicious concoction. (The DW crew has made plenty of pit-stops there.)
4. Head southwest for a couple of hours from Delta to Hudson and arrive at Urban Olive & Vine on Second Street for a "Grown-Up Grilled Cheese." Not your average array of ingredients, this sandwich is made with Havarti and Swiss cheeses with apple chutney and honey for a sweet and savory sensation ... in other words, heavenly flavor.
- Amy Wallace is the producer of the America's Dairyland series on Discover Wisconsin, which airs every Saturday at 10 a.m. on FSN Wisconsin.
Both cheese and bread are ancient foods, but the two really came together in the 1920s when Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa, who is considered "the father of sliced bread," invented the bread slicer, which made distributing white bread easy and affordable. Shortly before that, James L. Kraft patented processed cheese, and since then, cheese and sliced bread have been inseparable.
Although Kraft Singles get a lot of attention when it comes to grilled cheese, Wisconsinites know that our state makes a plethora of cheeses that melt sensationally between two slices of bread.
For some great recipes featuring several varieties of cheese and bread choices, visit the Grilled Cheese Academy online (www.grilledcheeseacademy.com). You'll find a spectacular array of cheese sandwiches that will keep you grilling all month long.
However, if you're too busy to make a sandwich, may I suggest a few places that craft some tasty ones?
1. Most people are quite satisfied with cheddar melted between two slices of white bread, but, for my vegetarian friends, a stop at Alchemy Cafe on Atwood Avenue in Madison for their Stuffed Grilled Cheese is in order. It's filled with broccoli, roasted carrots, tomato, red onion and local cheddar and Swiss topped with cilantro pesto sauce on toasted sourdough. Your taste buds will thank you.
2. For my carnivorous friends: Anything on the menu at Melthouse Bistro on East Kenilworth Place in Milwaukee will satisfy your meat and melted cheese craving. Two of my favorites are The Dominique featuring Wisconsin Gorgonzola, parmesan, dried cranberries and grilled chicken breast smothered in walnut pesto on ciabatta bread. And The Maliblue, which is a classic club sandwich meets Cobb salad meets grilled cheese. Wisconsin Blue Cheese is the star, alongside smoked turkey breast, Pecanwood Smoked Bacon, fresh avocado slices, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, hard-boiled egg crumbles and roasted garlic mayo on country French bread.
3. And fear not my Northwoods friends, if you're anywhere near Ashland, head a few miles southwest to Delta and try the Delta Diner's Stuffed French Toast. Grilled cheese purists may not consider this a true rendition, but take my word for it, it is grilled cheese. It's stuffed with house-made Mascarpone cheese and fresh berries, dipped in a custard egg batter and grilled. Totally worth the trip north to stuff your belly with this delicious concoction. (The DW crew has made plenty of pit-stops there.)
4. Head southwest for a couple of hours from Delta to Hudson and arrive at Urban Olive & Vine on Second Street for a "Grown-Up Grilled Cheese." Not your average array of ingredients, this sandwich is made with Havarti and Swiss cheeses with apple chutney and honey for a sweet and savory sensation ... in other words, heavenly flavor.
- Amy Wallace is the producer of the America's Dairyland series on Discover Wisconsin, which airs every Saturday at 10 a.m. on FSN Wisconsin.