Two years ago, my five-year-old decided that she was no longer willing to eat grilled cheese sandwiches. Her twin brother, ever the purist, was a big fan of American cheese and white bread, gently buttered and grilled. My daughter—not so much. A goat cheese enthusiast, she found the processed stuff too gooey and well, orange, for her sophisticated palate.
My children like few of the same foods, so this news was unsettling to me. Although I enjoy my time in the kitchen, I was not trained as a short order cook, and was not about to lose another food option without a fight.
Since this announcement, I have done quite a bit of experimenting. Fortunately, I have found two new versions of grilled cheese that have met their approval and have made their way on to my permanent menu.
My first triumph was the grilled cream cheese sandwich. Yes, as simple as it sounds (utterly ridiculous, right?), this is my signature sandwich among the neighborhood children. It was downright embarrassing when their parents asked for the recipe and I had to confess that it’s—get this—cream cheese and bread.
My other success combined two classics: baseball and French onion soup. To make this, cut a pretzel roll into thin slices, add gruyere (fontina can substitute) and lots of grilled onions. Toast lightly and then serve with brown spicy mustard (omit the onions and mustard if you serve it to picky kids). Pretzel rolls are small, so this also works nicely as a pick-up appetizer for adults. Make sure to have plenty of napkins nearby.
They say that necessity is the mother of invention and I agree. Last week, my daughter declared that she would no longer eat peanut butter and jelly.
Stay tuned.
