Happy National Grilled Cheese Month!

Here is an interesting and shockingly timely factoid: April is National Grilled Cheese Month!  While I am unaware of the origin of this proclamation, a brief internet search yielded me several results corroborating the fact that this is the official month to celebrate the greatness that is fried bread and cheese :-P  In fact, Kraft is even sponsoring a contest that will win you a free pack of Kraft singles if you submit your favorite grilled cheese memory to http://www.iheartgrilledcheese.com/ on April 16.  While I'm not a huge fan of Kraft singles, I did find some of the other informational tidbits on the grilled cheese to be of interest (and worth sharing-- my editorial comments are highlighted in purple):

• While shredded cheese may be the preferred ingredient for making grilled cheeses, slices are quite popular as well.  In fact, 74 percent of people who buy sliced cheese make a grilled sandwich at least monthly.
• The exact origin of the grilled cheese sandwich is unknown but similar recipes appeared in Ancient Roman cookbooks.

• Grilled cheese is the No. 2 preferred non-deli sandwich nationwide.  WHAT?!  Blasphemy!  I'm guessing PB&J is number one but let's get serious-- compare the number of variations you can make with PB&J to the number you can make with grilled cheese.  There is no contest.
• The tomato is the most frequently added ingredient to a grilled cheese.
• In 2004, GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, paid $28,000 for a half-eaten grilled cheese that featured the image of the Virgin Mary.  My gashouse grilled cheeses looked sort of like aliens-- does that count?

• In 2006, Joey Chestnut won the World Green Chile Grilled Cheese Eating Championship by eating 34.5 grilled cheese sandwiches.  When is this contest?  And, more importantly, how do I enter?  Bring it, Joey!

All this talk of National Grilled Cheese month got me thinking about what it is that actually defines a grilled cheese.  The first week of my grilled cheese project Colin asked me if we could turn our grilled cheeses into turkey melts.  "NO!" I immediately exclaimed, "That would mean it isn't a real grilled cheese-- to count as a grilled cheese the cheese has to be the primary protein."

Well, flipping through GGC it would seem this isn't the case.  As this week's sandwich will prove, meat tends to find its way into many of the grilled cheese recipes (way for me to sneak in a hint on this week's sandwich).  In fact, one fact from the Kraft website that I left off is: In France, a grilled cheese sandwich is called a "Croque Monsieur," which is a hot ham and cheese sandwich that has been around since the early 1900s. 

Wow!  One of the earliest grilled cheeses featured meat?!  My preconceived grilled cheese notions are officially shattered.  It's time to break out of my archaic notions of what makes a grilled cheese and embrace the future: grilled cheeses featuring anything and everything, including other proteins.  While I'm still not sure of exactly how I feel about this new mentality, I'm trying to keep an open mind.  The reviews will speak for themselves where these sandwiches are concerned and only then will I render a verdict on the merits of meat in grilled cheeses.  Stay tuned!