Not yet grilled cheese
The Judges!
Jocelyn and Carly
Michelle and Michelle!
Grilling begins!
Me and the Inverted French Grilled Cheese
Randoms!I’ve heard about this event; how the peeps dress up in competition, how crowded/hectic it is and how people stand in line for hours to get in. Carly suggested I enter this year and how entertaining it would be. I thought this was a great chance for me to show off my culinary skills, meet other chefs, and enjoy grill cheese and beers with friends.
There are 3 categories; I chose the Kama Sutra where you can use any bread, any cheese, and condiment/s. I wanted a catchy name for my category hence, the Inverted French Grilled Cheese was born. I used a La Brea french baguette; flipped it over, hollowing it out slightly, stuffing it with a layer of triple cream Brie cheese, a layer of caramelized onions, and finally, a thin spread of Rhubarb compote. Of course, the tops and bottoms of the baguette were slathered with Challenge unsalted butter, making it the ultimate grilled cheese. I wanted to plan this out properly, so I pre-made all these sandwiches at home and arrived all ready to 'get my grill on.' All I’d have to do was watch the butter caramelize and reach that nice golden brown!
And watch, I did, as my 6 man crew/team of Brian, Michelle, Caroline, Carly, Jocelyn, and Michelle (Carly’s cousin) huddled behind me handing out grilled cheese sandwiches, video-taping, taking pictures, refilling my beer, and most importantly rousing the crowd and judges.
Overall, how did my grill cheese fare? Not sure with the masses but my friends sure seem to love them and that was enough for me. There were about 150 competitors and hoards of people lined up even outside of the venue, so I was ready to get out of the sun and go home. It was unique experience and cool to see how so many people came together for the love cheese and bread. It was also pretty cool to get cheered, rooted and hollered at especially from my friends!
Rhubarb Compote
2 stalks of Rhubarb, diced ½”
¼ cup Sugar
1 cup Water
1. Put all ingredients in pot and simmer until rhubarb softens and mixture starts to coagulate slightly, about 10-12 minutes.
**This is great for cheese sandwiches or even a cheese plate!!!
1 comment:
I will be making this immediately. Rhubarb is genious! I feel like this would be good with a green vegetable as well, or beets perhaps?
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