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The Great Grilled Cheese Book: Grown-Up Recipes for a Childhood Classic [A Cookbook]
Fifty chef-created recipes—some classic, some boundary pushing—for America's favorite sandwich, the grilled cheese.
A fresh take on the beloved American classic, from the classic white bread with American cheese to "The Champ" (a taleggio and short rib extravaganza); the "Johnny Pastrami," which combines pastrami with the bite and freshness of apple chutney; and "The Tomater" with creamy mozzarella and a sun-dried tomato spread. Featuring both common and elevated ingredients like brie cheese, poppy seed bread, olive tapenade, fig marmalade, smoked salmon, candied bacon, bourbon-glazed ham, and raisin walnut bread, these are recipes that invite you into new and uncharted grilled cheese territory. With notes on the best cheese and breads and pro tips for the best cooking techniques, this book has something for every taste and is guaranteed up your grilled cheese game.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 7, 2018
39 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 20, 2019
Of course reading cookbooks makes me hungry.
So … three guesses as to what this one’s about?
Yes, it's grilled cheese as you’ve never imagined it before. And these are ridiculously complete recipes. If there are pickles called for, Greenspan includes instructions on how to make the specific pickles in his recipe. There's even a recipe for making your own American cheese (along with variations for making it with flavor infusions such as beer or sriracha.) I’m surprised he doesn't include instructions for making your own bread.
That said, Greenspan also insists that these recipes do not need to be followed precisely. Grilled cheese should be fun, and if you’d prefer to substitute ingredients--store-bought strawberry jam instead of homemade, or whatever--go for it. Experiment. Find your own flavor combinations that really make your sandwich zing. The recipe police will not come to take you away.
These recipes are fun, inspiring, and (probably) delicious. Recommended!
So … three guesses as to what this one’s about?
Yes, it's grilled cheese as you’ve never imagined it before. And these are ridiculously complete recipes. If there are pickles called for, Greenspan includes instructions on how to make the specific pickles in his recipe. There's even a recipe for making your own American cheese (along with variations for making it with flavor infusions such as beer or sriracha.) I’m surprised he doesn't include instructions for making your own bread.
That said, Greenspan also insists that these recipes do not need to be followed precisely. Grilled cheese should be fun, and if you’d prefer to substitute ingredients--store-bought strawberry jam instead of homemade, or whatever--go for it. Experiment. Find your own flavor combinations that really make your sandwich zing. The recipe police will not come to take you away.
These recipes are fun, inspiring, and (probably) delicious. Recommended!
December 22, 2018
One of the saddest days I remember is when my baby brother came home from his friend's house. I asked him if he had eaten (because that's always my first question), and he said that his friend's sister gave him a grilled cheese. Of course, he had been used to my grilled cheese -- beautiful, buttery, golden brown, crisp Wonderbread (okay, this was more than 25 years ago) with gooey American cheese. He was given a soggy sandwich that had been microwaved (MICROWAVED!!!). I was offended. How dare someone give my little brother something like that and call it a grilled cheese. When I saw The Great Grilled Cheese Book, I immediately thought of that sad day and promptly wanted to make the perfect grilled cheese for my baby bro (which I did that same day 25 years ago). I loved that my Wonderbread grilled cheese was listed "classic" in this book, and the description was the same. The name may be very specific, however there are other great recipes in this book - waffles and fried chicken, focaccia, Morning Monte and more. Descriptions of different cheeses, breads, ingredients -- it's a lot more than 'just' grilled cheese, yet, that's all it is.
Who cares if I'm lactose intolerant? Some pain is just worth it. A great book for grilled cheese enthusiasts.
Who cares if I'm lactose intolerant? Some pain is just worth it. A great book for grilled cheese enthusiasts.
November 26, 2018
Mmmmmmmmm. Made some homemade cranberry sauce and put that between 2 slices of bakery bread, cheddar cheese, tart apple slices or pear slices. Enough said.
March 21, 2021
Maybe it’s me, but 99% of these recipes sound absolutely appalling. I liked the pictures and enjoyed reading it even if I only found one recipe I’d try.
July 29, 2018
Librarian: I won't be recommending this book. Not because the recipes don't look good, or because I don't have readers who would borrow this book but because of simple logistics. You see, the library I currently work at is located in Asia. Do you know what ingredient isn't generally part of Asian cuisine, and is therefore outrageously hard to get/expensive? That's right, cheese. Which, is kind of the point of this book. So it makes no sense to order a cookbook for a place where the readers can't get the main featured ingredient.
Reader: I'll probably be buying this book for myself in a more physical format. I say this because the pictures made me hungry, and the recipes looked good, when I could read them. Unfortunately, the formatting of the arc made that difficult. But it does look like the kind of cookbook that I'll enjoy, once I live in a place with cheese.
Reader: I'll probably be buying this book for myself in a more physical format. I say this because the pictures made me hungry, and the recipes looked good, when I could read them. Unfortunately, the formatting of the arc made that difficult. But it does look like the kind of cookbook that I'll enjoy, once I live in a place with cheese.
July 20, 2019
THIS BOOK IS NOT ABOUT GRILLED CHEESE.
It's basically a panini/sandwich book.
You can't put a hamburger on a grilled cheese and then CALL IT A GRILLED CHEESE. THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WORKS. When cheese is the minority on the sandwich it is not a grilled cheese anymore.
I guess a McDonald's burger is actually a grilled cheese because there's more cheese for burger on it than the one in this book. Congratulations Ronald you're now a grilled cheese restaurant.
It's basically a panini/sandwich book.
You can't put a hamburger on a grilled cheese and then CALL IT A GRILLED CHEESE. THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WORKS. When cheese is the minority on the sandwich it is not a grilled cheese anymore.
I guess a McDonald's burger is actually a grilled cheese because there's more cheese for burger on it than the one in this book. Congratulations Ronald you're now a grilled cheese restaurant.
August 23, 2019
Totally drool-worthy photos of grilled cheeses. Many, however, looked like more work than they were worth. Didn't end up finding any that I really wanted to attempt myself. Enjoyed looking at all the photos though!
August 9, 2018
I have been a fan of Eric Greenspan for years. I don't even remember the first time I came across him on some random Food Network show, but ever since I first saw him, I was hooked. He has intelligence, a great sense of humor, a relaxed manner that is completely inviting, and a personality that makes you wish he was at every boring party you'd ever have to go to, because suddenly the party wouldn't be the slightest bit boring and the food would be crazy good.
He's taken all that intelligence and mixed it with a strong French culinary education to make grilled cheese sandwiches. What's not to like about this guy?
And finally, FINALLY!, he's come out with a cookbook of his grilled genius so that all of us can get a taste of his innovation with everyone's favorite comfort food. The Great Grilled Cheese Book is the Greenspan cookbook I've been waiting for, but so much better than I thought it would be.
Chef Greeny breaks it down by cheeses. There are chapters on American; Mozzarella and Provolone; Cheddar; Blue; Bloomy and Washed Rinds; Gouda, Gruyere, and Swiss; Goat; and Wild Cards. He offers several elevated grilled cheese sandwiches for each type of cheese, from his Cuban Reuben to the Morning Monte (based on the Monte Cristo), from the Monterey Melt (a tuna melt) to The Greek to The Gobbler (the most grilled cheese way of using up your Thanksgiving leftovers).
He bases his recipes on classic flavor combinations--steak and blue cheese, the Cobb salad, a patty melt, beer and pretzels, bananas and Nutella--and adds creative ideas for extra flavor and texture to make these the best grilled cheese sandwiches you've ever eaten. And while he includes recipes for everything so you can make your own (foccacia, jams, giardiniera, pickles, chutneys, even vegan Worcestershire sauce), he also notes often that there is no shame in using store-bought to same time and energy. Greenspan wants us to take his recipes and use them in ways that work for us, to open us up to new ideas for comfort foods, to find the flavors that both take us around the world and bring us home.
And he even includes recipes for making your own American cheese. Like I said, what's not to like about this guy?
He's taken all that intelligence and mixed it with a strong French culinary education to make grilled cheese sandwiches. What's not to like about this guy?
And finally, FINALLY!, he's come out with a cookbook of his grilled genius so that all of us can get a taste of his innovation with everyone's favorite comfort food. The Great Grilled Cheese Book is the Greenspan cookbook I've been waiting for, but so much better than I thought it would be.
Chef Greeny breaks it down by cheeses. There are chapters on American; Mozzarella and Provolone; Cheddar; Blue; Bloomy and Washed Rinds; Gouda, Gruyere, and Swiss; Goat; and Wild Cards. He offers several elevated grilled cheese sandwiches for each type of cheese, from his Cuban Reuben to the Morning Monte (based on the Monte Cristo), from the Monterey Melt (a tuna melt) to The Greek to The Gobbler (the most grilled cheese way of using up your Thanksgiving leftovers).
He bases his recipes on classic flavor combinations--steak and blue cheese, the Cobb salad, a patty melt, beer and pretzels, bananas and Nutella--and adds creative ideas for extra flavor and texture to make these the best grilled cheese sandwiches you've ever eaten. And while he includes recipes for everything so you can make your own (foccacia, jams, giardiniera, pickles, chutneys, even vegan Worcestershire sauce), he also notes often that there is no shame in using store-bought to same time and energy. Greenspan wants us to take his recipes and use them in ways that work for us, to open us up to new ideas for comfort foods, to find the flavors that both take us around the world and bring us home.
And he even includes recipes for making your own American cheese. Like I said, what's not to like about this guy?
July 12, 2019
Eric Greenspan looks like a cook in a short-order joint with slightly greasy counters and bolted-down paper-napkin dispensers. Who would know that he is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris who has worked for Alain Ducasse and owns a number of fine restaurants? The grilled cheese sandwich lifted him to national prominence when the Food Network selected his "The Champ" as the number-three best comfort food in America. Greater success promptly followed. In addition to a schooling in the basics of making really good grilled cheese sandwiches, Greenspan offers some novel and interesting ones. His Caprese melt is just like a classic Caprese salad only on toasted bread. His Cobb is just like a classic Cobb salad only on toasted bread. His green apple-Cheddar-and-onion combination will work for sure. He named a sandwich the Elvis Presley; it contains peanut butter, banana, bacon and goat cheese. One doubts that The King ever tasted goat cheese. In many of the recipes, there is instruction on how to make rather than purchase an ingredient. Examples are quick sweet pickles, focaccia, red-onion marmalade and beet-horseradish mayonnaise. He also reveals how to make American cheese at home; who knew!? He appends four variations on the classic American-cheese theme. Two annoyances about the book, both of which are attributable to the editor rather than the author. The titles for the sandwiches are all printed entirely in lower-case letters, even the ones which contain a proper noun. Perhaps the editor's mother read too much of the poetry of e.e.cummings while she was carrying her baby. The second is the failure to italicize foreign words and phrases. While it is true that there is a culture war raging and one of the battlefields is the simplification of the English language, that is no reason to capitulate without a fight. This book was a good buy because it contains at least thirty sandwiches which I want to make.
February 12, 2019
Grilled cheese sandwich. My eternal comfort food.
When I saw the book's cover in our local library, my heart melted just like the cheese on the cover.
I read the book, absorbed images and enjoyed my time from A to Z.
The compact, almost square ( 7'x8') format of the book is one of my favorite for it's convenient to keep on the kitchen counter when cooking and will make a beautiful spot on the coffee table.
The high-resolution bringing the colors and texture photos are so appetizing and simply screaming: "Cook me!"
The only minor note that not every recipe has an illustration, which is crucial for me.
To cover that flaw, the book has surprised me with additional recipes for home-made American cheeses, pickles, waffles, various breads, jams, chutneys, souses and mayonnaise, i.e anything that can build a perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
Each recipe is given from scratch, with all the necessary details, easy to follow, guiding step by step, often repeating some processes, which is much appreciated, for I find it annoying to flip pages back and forth to see an earlier written description.
The author has labelled the recipes as Vegetarian, Breakfast, Meat and Fish and Sweets.
The index of the ingredients at the end of the book is a must-have for any cookbook.
This melted-cheese printed sanctuary will teach something new (and tasty) as beginner cooks as more experienced home chefs.
When I saw the book's cover in our local library, my heart melted just like the cheese on the cover.
I read the book, absorbed images and enjoyed my time from A to Z.
The compact, almost square ( 7'x8') format of the book is one of my favorite for it's convenient to keep on the kitchen counter when cooking and will make a beautiful spot on the coffee table.
The high-resolution bringing the colors and texture photos are so appetizing and simply screaming: "Cook me!"
The only minor note that not every recipe has an illustration, which is crucial for me.
To cover that flaw, the book has surprised me with additional recipes for home-made American cheeses, pickles, waffles, various breads, jams, chutneys, souses and mayonnaise, i.e anything that can build a perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
Each recipe is given from scratch, with all the necessary details, easy to follow, guiding step by step, often repeating some processes, which is much appreciated, for I find it annoying to flip pages back and forth to see an earlier written description.
The author has labelled the recipes as Vegetarian, Breakfast, Meat and Fish and Sweets.
The index of the ingredients at the end of the book is a must-have for any cookbook.
This melted-cheese printed sanctuary will teach something new (and tasty) as beginner cooks as more experienced home chefs.
December 28, 2018
This has lots of recipes that sound great. The basic premise is that for something simple, like grilled cheese, quality ingredients really affect the flavor. Therefore the author includes recipes for most of the component sandwich parts including focaccia bread, fried chicken, jam, and various pickles/ pickled vegetables. If you've ever wanted to make your own American cheese this book will show you how including infusing it with various flavors like sriracha. We may have to try it. This is going on our to purchase list. One thing baffles me though... There are 5 sandwiches in each chapter and all but one have pictures. I really like to see the food in cookbooks so it's great that most have pictures but a few of the ones I was most interested in don't.
August 15, 2018
This is much more than just a book that provides "Grown-Up" recipes for Grilled Cheese! Many of these recipes, while they do look delicious, are so far advanced, that there is no way I will be making them!
Still, for those who are more talented in the kitchen, you have a wide variety of cheeses, breads, and accompanying items to choose from. The author provides directions for providing each ingredient (including how to make homemade American cheese). He also provides tips for making a sandwich better.
Interesting and if anyone would like to make one of these for me, just let me know!
Still, for those who are more talented in the kitchen, you have a wide variety of cheeses, breads, and accompanying items to choose from. The author provides directions for providing each ingredient (including how to make homemade American cheese). He also provides tips for making a sandwich better.
Interesting and if anyone would like to make one of these for me, just let me know!
March 27, 2020
These "grown-up recipes for a childhood classic" are pretty elaborate. If you have the time and talent to make the ingredients from scratch, I'm sure the results would be amazing. I like that the author admits that "when time is short, it's all right to buy ingredients."
The color pictures are beautiful and gives a lot of inspiration for creating your own ingredient combinations. Some combos are a meal in a sandwich!
Check this book out from the Villa Park Public Library!
The color pictures are beautiful and gives a lot of inspiration for creating your own ingredient combinations. Some combos are a meal in a sandwich!
Check this book out from the Villa Park Public Library!
August 6, 2023
Very very homemade ingredients, which I admire. Some of these concepts would probably not hold up as a grilled cheese though (and by that I mean they would literally fall apart because of the crazy toppings).
I don’t even like American cheese but I’m kind of inspired to make my own?? I will try the cooking method he uses and maybe put jam on a sandwich sometime. Otherwise, this is a book I definitely don’t need to own. A fun library find.
I don’t even like American cheese but I’m kind of inspired to make my own?? I will try the cooking method he uses and maybe put jam on a sandwich sometime. Otherwise, this is a book I definitely don’t need to own. A fun library find.
November 4, 2021
A fun book filled with recipes of the great American classic, the grilled cheese. Not only do these recipes suggest different cheeses and breads, they also include all sorts of additional ingredients like vegetables, sauces, and meats. I just wish the book had more pictures, the ones included will make your mouthwater!
December 10, 2021
The fact that this is organized by cheeses is just amazing.
It's sort of hard to figure out which pictures go with which recipes unless you read through each one. And I don't think I'd make any of the recipes, sadly.
It's sort of hard to figure out which pictures go with which recipes unless you read through each one. And I don't think I'd make any of the recipes, sadly.
September 13, 2018
Mmm,some fun ideas, but I don’t like this book enough to buy.
Maybe I’ll check it out from the library again if i can ever eat bread again.
Maybe I’ll check it out from the library again if i can ever eat bread again.
November 30, 2018
Scrumptious sandwich ideas with all sorts of cheese!!!!!
July 4, 2020
The Holy Grail of everything grilled cheese ! Such a nostalgic read !
February 9, 2021
Delicious book. Really liked the way Chef Greenspan organized the book by type of cheese used. Fan of his from his appearances on Food Network especially Guys Grocery Games.
January 17, 2023
Good details of how you can elevate all the recipes. But was hoping for more adventurous and different recipes than what they had.
January 12, 2024
I love a good grilled cheese sandwich but there wasn't much in this book I wanted to try... adding onion marmalade, cranberry tapenade or mushroom ragout to grilled cheese? no thank you!
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October 13, 2024has some fun ideas
August 9, 2018
I may be biased because I literally just had a grilled cheese with ham for dinner, and one of my favorite foodcarts in Downtown Portland is the Grilled Cheese Grill (get the Jalapeno Popper - extra jalapenos, extra cheese. Sooooo good!) but really, really, really liked this cookbook. Because grilled cheese is delicious, all the time, always. No matter what time of the year it is - could be summer, could be the middle of winter, either way, grilled cheese is good. I, personally, like my grilled cheese to come with ham and a fried egg. And I like to use gouda cheese. and sourdough bread.. Sourdough bread is the best bread. That and jalapeno bread.
The Great Grilled Cheese Book features all sorts of grilled cheese combinations that I haven't even thought of - bleu cheese? Uhm, yes, I needed that yesterday. I need that Steakhouse grilled cheese yesterday.
So if you're sick and tired of plain ol' grilled cheese, check this book out.
The Great Grilled Cheese Book features all sorts of grilled cheese combinations that I haven't even thought of - bleu cheese? Uhm, yes, I needed that yesterday. I need that Steakhouse grilled cheese yesterday.
So if you're sick and tired of plain ol' grilled cheese, check this book out.
Read
November 26, 2018Gorgeous sandwiches but toooooo complicated.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews