Grilled Cheese sandwich Archives - Pechluck's Food Adventures

Franz Bakery Grilled Cheese Throwdown

Apparently April 12 is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. So on Sunday April 12, 2015, this resulted in that I had the delicious pleasure of sampling 4 grilled cheeses created using Franz Bakery bread. The four grilled cheeses were submissions by local grilled cheese lovers to Franz Bakery as part of a Grilled Cheese contest in which the grand prize included a year’s supply of Franz bread and an All-Clad barbecue tool set. Franz selected the four finalists, who then at Migration Brewing on Sunday from 11 AM – 2 PM cooked their grilled cheese sandwich entry for the public and for the Judges. This was a free family friendly event, and it was a lot of fun!

Each grilled cheese recipe had to use a Franz bread product and 5 ingredients to keep it simple. If you want to see all the entries, they were on social media using the hashtag #franzgrilledcheezeday on the Franz Bakery Facebook wall or on Twitter and Instagram. But let’s take a look at the finalists, shall we? These were all really great sandwiches and I think I have ideas for future grilled cheese parties…

Lindsay Strannigan who also writes the blog RoseMarried presented The Kimcheeze, with Franz Texas Toast with bacon, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Choi’s Spicy Kimchi and Green Onions. You can see her pro tip is putting a cover while grilling.
Lindsay Strannigan of RoseMarried.com (along with her mom here) presented The Kimcheeze, with Franz Texas Toast with bacon, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Choi's Spicy Kimchi and Green Onions. #franzgrilledcheezeday

Rebekah Hubbard of PDXFoodLove (along with her husband Dave here) presented Curd is the Word, with the ingredients of Franz San Juan Nine Grain, ‘Nduja, Cheddar Cheese Curds, Arugula, and Mayonnaise. Her pro tip here as demonstrated by her husband Dave is putting the mayo on the outside when grilling! Although she used San Juan Nine Grain on the first sandwich you see, I also tried one on the Franz Gluten Free bread of Great Seed which I had never had before and I will definitely seek out again (it also comes in a regular gluten version).
Rebekah Hubbard of PDXFoodLove (along with her husband Dave here) presented Curd is the Word, with Franz San Juan Island Nine Grain Bread, 'Nduja, Cheddar Cheese Curds, Arugula, and Mayonnaise #franzgrilledcheezeday

Christina Johnson created The Chicken Cheese Overseas with Seattle Sourdough Baking Company Garlic Sourdough, Chicken Breast, Tillamook Swiss Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Greek Cream Cheese Spread.
Christina Johnson created The Chicken Cheese Overseas with Seattle Sourdough Baking Company Garlic Sourdough, Chicken Breast, Tillamook Swiss Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Greek Cream Cheese Spread #franzgrilledcheezeday

Christina’s pro technique in grilling was making sure the grill was hot and then rubbing a stick of butter (making sure it sizzles of course) for each side of the grilled cheese. I had never heard of the garlic sourdough bread she used her from Franz, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for it as well as it looks like it’s perfect for making great paninis.
"Christina

Ultimately, Renee Butcher of The Good Hearted Woman took home the prize with her Irish Apple Pie Twice Grilled Cheese, with the ingredients of Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, Granny Smith Apples and Apple Butter.

I loved how Renee made this a combination of both savory and sweet, and the extra special touch of an extra cheese crisps she also grilled! You can find her award winning take on the grilled cheese on her blog!
Renee Butcher of The Good Hearted Woman took home the prize with her Irish Apple Pie Twice Grilled Cheese, with the ingredients of Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, Granny Smith Apples and Apple Butter #franzgrilledcheezeday

I was impressed by all the ladies slinging those hundreds of grilled cheeses for the crowds. It was a really fun, family friendly event with lots of little knee-high and less kiddies. I loved seeing new generations being exposed to more than just white Wonder bread and American cheese.

Did you know that Franz Bakery has been operating for more than 100 years (thanks to two brothers from Austria who founded their small independent bakery in Portland in 1906) and continues to be family owned (fourth generation) and operate at that same address (NE 11th and Flanders) although it has since expanded to grow into one of the largest bakeries in the West Coast? I know because I love sniffing the air around there if I’m fortunate to be there when it smells like fresh baked bread. Oh, what I would do to be able to sneak in and grab a loaf and stick of butter and just that would be enough during those tantalizing aroma times…

I really enjoy that besides being local, the Franz Bakery bread portfolio comes in a great variety of different options, my favorite including the Potato Hamburger buns for burgers, and for regular sandwich needs I like the Lake Washington Honey Oat & Nut or Cannon Beach Milk & Honey or Oregon Hazelnut Bread. Though clearly I need to expand and try more great bread since I tried new ones at this event! All in all, there are more than 100 kinds of baked good products they make, ranging from sandwich bread to sliders to bagels, dinner rolls, croutons and cakes, and donuts and english muffins, and cookies and bear claws and cinnamon rolls and more… I want some just writing this list! There is No High Fructose Corn Syrup used, you should check out the Franz bakery product list to see all they have to offer. I had no idea they had so many – and now I know to keep my eye out for some new kinds!

Have you tried Franz bakery bread, and if you have, what did you end up trying? Do you have a favorite? Which bread would you use for your version of Franz Bakery Grilled Cheese? In general what’s your favorite recipe for grilled cheese?

Also important- where can I get a calendar of all these food holidays…

Bouchon Bakery Rockefeller

As I started telling you in my previous post, I was recently in New York for a conference/training for 6 days. The first day, Saturday, was essentially a travel day. Then, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I was at the conference from 9-5, with a 1 hour lunch break from 12:20-1:30. That limited my comfort level of where I would be able to go to lunch and return in time to not miss anything at the session.

So how did I find lunches in Midtown Manhattan?

One way to do this is to first, search your current location on Google Maps. In my example below, my conference was at the Sofitel New York (I stayed at a separate hotel to save money for my company). Then, when you click on the location, click the link for Search Nearby, which will expand this menu to include a field to use.
First, search for your location (in this case, Sofitel was my conference hotel). Then I clicked on Search Nearby link, which opened a section below for me to use keywords to search around the area

You can use this field to search for what you need- happy hour, lunch, pizza, bagel, tacos, etc.

This usually is what I do when I travel for work, but since I was in Manhattan there are lots of little dots that pop up of places to eat (this isn’t true of many other places I ended up going). So what now?
Searching for restaurant lunch options by Midtown Manhattan from my Sofitel Hotel in New York City

Fortunately, because New York is such a foodie town, I did a search of “Best lunch in Midtown Manhattan” and got several website articles to peruse. Usually, in smaller towns, I might only find a link to some old Chowhound board discussions, but that has also paid off to read and pick something out that sounds appealing. I picked the Serious Eats guide of “Where to Eat Near Rockefeller Center” as a reliable source, and combined this with other things I remember reading or being recommended.

For instance, that Bouchon Bakery has been on several lists for their grilled cheese sandwich- I had once upon a time pinned the list from Food and Wine for Best Grilled Cheese in the US and Bouchon’s was on it, as was it on the Serious Eats New York 17 Great Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. The name Thomas Keller also means something to me- the lunch I had at French Laundry quite a few years ago is still very memorable to me.
Bouchon Bakery in New York City, right by Rockefeller Plaza

So this was my first lunch for the trip. It was so crowded at Bouchon Bakery Rockefeller that a group of ladies was braving sitting outside on their patio, but the crowd comes and goes. I awkwardly put my bag and coat down by a stool I saw by the corner between 2 groups after putting in my order, but when the order actually came up, there was a huge section of countertop that had opened up with seats. People here tend not to linger long.

Bouchon Bakery in New York City, right by Rockefeller Plaza Bouchon Bakery- example of offerings

The Bouchon Baker Rockefeller menu (which is annoyingly not on their site but you can get a gist at UrbanSpoon or the New York Mag for a menu) are light lunches of sandwiches, salads, cheese plates, soup, and of course their fabulous baked goods of macaroons and cookies as well as others like croissants, scones, etc. Below, the Smoked Salmon with herbed cream cheese, pickled red onion, and peppercress on brioche and the Roasted Sweet Potato on almond focaccia with brown butter aioli sounded tempting too.

Not so much the dog biscuits admittedly, which by the way are enriched with foie gras and chicken stock. One story goes that the dog treats came about because the Bouchon Kitchen in Yountville always had leftover random pieces of fois gras scraps so they used it this way so they wouldn’t go to waste and were still enjoyed.
Bouchon Bakery- example of offerings

I came to Bouchon Bakery twice. The first time was exactly for that grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. It is not just a plain grilled cheese or plain tomato soup, of course- it’s a san marzano tomato soup that is tangy and intensely tomato-y, perfect for a dip here or there with the gooey fontina & gruyère cheese sandwich whose thick pain au lait (milk bread) manages to be both crusty on the outside but soft and doughy buttery richness inside.
Bouchon Bakery San Marzano Tomato Soup, perfect with their pain au lait grilled fontina and gruyere cheese sandwich Bouchon Bakerypain au lait grilled fontina and gruyere cheese sandwich is perfectly crispy on the outside but soft doughy rich butteryness on the inside

On my second visit, I had decided to eat leftovers from previous meals, and brought that from the hotel. However, I still used my lunch stipend to get a few treats to keep me sugared up on the plane (this would pay off since my flight would be delayed and I wouldn’t reach home until 4am NY time or 1am PDX time!). These treats kept me in a good mood, instead of a bad hungry mood. These included a croissant, the Tko Thomas Keller Oreo, the Nutter Butter cookie, and the TLC (The Laura Cunningham) Oatmeal Cookie. She didn’t like dried fruits and picked them out of typical oatmeal raisin cookies, which I totally agree with, so this cookie substitutes pecans for raisins! After the Nutter Butter the TLC was my favorite cookie.

Bouchon Bakery croissant Bouchon Bakery Tko Thomas Keller Oreo Bouchon Bakery Pistachio Macaroon Bouchon Bakery Nutter Butter cookie Bouchon Bakery Oatmeal cookie