Life Lessons and Recipes - C is for Cheese

I love cheese, whether it is good for me or not. I would of course like to believe it is good for me because I often think I could live on good bread, cheese, and wine.  Of course that wouldn't make for a balanced diet and I do love my veggies!

I'm originally from California and they used to have a commercial for the lottery where this guy would stand at the end of an aisle filled with cheese in the grocery store and say, "I could buy all this cheese."

One day when my daughters were in high school and this commercial had just played, my youngest turned to me and said, "That's you mom!" and she was right because if I ever won the lottery I would so buy all that cheese!

I have stopped buying the regular brands of cheese in the store. I now worry about GMO that they are feeding to the cows, their ill treatment, and what they actually do to the cheese (it tastes like plastic to me). I now buy specialty cheeses from Whole Foods or BJ's that are either organic or from countries that don't allow GMO's in their country.

You would be amazed at the difference in the flavors, so rich and creamy.

Lessons learned: If I am going to eat something that I enjoy that much, I'm willing to pay a little more for it and get the good stuff because I deserve it.

Comfort Food:

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Sauteed Mushrooms 

This isn't the grilled cheese sandwich you grew up with, or at least I doubt it is.

• Begin warming your cast iron skillet on medium to medium low and pour in about a 1/4 cup of white wine or so (covering the bottom of the skillet). 
• Slice two or three Criminis (baby portobellos) medium thin (about 1/8 inch thickness or so) and throw those into the skillet. 
• Add a couple of slices of butter to the skillet and a teaspoon or so of Tarragon and either sprinkle in a little granulated garlic or you can slice up a clove of garlic and toss in. (you can choose to add sliced onion or onion powder)
• Cook until the wine has evaporated and mushrooms have shrunken a bit and darkened. Set aside on a plate or bowl and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel or clean dishrag and then lightly wipe grape seed oil or olive oil over the pan with a paper towel.. 
• Start out with good, GOOD, French bread (or homemade bread) slice two pieces medium thin (about a half inch or so thick). Butter one side of one piece and place butter side down into skillet on medium low heat.
• Slice Havarti cheese about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (enough pieces to cover bread) and place on the bread in the pan.
• Scoop out the mushrooms onto the top of the cheese. 
• Butter one side of the second piece of bread and place butter side up onto the mushrooms. 
• Put a lid on for two to three minutes and then flip sandwich over carefully. Lightly brown on the other side (two to three minutes) . Enjoy with a tall glass of raspberry iced tea! Or drink of your choice.

I often have a bowl of tomato soup with my grilled cheese, it makes a nice pairing.

Sorry, I don't have photos for this one.


Check out the other bloggers participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge.

Morgan Dragonwillow is a writing rebel, foodie, urban gardener, recovering perfectionist, poet & author that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her writing and dancing into a wild and juicy life at Playing with Words. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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