April Showers Bring May Flowers

I have enjoyed our spring here in Texas with cooler temperatures, thunderstorms followed by double rainbows and fields of wildflowers.  Granted there were some parts of Texas that experienced the dark side of the storms but the flowers were still sprinkled with joy along side of the roads and fields even after the darkest of storms.

Al Jolson's April Showers

I am enjoying the last day of April as it gives us  clear blue skies, temperatures of around 82 degrees, with the birds singing this morning.  I go off on an adventure today with visiting my hairstylist, visiting with a friend and then an awesome free live music venue this evening.  However before I go I want to leave with you a wonderful way to begin the precelebration of Cinco De Mayo.


An ambrosial luscious Sangria recipe that I created to go with a little Mexican dinner.  The dinner will be for Cinco De Mayo so save the recipe.

Sparkle Rasperry Lemon Sangria

15 minutes to prepare
Yield 1 gallon

1 bag of frozen raspberries
1 large lemon
2 medium lemons
1 liter of Sparkling Lemon Water
1 package Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade
1 1/2 to 2 bottles of Savignon Blanc
1/2 cup White Rum * can used an infused rum if you want more of a raspberry, lemon or orange flavor
1 3/4 Triple Sec

Mix Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade with 14 oz of water for a concentrate
Slice 1 large lemons into rings   Use 2 medium lemons into rings  for the Sangria  for garnish if you would like
Mix the raspberry lemonade with 1 liter of sparkling lemon water, 1/2 cup of white rum, 1 3/4 triple sec and 1/4 cup raspberries for Sangria.  You may add more sparkling water or triple sec if needed to yield 1 gallon

Take the balance of raspberries to drop into ice trays to make raspberry ice cubes to serve with the sangria.

Make this the day before to marry all the flavors.  Serve over the raspberry ice cubes and garnish with a lemon.

recipe

April is Grilled Cheese Month! I am immediately transported to a more simple time taken back to the kitchen table where a rich thick bowl of tomato soup paired with my grilled cheese sandwich made the day a whole lot better. I enjoyed the melty goodness between two slices of bread grilled to perfection in an iron skillet. But now we have taken this classic to another level to appeal to kids and adults with the goodness a wide selection of cheeses, toppings and breads.


The History of Grilled Cheese

The availability of processed cheese with inexpensive loaves of bread became  the staple in a persons diet in the 1920's and during the depression era. In World War II countless "melted cheese" sandwiches were served. The earliest forms of the grilled cheese or known as "melted cheese or toasted cheese" was typically served open face with grated American cheese throughout the years until about 1965 when a second piece of bread was added mainly to make the meal more filling.

The Comforts of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

We all love to prepare grilled cheese sandwiches even in the simplest forms of just a great bread and cheddar cheese. Yet now we can embark on a culinary delight as our journey takes on to find great grainy breads, ciabattas with rosemary or sea salt, or sourdoughs. With an endless selection of breads  to choose  we step into our gooey goodness to make our grilled cheeses either prepared open faced paninis, outdoor grills or on a griddle. Take a stroll down the cheese aisles as rich Gruyeres, smoked goudas, aged white cheddars, spicy cheeses laced with peppers such as jalapenos, hatch chilies or habaneros, goat cheese, veined beautiful bleu cheeses just beckon to be made into your signature grilled cheese. Add some pizazz with pestos, aioli, roasted red peppers, bacon, avocados, pears, figs, or artichokes!

Heck, don't just stop with National Grilled Cheese Month make every month a way to explore the fun ways as you create your own favorite version of your grilled cheese.

Bacon, Aged White Cheddar and Guacamole Grilled Cheese

Loaf of Sourdough bread sliced on number 14
12 slices Bacon cooked to crispy perfection
1/2 cup of Aged English White cheddar per sandwich
2 Tablespoons of guacamole * make 1/2 cup to 1 cup of guacamole

Place 1/4 cup of Aged English White Cheddar on bread slice, 2 T of guacamole, 2 slices of bacon, top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.  Lightly brush sourdough with high heat sunflower oil or spray griddle with high heat sunflower oil.  * note it is important to use high heat oils when using panini presses or griddles to prevent smoking.  The buttery richness of the sunflower oil is great!

Yields 6 sandwiches