Cheese!

I finally have cheese! Oh, happiness! Why is this so happy? Well, aside from the fact that I formerly had no sandwich toppings except for peanut butter and jelly, I can now make grilled or broiled or plain cheese sandwiches. Have you ever had a sandwich with mustard and a plain slice of cold, Colby-Jack cheese? I tell you, it is so good. A bit tangy with the mustard; you need a lot to get the taste if the cheese is of a dominant flavor, like Colby-Jack or mild cheddar, but the mustard and cheese really complement each other. Mayo would be good on it too, but not too much, or the cheese will slip. But the flavor really contrasts with the cheese for a whole new sandwich flavor; a little sweeter and kind of fresh.

A somewhat stranger sandwich, though, is an old favorite of mine: peanut-butter and jelly, and cheese. I recommend Colby-Jack or mild cheddar because they are slightly more dominant, but not overpowering. (What kind of flavor does cheese have, anyway? Sweet? Starchy? I'm not sure what to call it; if you know, just tell me.) I don't recommend American cheese, because of the texture more than anything else. I mean, it tastes good, but it'd be like having a piece of rubber in your PBJ. Don't get me wrong, I love American cheese, but let's face it - it's meant to be eaten on grilled cheese, or un-melted but with lots of meat. Or plain. But that's not sandwich-related, so we'll not go there.

Anyway, PBJ&C. Use Colby-Jack or mild cheddar, because their starchiness/tangy-ness/whatever you want to call that flavor, goes really nicely with the salty, starchy peanut butter. I mean they really bring out the flavor in each other, and the texture is just right: sticky and a little bit chewy. As for the jam or jelly, I used strawberry jam. I would have preferred grape jelly, because I'm not very fond of strawberry anyway, and the cheese flavor kind of clashed with it. Forget about what they do in Disney/Pixar's(?) Ratatouille. Cheese and strawberries really don't mix well, at least not in my opinion. Strawberry is much too sweet. The flavors just clash. I strongly recommend using Concord grape jelly because it's a much subtler sweetness and of a different flavor and texture altogether. In fact, I recommend jelly in place of jam for this type of sandwich, period. Grape goes with the cheese flavor like cheese goes with wine. That's the best way I can explain it. They accentuate each other, and neither flavor is canceled out. The grape jelly's rather pungent but subtle sweetness brings out the tangy-ness in the cheese, and the cheese offsets, but does not overshadow, the jelly. You're probably wondering at this point how many times I can say the same thing. If you are, that's good, because it probably means you understand what I'm saying. PBJ&C - tasty!