It’s another cold and bleak midwinter day and I am holed up wearing a turtleneck, a sturdy L.L. Bean sweater, wool socks, and lined legging – and I am still cold. I think a lesson to be learned is that one should not visit Florida in February, because re-entry to the real world is rude indeed.
Mr. Sanders and I drove to Jacksonville Beach, Florida for a few days of R&R with our daughter, and her family of whirling dervishes over the long Valentine’s Day weekend. The weather wasn’t approved by the Florida tourism board – it was cool and breezy – so we never unpacked shorts, or bathing suits. But it was warmer than it is here, and there were sunrises and sunsets like nothing we get to see normally. There were congregations of white cattle egrets stalking through drainage ditches, and squadrons of pelicans flying in precision formations along the waterline. There were crowds of sandy, barefooted beachgoers waiting in lines for healthy green smoothies and açaí bowls for breakfast. Later we sat in folding chairs on the sidelines of a flag football game, shivering in a light drizzle, watching parents buzzing after their children. The Floridian version of winter clothing entails hoodies, and maybe socks. No one is holed up at home wearing L.L. Bean, or wool.
The dervishes, boys aged 4 and 10, needed to be re-fueled constantly, like sharks on patrol: pancakes, strawberries, carrots, pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, apples, blueberries, mac and cheese, smoothies, organic chickpea flour cheese snacks, organic seaweed snacks, crackers, celery, avocado, lemonade, Triscuits, cookies, bananas, and more grilled cheese. We thought about grilled cheese a lot.
Why does grilled cheese belong to the young? It is just as tasty now as when I walked home for lunch in elementary school, when my mother would fry up an American cheese-based sandwich in the smallest Revere Ware frying pan and crank open a can of Campbell’s tomato soup. Ah, those childhood hot lunches! I did the same for my children, except I used store brand cheese product, whereas my mother bought sliced American cheese by the pound from Benny’s Butcher Shop around the corner on Belltown Road. Benny would stand behind the marble counter, rhythmically slapping a square of waxy paper between each piece of cheese as he sliced it, before wrapping it all in crackling white butcher’s paper, and tying the bundle with a neat red and white string bow.
Usually, for wintery Sunday lunches, Mr. Sanders will make his grilled cheese with Swiss cheese, and I still prefer the oozy store brand. Last night we needed warmth, and ventured into adult territory. We upped our grilled cheese game: posh bread, upscale cheese, and opulent add-ons.
I used to think that adding bacon to a grilled cheese sandwich was innovative and fancy. Sometimes including a slice of tomato was an interesting variation. But you can easily expand your repertoire just by rethinking the bread you use. This will elevate your grilled cheese sandwich experience: artisanal sourdough bread. Whoa. But you can also experiment with ciabatta, brioche, Challah bread, Kaiser rolls, or baguettes. Don’t take my word for it: Escoffier Leave the Pepperidge Farm white bread behind. Visit your local artisanal bakery and find something fresh and warm and delicious. Maybe add some fresh pastries to your order for breakfast tomorrow, too. Yumsters.
Then wander through a deli and pick up some Gruyère cheese, and some good cheddar, and invest in a nice wedge of Parmesan cheese. Wander around some more and wonder at the clever packaging and cute containers for sun-dried tomatoes, capers, pesto sauce, pickled jalapeños, chutney, sriracha, and gherkin pickles. Grab some sweet onions, basil, and bacon. Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich includes Romano and Asiago cheese, kimchi, butter, country bread, salt, and olive oil.
The Tasting Table has some great suggestions, too: Tasting Table
Punchfork suggests: Opulent Grilled Cheese
And this is very luxe indeed, with Brie, Gorgonzola, figs and prosciutto: Sugar Love Spices
Chins up! We are almost through February. The daffodils are starting to poke their heads up. I have some crocuses already blooming in the back yard, so spring is on its way. Pull on your hoodie and your wool socks and make a nice hot lunch. You’ll feel better for it. Winter’s not over yet.
“In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone…”
Song by Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst
Jean Dixon Sanders has been a painter and graphic designer for the past thirty years. A graduate of Washington College, where she majored in fine art, Jean started her work in design with the Literary House lecture program. The illustrations she contributes to the Spies are done with watercolor, colored pencil and ink.
