For the love of grilled cheese!

Recently all I want to eat is grilled cheese. Toasty, melty, buttery grilled cheese. I think about it all the time. Nothing fancy either - just good white bread with some american cheese stuffed inside, buttered up and toasted until it is ooey gooey. I tried to think this craving came from the change of seasons. After all isn't time for warm food and butter? But more realistically this is probably some sort of weird pregnancy thing - one at least that makes me very happy. 

I stopped by Skillet Diner with Mr Ramon and ordered their grilled cheese. They do an amazing grilled cheese. american, cheddar and brie on toasted brioche. I hate to say it though - the brie ruins it for me, so I order it without. They pack it with cheese, it is so gooey! It hit the spot. 

Later that weekend we went to pick up some groceries and decided to make our own version of the ultimate grilled cheese. I think that mixing cheeses makes a great grilled cheese and it is one of my little secrets. We found a piece of cheese that was a fontina/white cheddar blend. That seemed like a good melter. We also picked up some american slices. I know - not really cheese but I love the stuff in a melted sandwich. The last component was the bread. I thought brioche might be to heavy so we went for a nice thick white bread. 

My other secret to a good grilled cheese is shredding the cheese instead of slicing it. It helps it melt quicker so your bread does not get over browned while you are waiting for the cheese to melt.  

Ultimate Grilled Cheese 

Makes 2 sandwiches

1/4lb grated cheddar or cheddar fontina blend

4 american cheese slices

4 slices thick white bread 

butter

Heat a grill pan or skillet to medium heat. Butter outside of two slices of bread and place on hot pan. Divide grated cheese between the two slices of bread. Add the american slices on top of the grated cheese. Place the other two slices of bread on the sandwiches and butter the outsides. 

When the first side in the pan is crispy and brown, flip over to the other side and let it toast nice and brown. Your cheese should be melted all the way through. Remove from pan - slice and enjoy!!

Portland Eats - Sweedeedee

I love anytime I can get to Portland. It feels like an older cooler sister to Seattle. This weekend we were headed to Bend again to see my mom and I love this trip partly because we get to go through Portland both ways!

We needed a lunch spot on the way and ran through our list of regular spots undecided.

Mr. Ramon then commented that maybe we should try the place next to the record store on Albina. I felt this night just be a ploy to get into the record shop - Mr. Ramon is an avid collector.

I looked up this little spot called Sweedeedee and found out it had rave reviews. A small breakfast/lunch spot with amazing baked goods. I was in!

What a cute place. You order at the counter and then find a seat. I noticed all of their coffee mugs were mismatched finds from someplace like Goodwill. They have a tiny kitchen in the back where the magic happens. It all felt so homey in the nicest way. 

When faced with this type of baked goods arsenal I have a hard time choosing and then limiting myself. I want to taste everything! It was lunch time and quite busy. We were lucky enough to be able to find an outdoor seat in the shade so I could let the crazy dogs hang out with us.

We ordered some sandwiches and a piece of the most amazing bread I have ever had. Honey Bourbon Bread. Light and moist with the subtle honey and bourbon flavor throughout. Delightful! 

It was tough also to choose sandwiches - Mr. Ramon chose the brisket on brioche toast and I love a ham sandwich so that was the easiest choice for me. My sandwich had the most incredible ham on a pretzel roll. Both of our sandwiches came with delicious house made pickles. 

It was a really nice little lunch and left me wanting to come back for breakfast sometime. Mr. Ramon went next door to peruse the record selections and I picked up one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had and a piece of zucchini marmalade bread for the road. If you have some time in Portland this is a spot I can highly recommend! 

Sweedeedee

5202 North Albina Avenue.
Hours :: Monday through Saturday 8am to 4pm
Sundays 8am to 2pm

phone :: 503.946.8087
email :: sweedeedeecafe@gmail.com