Today I have a fun cookbook for you! Grilled Cheese & Beer: Recipes for the Finer Things in Life is full of mouthwatering recipes for unusual grilled cheese sandwiches with pairing recommendations for craft beers to bring out the best in each sandwich.
The authors of this clever book are a couple of young guys with impressive credentials. Kevin VanBlarcum is a brewer, and James Edward (“Eddie”) Davis is a chef. They’re funny, smart, and good at what they do, and fortunately for the rest of us, they found a publisher who understood what they have to offer. Aside from their knowledge and love of food and beer, they have an amazing propensity for punning; the sandwiches have names like Muenster Mash, Bacon Me Crazy, and Pesto Chango.
One example of their refreshing attitude is that they’re okay with it if you change up the recipes to suit yourself, stating “It’s important to remember that you’re the one eating it.” They’ve also included a Beer Guide and a Cheese Guide to establish the terms and ingredients they use throughout the book, but even that is done with humor and enthusiasm.
Grilled Cheese & Beer is available at Amazon, or you can probably find it at your local bookstore. Kevin and Eddie have a Facebook page for the book you’ll enjoy checking out, too.
Now here are two recipes and recommended beer pairings from the book! They’re from the section called “Expert: You’ve Really Caught on Quick, We’re Proud of You.” Although the recipes don’t specify what to use to grease the bread, their general directions say “You can spread butter or mayo on one side of the bread, dealer’s choice.”
THE NATURE BOY RICOTTA FLAIR Recipe
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 spoonful ricotta cheese
3 basil leaves
2 halves roasted red peppers
Handful of spinach
Balsamic vinaigrette, to drizzle
Step 1: Grease one side of each slice of bread and place in a pan on medium heat, greased side down.
Step 2: Lightly spread ricotta on the bread so that all of the bread is covered.
Step 3: When the bread starts to turn golden brown, put the basil, roasted red peppers, and spinach on the bread.
Step 4: Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over the sandwich.
Step 5: When the bread is golden brown, take it out of the pan, slice, and enjoy.
Pairing
Any kind of refreshing lager or pilsner. Moosehead’s Lager in particular will have you strutting and bellowing WOOOOOOOO!
CHICKEN LITTLE Recipe
2 slices whole wheat bread
4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
3 slices bacon
Light drizzle of honey mustard
Chicken salad, to taste
Step 1: Grease one side of each slice of bread and place in a pan on medium heat, greased side down. Place the cheese on the bread so that all of the bread is covered.
Step 2: Put the bacon on one slice of bread.
Step 3: Drizzle the honey mustard over the cheese.
Step 4: Once the cheese is melted, put the chicken salad onto the cheese. To make the chicken salad, combine boiled chicken, celery, three parts mayo, and one part honey, then season with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Put both halves together and take a big ol’ bite.
Pairing
A nice malty Oktoberfest style beer will keep you from thinking the sky is falling. Spaten’s Oktoberfest is a safe bet, but Hofbräu is always solid.
Both recipes are from Grilled Cheese & Beer, Hatherleigh Press, © 2016. Reprinted with permission.
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!
Giveaway: One lucky reader is going to win their own copy of Grilled Cheese & Beer!
Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to residents of the US ONLY age 18 and over. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering. This giveaway will close on March 29th, 2017 at 11:59 pm EST time. No purchase necessary to enter or win.
Disclaimer: A. Bailey received a complimentary product for review purposes & feature on The Classy Chics blog. No monetary compensation was received. A. Bailey’s thoughts, opinions and words are 100% her own. Your thoughts may differ. Please read the blog’s terms of service policy before entering any giveaways. The Classy Chics are NOT responsible for prize fulfillment or shipping of any items won from this blog.
I love grilled cheese! I like it mostly with hot ham or with a side of tomato bisque soup.
Of course….my whole family loves grilled cheese! I usually use cheddar or Havarti (no pre sliced cheese…bleh!) and sometimes I add some ham and a little mustard. Good bread is important. Recently at a restaurant we had a grilled cheese with pears and bacon jam…YUM
I pinned ‘Southern Baked Corn Recipe’ from the board Easy to Make Recipes. Username tamraphe
follow you on bloglovin: gracefulcoffee
I like a classic grilled cheese! I normally don’t put anything on/in it 🙂
I love grilled cheese! I don’t usually add things to mine, but if I do, it’s a couple slices of salami.
I like American cheese on rye bread grilled and in the summer I’ll add garden tomatoes
I like the original grilled cheese but I would add bacon or avocado.
I follow on bloglovin.
I like to use swiss cheese and add pepper.
I love a good grilled cheese sandwich and I like to add some cream cheese and garlic to mine. This book sounds like a really good one.
I like to add jalapenos to my grill cheese.
hey this is Eddie one of the authors of Grilled Cheese & Beer thank you guys so much for the write up and I’m glad you are enjoy the book
I will either add ham or bacon to our grilled cheese! Yum
I follow The Classy Chics on bloglovin. Tamra Phelps
I have loved grilled cheeses since I was a kid. I like pickles on a regular grilled cheese (with American cheese.) Sometimes I even put a little pickle juice on the bread.
I like grilled cheese using Havarti with tomatoes, onions and black olives.
03-03-2017 Shared this pin; Roasted Lemon Herb Garlic Chicken Recipe – The Classy Chics
I do like making a grilled ham and swiss cheese sandwich with tomato soup every now and then for lunch.