We’re on the brink of such a spectacular year that I can hardly contain my excitement… a gazillion trips to Disney (hello, annual pass), a new plan for family beach vacays, an exciting family destination wedding, a new family mission, milestone birthdays (Honey turns 40, John turns 10), and so much more.  But it’s Honey’s impending big 4-0 that is the impetus of this particular post.  The man has wished for a celebration with grilled cheese and bourbon beer.  Okay.  I can work with that.  I think.  And while I must find out what bourbon beer is (stat!), I’m already making headway on the grilled cheese front.  When we made supper plans with two of our favorite foodies last week, we gave the grilled cheese bar a test drive and IT.WAS.AWESOME.

So awesome, in fact, that we’ve continued to try out different varieties with the leftovers!!

It’s super easy on the prep-side and really fun and interactive to put together, so I’m feeling encouraged for pulling this off for a crowd in May.  Here’s what we tested with so far…

Breads

• sourdough
• pumpernickel / rye
• wheat
• cinnamon raisin (for dessert)

Cheeses

• goat
• white cheddar
• cheddar
• french blue
• brie
• marscapone (for dessert)
• cream cheese

Meats

• turkey
• ham
• bacon
• smoked salmon
• soppressata italian sausage

Toppings

• red onion
• tomato
• caramelized onions
• mustards (dijon, coarse grained, honey)
• Cranberry Pepper Jelly (Wisham Jellies)
• Pear Honey Jam (Emily G’s)
• Nutella (dessert)
• bananas (dessert)
• capers

We make half-sized sammies so that we can try a bunch of different varieties.  My two faves so far have been turkey, brie and cranberry pepper jelly AND blue cheese, bacon, caramelized onions and pear honey jam.

And then we’ve capped off our meals with divine grilled nutella, marscapone and banana sammies.

Look for a lot more to come on the grilled cheese celebration front!!  And let me know if you have any ideas for additional items to add or combos to try!!

xoxo