GCS Month

Sunday was National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day.

If you missed it, don't fret, because the whole month of April is Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month.

I don't know who decided that, but...what the heck.

Maybe the lowly "grilled cheese sandwich" is coming out of the closet.  One of my Yankee friends up here used to make fun of my culinary tastes...such as grits and grilled cheese sandwiches etc....and at a moment's notice would fake a "southern accent" and say things like "Pass the grease, please."

Nevertheless, the media is awash with stories about grilled cheese sandwiches.

They've even come up with "The History of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches."

This from the Internet:

The ancient Romans were the first to make a cooked bread and cheese type sandwich. Many cultures since have invented their own take on the dish. In Switzerland it is customary to toast the bread and melt the cheese separately, while in France the Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese sandwich is popular.

When affordable sliced bread and inexpensive cheese became available in the U.S. in the 1920's, the grilled cheese became a household staple.

At the time is was prepared a little differently, open faced and topped with shredded American Cheese.
In the 1960's, the grilled cheese as we know it emerged when the second slice of bread became a standard part of the sandwich.

I have mixed emotions about the media "nationalizing" something I always considered belonging to us Southerners.  However, perhaps those north of the Mason Dixon line DID discover the joy of those sandwiches about the time we did.

But, if they ever try to "nationalize" and take credit for such sophisticated delicacies as "Boiled Green Peanuts," or....Heaven forbid, "Cornbread and Milk," well.........

can you say succession?

-Ed