Charlotte’s Tips

My friend Skeet is having a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich cook off with another blogger to see who makes theirs the best. Well, I decided to jump in on it too since I make mine differently than Skeet or Jenn does. I think mine is superior of course. This is how my mom always made grilled cheese sandwiches but without the bacon.

Here is how I make mine. I take pre-cooked bacon, yes.. I cheat there, put the 3 strips on parchment paper and put it on a paper towel and pop it into the microwave for 30 seconds. Then I take the bacon off the parchment and pat them with more paper towels to soak up the excess grease.

Then I take 2 slices of potato bread, or white bread, sometimes even Italian bread and spread a little butter on both slices to hold everything together while it’s cooking. If I don’t do that things tend to slide around. Then I put a slice of white American cheese, not the processed stuff, on each piece of bread. Black Bear American cheese is the best… it has a slight cheddary taste to it.

Next I layer on the bacon. Then I have to keep arranging it and re-arranging it so it looks pretty! It just has to look pretty! Then I put the 2 pieces of bread together and spread some butter on the top. I just have to have a buttery grilled cheese and bacon sandwich!

Put some butter in the pan to melt. Then gently put the sandwich into the pan un-buttered side down. Keep checking the bottom so it doesn’t burn. Burnt grilled cheese and bacon is just nasty! Turn it over when it’s just perfectly browned. Don’t forget to mush it down with the spatula!

When the bottom is nice and brown, take it out of the pan and put it on a plate. Slice it anyway you like it.. straight down the middle… on a diagonal or in quarters. I like to have chips with mine. Sometimes I like to slide a chip or two right into the middle of that gooey goodness. Yummm!

Click on the pictures in this post to see the full sized images!

My mom always made the most delicious cookies for us. They were Toll House cookies, a delicious chocolate chip cookie. She would spend hours making these cookies. Any time I would hear her mixer going I knew she was making something delicious! It wasn’t an Eclectrics® Mixer either. This was the 50′s, her mixer was old then! Below is the recipe for Toll House Cookies.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts *optional*

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: PREPARE dough as above. Spread into greased 15″x10″ jelly-roll pan. Bake in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (>5,200 feet): INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups; add 2 teaspoonfuls water with flour; reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookies for 17 to 19 minutes.

My mixer used to be my mom’s. It’s old. Andi used it one time and the spatula slipped and got caught in the beaters and bent them. I managed to straighten them out but they’re still bent a bit. This mixer certainly isn’t a Hamilton Beach® Mixer, but I wish it was. The beaters are made of a thicker metal than the one I have. The Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer has professional 2-way rotating mixing action, a stainless steel 4.5 quart bowl, a quick-release tilt-up head, a pouring shield, 3 mixing accessories, a locking bowl and 400 Watts of power. This is my dream machine!

PREP TIME: 15 Minutes
COOK TIME: 43 Minutes

5 tbsp. butter
1 (2lb) butternut squash, peeled & chopped into medium sized pieces
2 tbsp. sugar
Sea Salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup heavy cream
White pepper
Ground nutmeg (optional)

Melt butter over very low heat in a soup pot. Add the squash, sugar and salt to taste. Cook and stir. Cook covered for 3 minutes until soft but not browned.

Add onion and cook and stir 10 more minutes. Add 1 quart (4 cups) of water and the cinnamon stick. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick.

Puree the soup in a blender for at least 1 minute. Then pass though a fine meshed strainer. Finish with the cream then salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, sprinkled with nutmeg, if desired.

Makes 8 servings.