A few weeks ago a friend of mine tweeted that she was attending a big pillow fight in Downtown Los Angeles to celebrate International Pillow Fight Day. (This is just a taste of what went on.)  I already had plans and couldn’t go, but while looking at the website, I noticed it was sponsored by something called the Grilled Cheese Invitational.  So I clicked  on the link (as I hope you just did) and was transported to a website for what I thought was probably the best cook off ever invented. 

Okay some back story here.  I love grilled cheese. In my opinion there really is no better comfort food. One of the main reasons – it’s so damn easy to make.  Just take a piece of your favorite cheese, slap it between two pieces of bread, fry in a ton of butter and voila, instant happiness. 

I scanned the website and was thrilled to discover, not only did it take place in Los Angeles, but any average Joe or Jane could enter – it only cost $10. So I immediately signed up. And with three categories – The Missionary (basic grilled cheese), the Kama Sutra (exotic grilled cheese) and the Honey Pot (dessert grilled cheese) – I knew there would be plenty of good cheese eatin’.

But you didn’t have to be a competitor to partake of all the cheesey goodness. You could sign up to be a judge and taste all the weird concoctions being made, or play it safe and sample the variety of yummy grilled cheese from the army of professionals selling it to the masses.

My first stop – the Grilled Cheese Truck. There were two of them at the Invitational and still they had the longest lines of any of the vendors. Their menu was large, but I’d heard so much about their Cheesy Mac, that’s what I got. The ingredients were simple: mac & cheese and sharp cheddar cheese grilled on sourdough. Yes, my arteries were hardening just thinking about it.  Now you might think, as I did, that macaroni & cheese doesn’t belong in a sandwich, but one bite changed my mind. This sandwich was super duper yummy!  And yet, there were others that were just as good.

My next stop was Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese from the head chef of The Foundry. While his restaurant, Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese, hasn’t opened yet, it will be right next door to The Foundry sometime in late August 2010.  I knew Chef Greenspan was gonna have good grilled cheese since he’d won the Invitational in the past. I wasn’t disappointed. I tasted his Johnny Apple Cheese which consisted of cheddar cheese, apples, and pastrami on sourdough bread. Again, heaven.

By this point I was getting kind of full, but I had to try at least one more grilled cheese vendor.  There were so many to choose from, but since I’ve been to Campanile’s grilled cheese night on many occasions I went with the small, intimate Artisan Cheese Gallery. As with all the others, I wasn’t disappointed. I got there just in time to grab their last slice of an aged gruyere grilled cheese. Now I’m not a fan of gruyere, in fact I hate all swiss cheeses, but this was devine. I wish there’d been more because I would’ve bought another slice.  It’s too bad they’re located in Studio City, a whole other world away from me, otherwise I’d purchase all my cheese from them.

There was just one more truck I had to try, the Sweets Truck. The reason I had to try their goodies, you ask? They had absolutely nothing to do with grilled cheese. As their name suggests, they only do sweets. Cookies, bars, cupcakes, you name it, they had it. And good thing, because by the time I got to them, I was grilled cheesed out. But now I was faced with another dilema – what should I order that would compliment all the cheesey goodness I’d had up to this point? There were cupcakes, huge chocolate chip cookies, rice krispie treats, something called a Farmeeo and my favorite, Crack, which by the way came in two flavors – chocolate and mint. But while the crack sounded enticing, I had to go with the Farmeeo – their version of an oreo. Oh. My. God. It was amazing. Quite possibly one of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted. And the perfect compliment (not to mention end) to this perfectly wonderful cheese-filled day.

I both love and hate when it gets hot out.  I love it because it means I can pull out my sandals and T-shirts and pack away my socks and Ugg boots.  I hate it because in the afternoon my house feels like it’s sitting right on top of hell fire. I love it because it means Coffee Bean ice blendeds during my morning walks. I hate it because my son is a little more cranky and/or irritable.  But one of my favorite things about hot weather – Chicken Taco Salad.

See, the last thing I want to do when it’s really hot out is turn on the oven or stove.  It’s already hot in the house, why should I make it worse?  So then the question becomes, what can I make that’s filling and could qualify as an entree that doesn’t involve turning on the rangetop?  The answer is always some sort of salad.  And this one’s great! Especially if you’re in the mood for Mexican.

Okay, so there is the slightest little bit of cooking involved – the chicken.  But that’s easy and doesn’t take too much time.  I just grab a couple boneless, skinless chicken breasts and throw them on my grilling pan.  But I only do that, if I find myself without leftovers from the roast chicken I made one or two nights prior.

So I cut up what’s left of the chicken, chop up some romaine (though any lettuce will do), pour in some fresh salsa, cut up a couple tomatoes and an avocado if I have one, pour in a can of kidney beans, sprinkle in some shredded cheese and a few tortilla chips for crunch.  Then I toss it all in Thousand Island Dressing.  The perfect salad to beat the heat especially with freshly blended Margaritas.

Chicken Taco Salad

Salad

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts grilled
• 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce
• 2 tomatoes diced (any kind will do)
• 1 avocado diced
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 a container of fresh salsa (I use mild, but you can go as spicy as you like)
• 1 can of kidney beans

Thousand Island Dressing

• 3 Tbsp Mayonaise
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish

Grill the chicken breasts so they’re no longer pink inside – about 3 minutes per side. Take off the grill and cool.  While the chicken is cooling, chop up the lettuce, tomatoes and avocado and throw into a salad bowl.  Rinse and add the kidney beans.   Chop up the cold chicken and add it, the shredded cheese and the salsa to the salad.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the indredients for the dressing, then pour it over the salad.  Toss everything until well mixed.

For the mommies out there: What’s great about this dish, is you can take a few kidney beans, a couple pieces of the diced chicken and chop it up to pea sized bites.  Add some of the shredded cheese and mix it all together in a bowl. Now your baby has the mild, finger food version of what you’re having for lunch or dinner – perfect for babies ages 10 months and up who have at least a three or four teeth.

**As always, this is based on my own personal experience. Please check with your baby’s pediatrician on introducing solid foods, as these suggestions may not apply to your infant. **

I love chocolate.  There. I’ve said it.  I love chocolate.  I’m probably a chocoholic, but I refuse to admit I have a problem.  So what if I buy a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup whenever I go grocery shopping.  Or end each day with a couple scoops of Dreyer’s Slow Churned Double Fudge Brownie ice cream (which by the way is some of the best low fat chocolate ice cream on the market today). These are the things that make me who I am.

Since I’m a huge chocolate fan, most of my desserts are some sort of chocolate concoction.  In fact if I know I have to make a dessert, I scour my recipes and look for something of the chocolate kind.  So, I was thrilled when my mom passed her brownie recipe on to me. I make it all the time and it always calms the chocolate beast inside. The secret – the two different kinds of chocolate chips.  What’s even better is that the recipe makes so many, I usually have a few left over for myself and hubby.  So, without further ado – the chocoholic’s brownie.

Chocoholic’s Brownie

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
• 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini-marshmallows
• 1 cup walnuts

Melt the butter and chocolate in a small pan over a low flame.  Pour the melted butter and chocolate into a mixing bowl and beat in the sugar one cup at a time.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Add the vanilla. Gradually mix in the flour.  Then add the semi-sweet and white chocolate chips, the marshmallows and the walnuts.  (If you want to make the brownies less gooey or chocolatey or have a nut allergy any of the last four ingredients can be left out. I haven’t used nuts for the past six years since my husband’s allergic.) 

Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan and cook at 350 for 45 minutes. (I like my brownies really fudgy so I only cook them for 40 minutes.) Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting.  Makes about 20 brownies.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that we had a last minute cancellation at our seder the other night.  My cousin’s son came down with a fever and she couldn’t make it.  She was supposed to make the potato kugel for  our Passover dinner, but since she wasn’t coming, my mother enlisted me.  So I did what any good cook would do – scoured the internet.

No one recipe leaped out at me, but there were pieces of several that seemed interesting.  And there’s nothing I love more than experimenting and having a decadent dish as the outcome. Course, as some can attest, sometimes a mess comes out instead, but that’s another story.  I’m here to talk about the potato kugel.

Now I am not a fan of potato kugel, it’s usually a sticky mess that lacks taste.  But these several pieces made for what turned out to be an amazing side dish.  It was so good, I’d actually consider making it for any plain old dinner.  So, without further ado, here is the potato kugel I muddled together from two different recipes off Epicurious.com.

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh marjoram
• 3 tbsps of finely chopped fresh dill
• 3 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound of mushrooms sliced
• 4 large eggs lightly beaten
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 1/2 cup of matzo meal
• 4 russet potatoes, peeled

In a large heavy skillet heat 4 tablespoons butter over moderate heat until melted.  Add parsley, marjoram, and rosemary and cook 3 minutes.  Add onion and garlic and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes, or until softened.  Add mushrooms, dill, remaining 4 tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.

In a bowl mix together the sour cream, the eggs and the matzo meal and let stand.

Preheat oven to 375° F and butter a 13-by-9 inch baking dish.

Coarsely grate potatoes into a colander.  (I used the grating piece for my food processor.  It goes much faster.)  Squeeze excess water from potatoes and drain 2 minutes.  Stir potatoes and onion mixture into matzo meal mixture. Spoon mixture into dish and bake in middle of oven for 65 minutes, or until golden.

Now you’re probably wondering where the picture of the final product is.  Unfortunately I forgot to take one.  But trust me, it looked amazing.  I’ll do better next time, I promise.