Potential Food Entry

Yesterday it rained some so, of course, in addition to wanting to make chili and corn bread, my Internet connection crashed. The good news is that rain is infrequent in this semi-arrid part of the world, and the bad news is didn't start raining until I was riding home from the market.

As I'm sure I've mentioned, several years ago I won a chili making contest between a small group of friends. I've been living on that success for years now, but I'm unconvinced that my chili would beat, say, anything in a can. My secret ingredient (that time) was hot Italian sausage, and I was astonished that one of the tasters noticed and recognized it. I don't pay close attention to individual ingredients when I eat but take a larger view, that of the medly. Because I can't do it, I consider those who can identify such things as overly anal and missing the point.

Instead, I had grilled cheese sandwiches. It's embarrassing to admit this, but it was only this year that I learned that what I'd been enjoying and calling grilled cheese sandwiches all my life are not, in fact, deserving of the name. I guess I never thought about it, but I make them in a cast iron skillet which would mean that they're fried cheese sandwiches and not grilled at all. It helps my defense not at all to claim that every time I've seen someone make them that's how they've done it, the point is they're not grilled. What's worse is I think it's unlikely I've ever really had a grilled cheese sandwich, not off a grill which I admit is required.

Grilled cheese sandwiches, like scrambled eggs, are something I never tire of. I know they're not much, and I often eat them furtively, hoping not to be caught, but sometimes I crave them, and they don't like as many ingredients as my chili.