That's Not a Grilled Cheese

Let me start off being crystal clear.  Grilled cheese is very important.  Grilled cheese pretty much holds together the fabric of society.  If you need me to explain why, then please know that I am sad that you don't know how empty and and small your life is.  But don't worry, I do still love and accept you.  I mean, I'm still going to talk about you behind your back, but with love and acceptance.

Anyhoo, back to grilled cheese. I think the folks at Pinterest and the assorted recipe sites on

That is a fun grilled cheese.
Cheese on the inside AND
on the outside.

line need to understand that just because something has melted cheese on it, it's not automatically a grilled cheese.  A cheeseburger for instance.  That is a burger with cheese.  It's not a grilled cheese with a burger.  The burger is the star.  Right?  No one is trying to give the cheese top billing or trick anyone.  Even when you grill it on rye bread and call it a patty melt and make it look more grilled cheesy, it's still a cheeseburger (I don't really get what's the deal with a patty melt or why it's called that, probably some communist thing).

This recipe for this Mushroom grilled cheese... not a grilled cheese.  It's a grilled mushroom sandwich with cheese on it.  And yes, there is a difference.  One is a grilled, crispy, cheesy delight that someone added mushrooms to (for some unknown reason) and one is this sandwich.  This sandwich will make you sad because you will be expecting yum and what you will be getting is a big mouthful of mushrooms.

That is a grilled cheese fail.  Too
much bacon.  And how are you
going to eat that?  It's gonna be
all greasy and when you bite into it
cheese is going to go everywhere.

Cheese is the star.  Cheese is the main ingredient. Whatever bread you want, whatever cheese you want, knock yourself out.  But, you are not supposed to add so much other stuff that cheese is not the first thing you taste.  This is even true of bacon.  Yummy and delicious, but you can't have more bacon than cheese.

So, at this point you are probably wondering "WTF DTC, are you drunk?  Who needs a whole tirade on grilled cheese?  Why are you so troubled over this?"

I will tell you why!  After I read the below-listed post, I was so distressed that the future of America, really, the whole world was in jeopardy that I felt I needed to speak up and let people know we are going to hell in a handbasket.  And believe you me, that's no way to travel.  58 Grilled Cheeses Worth Selling Your Soul For is clearly a plot to take over the world (I haven't figured out whose yet).

Disagree?  What kind of monster thinks a grilled cheese has chocolate, peanut butter and cream cheese in it?  Mascarpone cheese and Peeps?!?!  Peeps?!  Are you kidding me?!  Not horrified enough?  What do you think of a sandwich that calls itself a grilled cheese that is made from two chocolate chip cookies and cheddar cheese?  That's just ruining both things!

The article is very clever in that they throw several extremely tasty options in there to lure

Another Fail.
Picture looks good but then
you see the words 
vegan mozzarella.  

you in; true grilled cheeses.  But then they share that you can "grill" your sandwich with an iron.  Sure you can.  If you want to ruin your iron and burn your counter.  Go right ahead.  

I cannot even tell you about #27 (check at your own risk).  Was coming up with these options part of a drinking game?  I mean I actually cringed when I read #27.  Is it any wonder that America is in a tailspin when people are grilling sandwiches with Funfetti cake mix and ricotta?  I am not making this up - go look!!!  

With Pinterest being an unregulated clearinghouse of society-crushing recipes, it's going to be hard to stop these types of grilled cheeses from sneaking their way onto restaurant menus and cooking competition shows, but I am going to try my hardest by raising awareness.  I see our awareness ribbon looking like it's made of swiss cheese.

Now that I have shared my concerns with you, I feel a lot better.  Besides my grilled cheese awareness work, I feel like I can also start to focus on other Pinterest travesties that are wreaking havoc worldwide.  Things like figuring out why there is a push to put a fried egg on everything. Things like figuring out why people are being tricked into thinking they can tile their own bathrooms or cook things that have 43 ingredients, 17 of which are not obtainable in the United States.

Title That Grabs Your Attention

Oh, hey guys!  Guess what.  I'm back.  No, I haven't been anywhere fun or different.  Nope, wasn't finding a cure for any diseases.  Wasn't cooking more for my family (snort).  Wasn't spending extra time working on my fitness (guffaw).

No caption is really
needed.  But, if I must, I
will point out that I think
it would be hard to pee
with all those belts,
straps and weapons.

Think of my absence along the same vein as the 6 month hiatus between parts 1 and 2 of the first season of Outlander.  Completely rude and unnecessary, but we'll try to overlook it because the show is awesome and we love Jamie and Claire.  Yes, I am well aware that nothing about me or my blog even come closes to anything Outlander related, but just try to work with me.

If you did not watch Outlander and/or have not read the books, you might want to get on that.  I already wrote a post about it, so I won't belabor the point, but get on it.  Luckily, you have plenty of time to catch up before Season 2 premieres.

What else needs to be addressed...

I'm not going to make the whole post about Gay Marriage because I think we would need a whole afternoon (or week or month) to discuss and try to understand why there are people in up in arms about gay people having the right to get married, but let's just give it a mention.  If you are not gay, it doesn't affect you.  You might not like it, but it doesn't actually affect you.  You are not being forced to see or live near any more or less gay people than before.    

Gay people just now have the legal right to do things like visit their spouses in the hospital or

Usually he's a
foreign-born Muslim
extremist, so this is
quite a step up.

make medical decisions for their spouses.  Gay people also now won't get thrown out of their houses or lose their money if their spouse happens to die without a will and not everything is in joint names.  These are just a couple of the reasons (besides a sense of fairness) why I think it's important gay people can get married and have their marriage acknowledged in all 50 states.

And honestly, don't gay people have just as much right as the rest of us to annoy their friends and family with their beliefs that their weddings are going to be the most special, unique and meaningful occasions to ever happen?

Other big topic that would take all day to really discuss but I feel compelled to mention is the whole kerfuffle over the Confederate flag.  This discussion has been brought to the forefront as a result of the tragic shooting at the church in South Carolina.  Obviously, the flag is not what caused a hateful person to do such an unthinkable and awful thing, but it certainly brought to light that people who think like this guy (I am not even using his name) use the Confederate Flag as one of their symbols.  It represents how they feel about black people (and minorities in general).  They don't wave it around as a symbol of sweet tea, hoop skirts, fried chicken, swooning and southern hospitality.

I'm trying to help Southerners
come up with a more
positive way to express
their Southern Pride. I think
this could work as a flag.

If you want to personally wave the Confederate Flag around, go right ahead, but don't act like it represents the Old South and all the lovely things people associate with the south (as mentioned above).  When I see a Confederate Flag I assume the person with said flag is saying "I liked it back when even a low class, trashy, uneducated white person was worth more than any black person.  And I don't see anything wrong with when black people were slaves."  That flag certainly doesn't belong on United States government buildings.

Our Country's flag is supposed to represent freedom and fair treatment for all.  When the Confederate flag flies alongside, it says "wink, wink."  There must be a better way for the people who are proud to be from the south to show their pride.

So then, we have touched on some important topics (because we are totally grown ups and that's how we roll).  Also, now everyone is aware that they have some Outlander homework to get to.  And, I don't want to make light of important topics (I think DTC's new motto might be "More Smart, Less Ass," although I'm not sure that says what I'm going for), but really, Outlander is a serious matter.  Your life if lacking if you are not reading and watching.

Just so you can prepare, our next topic will be Pinterest ridiculousness.  My current Pinterest issue involves grilled cheese.


Last Note:  In looking for images I found a rainbow flag with a swastika in the middle.  I don't think that is going to take off with either group.  You heard it here first.