Cover Image: Great Book of Grilled Cheese

Great Book of Grilled Cheese

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Member Reviews

I LOVE this book! It will be a popular Christmas gift for friends who joke that they cannot cook anything other than a grilled cheese sandwich. These recipes are spectacular and I am heading out to Costco to load up on various cheeses. I may even start baking my own sourdough bread. Thank you so much for the inspiration!.

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I enjoyed reading through this cookbook! It had easy-to-follow recipes with minimal ingredients and the pictures made me hungry just looking at them! I'd definitely buy this and use this, even with working with kids to explore their love of cooking. I appreciated that it wasn't just grilled cheese recipes but it also had recipes for sides to go with the sandwich.

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An obvious labor of love from the chef, she owns a cafe that makes many of the recipes within the pages of this cookbook. I feel like many of these sandwiches are a bit over the top. I found myself more interested in the sides and desserts presented with each sandwich. A carrot cake and apple cake that I will definitely be recreating.

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This is a cookbook about the ultimate comfort food of grilled cheese. The writer includes grilled cheese recipes from her Knoxville restaurant and includes other food pairings like sauces, salads and a desserts. I really like the helpful hints like best types of breads (not soft), cheeses (soft for easier melting) and covering to allow quicker melting. The photos are in color and beautiful. The sandwiches themselves are often similar for grilling cheeses but there is a wide variety of flavors from meats to veggies that can be added to make it gourmet. There is not any mention of calories, and maybe I don't want to have that information. I think they layout would have been easier to have sandwiches separate from the side dishes for ease of finding recipes. This is for anyone who wants to go beyond cheese and bread in making grilled cheese sandwiches. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a temporary digital ebook in exchange for an honest review.

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My Review for Great Book of Grilled Cheese, by Kim Wilcox
5 Stars

It has some great recipes and I'm happy to add it to my collection! I've always been a fan of soups and sandwiches, so this one was perfect for me. It broke it down in easy to follow steps and I'll be happy to try some of these recipes with my nephews! If you like easy to follow recipes that the whole family will love, this book might be for you.

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A massive hug of a cookbook! It starts off with a brief and accessible history of grilled cheese which, it turns out, is fascinating, and follows with a really useful kit list for making the dishes. The recipes are helpfully categorised to help you construct full meals around themes and ingredients. Best of all, are the recipes themselves. Versatile, varied and delicious.

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3.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great Book of Grilled Cheese is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a book of grilled cheese recipes (as long as you count a “grilled cheese” as a sandwich served warm with melted cheese in it, which I do). It includes recipes from the classic Ultimate Grilled Cheese to the decadent Loaded Lobster Grilled Cheese, but also includes recipes for sides, sauces, fillings, and other extras that go with each sandwich. From the version I received, each recipe includes a photo, a brief note on the recipe, ingredients and quantities, directions, and a recipe for a side dish. Most recipes also include extra recipes for sauces or fillings; the exceptions being the section with recipes from chef friends, which didn’t include side dishes, and the last chapter, which centered just on desserts.

Of the 47 grilled cheese recipes in this cookbook, I’ve tried a selection of five so far. I made each sandwich and shared it with the other three members of my family for a ‘grilled cheese tasting night’ and our combined thoughts are shared below. A few notes on the recipes: we used day-old homemade bread, a griddle to cook everything, and went light on the butter (adding a bit to the grill instead of coating each bread piece). The recipes we tried were:

1. Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese: I love jalapeños and the addition of apricot jam on a jalapeño popper grilled cheese was new to me. The little bit of sweetness balanced the spice of the pickled jalapeños and the saltiness of the bacon and cheese.

2. Super Cheesy Grilled Cheese: We used a combination of sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and smoked provolone. It’s a grilled cheese - it’s delicious!

3. TBR Grilled Cheese (Turkey, Bacon, Ranch): All around, this was one of our favorite flavors of the five sandwiches we tried, although if we make it again we will probably swap out the cheddar for pepper jack and use ranch seasoning instead of dressing.

4. Caprese Grilled Cheese: We used smoked provolone, fresh store-bought tomato (it’s a little too early for our garden tomatoes), and garden kale pesto. *Chef’s kiss* It’s a hard to beat combination of flavors.

5. Peanut Butter and Cheddar Grilled Cheese: Around the group, this was our least favorite and generally we found the taste didn’t live up to the expectations of flavor the other sandwiches set.

There is no nutritional information included within this cookbook, but I highly doubt I would want to know it anyways: this isn’t really the type of cookbook you would be reading if you are tracking your health. Beyond the recipes, I enjoyed the color-coded symbols in the recipe guide and the addition of grilled cheese sandwiches from some of the author’s chef friends. Their creativity was more what I was expecting the rest of the book to be, but there are still plenty of flavor combinations I’m looking forward to trying.

I do think a few things could improve this cookbook, however. First, while this cookbook does cover tips on equipment, bread, browning agent, and a handful of types of cheese, it would have been nice to have a dedicated section with tips for designing your own grilled cheese from scratch. Second, the “Local/Regional Flavors” chapter is just for the Knoxville, Tennessee, area - which is great, except I was somehow under the impression it would showcase grilled cheese combinations from all over the U.S. Finally - and this is completely a personal preference - there are a couple of recipes throughout this book that feature banana. While I’m sure it deserves a following and has a time and a place, it’s one flavor I absolutely cannot stand.

Overall, though, this is a great cookbook if you like melted cheese and are looking to expand your sandwich flavor combinations. Thank you again to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.

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Loved finding this gem on Netgalley!

Chock full of creative versions of the classic grilled cheese (over 100!), this cookbook would keep anyone busy for the next year! I love how the recipes were gathered from a variety of chefs from different restaurants, so the ideas are so different. There are also recipes, which can be used as side dishes, or as ingredients in the sandwiches themselves (i.e. deviled eggs or tomato soup).

Personally, I can't wait to try the crab rangoon version, but my husband is betting on the jalapeno popper version first!

Thank you to Kim Wilcox, Fox Chapel Publishing and Netgalley for an early copy to review.

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A book dedicated to grilled cheese…yes please! What is not to love in this book! The pictures made me want to stop what I was doing and replicate what I was seeing on the pages. That is a good sign for me. I enjoyed the inclusions of sides as well. There are some combinations that are traditional comfort foods and then the inclusion of some new ones I can’t wait to try. There are so many wonderful recipes in this book, it is a treasure to be included in any household kitchen library. The pictures are fantastic, and the recipes are simple and easy to follow. This truly is a great book of grilled cheese!
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

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This cookbook is a lot of fun to read! It begins with the history of the grilled cheese sandwich and which bread & cheeses work best. A grilled cheese sandwich is delicious on its own, but the recipe includes pairings (ie. soups and sides), gourmet style, and getting creative. I cannot wait to try! Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy. This is my honest review.

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What a fun and interesting book. Full of stories from past to present, pictures of oozing cheese that will make you salivate and recipes you will want to try.

And although I love just a plain old grilled cheese I do love some of the variety and ideas in this book. Great recipes and I most certainly will be trying some of them out soon.

If you love cheese you will love this book.

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Great book, lots of wonderful sounding grilled cheese sandwiches, but it also includes sides that go with the sandwiches.

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Amazing what you can do with a bit of cheese, a fun book with many , many combinations of cheese and other ingredients, grilled together to make a hot, warming meal. Many are great, but sum pushes the boundary for me, but there are many to choose from to find a favorite. Recipes and instructions are well written and lots of information on equipment to use.
My only regret is there isn't any Australian "Vegemite" and grilled cheese in the book - an Aussie favorite!

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The Great Book of Grilled Cheese covers a lot of ground - there are recipes for sandwiches, sides, snacks, soups, and desserts. I appreciated learning a bit about the author and their business, as well as a brief history of what we know as 'grilled cheese' today. It's clear that the author is very passionate about creating new, innovative, and delicious food!

As a huge fan of grilled cheese sandwiches, I really wanted to like this cookbook, but much of it fell flat for me. For starters, I didn't think there was a need for as many non-grilled cheese recipes. If the book had been named after the author's cafe, all of these other recipes may have felt more cohesive. I was also very distracted by the layout. Each page had recipes, photos, somewhat unnecessary captions for said photos, and also fun facts and tips. It was entirely too much to focus on.

The recipes themselves seemed fine; I admire the author's creativity in reimagining a classic sandwich in so many different ways. The instructions were all very clear and easy to follow. Of all the recipes in the cookbook, I found myself gravitating towards the grilled cheese recipes that other chefs contributed.

I wish that the cookbook had been organized differently. Maybe a chapter with just grilled cheese recipes, another with sides, desserts, etc., I would love a chapter on tips for making great grilled cheese sandwiches rather than having those tips scattered throughout the book.

If I were in Knoxville, I'd definitely stop in to try a grilled cheese sandwich because it's clear the author is incredibly passionate and dedicated to food. I was just underwhelmed by the collection of recipes, the busy layout, and the organization.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This book is exactly what it states on the tin and is a must have for grilled cheese fans. As other reviewers have noted, the layout can be confusing however the recipes are easy to follow

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I love grilled cheese. It was pretty much the only thing I COULD make for the longest time. I know things. This is a pretty good collections of recipes, plus extras like potato salad and desserts. However, the way the recipes are organized are very confusing. There is a color coated system but everything is all jumbled together. I usually prefer all desserts together or all mains or all sides. If a chapter is called ‘Best of the Best’ it’s very subjective and not very helpful. Great recipes but bad organization. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

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I love grilled cheese. I love making grilled cheese, and I want to make lots of them... .and I want to make them better and better. LOL. This recipe/guidebook collection is excellent. I loved the graphics, ideas, and tips. I will be trying a handful of them to see how they are, but I believe they would be delicious. I would buy/check out a copy based solely on the idea. As a result of reading the ARC/preview copy, I think this is an excellent book.

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Kim Wilcox, the chef and owner of The It’s All So Yummy Café in Knoxville, Tennessee, turns simple grilled cheese into an art form in the Great Book of Grilled cheese.

Beginning with the history of the grilled cheese sandwich (the inventions of sliced bread and Kraft cheese played an important part) and continuing to recipes organized from simple to gourmet and a section featuring guest chefs, the cookbook is illustrated with mouthwatering photographs. Each section has additional recipes to add to the presentation. For example, the classic grilled cheese with tomato soup has a soup recipe that begins with canned soup but adds items to give a homemade taste. While I may never eat grilled cheese with spaghetti and meat sauce, I enjoyed the pure creativity of the dish. I also admire a chef who proudly uses Velveeta cheese! The Great Book of Grilled Cheese will leave you inspired …and hungry! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Fox Chapel Publishing and Kim Wilcox for this ARC.

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Grilled cheese is a favorite meal of mine, but not many recipes in this book appealed to me. I understand I am reading an uncorrected proof, but it didn't have any ingredient lists or nutritional information, and it was very difficult to read since it was jumbled writing and a lot of the words had missing letters making it very hard to read. I did like the fun facts scattered throughout the book as well as the tips on the best bread, cheeses, and cookware to use to get the best grilled cheese.

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Oooey Gooey Goodness! I initially decided to read through this cookbook to find some good side dishes, but it turned out to be so much more!

My daughter's favorite food is grilled cheese and she would eat it everyday if she was allowed. These recipes can help me spice up that already good grilled cheese and gasp, sneak in some vegetables.

The pictures throughout the book help you envision how it will turn out and made my mouth water!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital copy of this cookbook for my honest review.

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