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Chicago's Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
We've still got a whole week left of grilled cheese month! Celebrate in Chicago with one of these great grillys.
Chicago's comfort food game has long been a strong one, and restaurants and pubs from The Brown Sack in Logan Square to Bar Pastoral in Lincoln Park are transforming the simple sandwich with unexpected ingredients and foodie flair all their own.
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Photo by Bar Pastoral
Grilled (Blue) Cheese
When it comes to grilled cheese, the blues often get overlooked. This is likely due to their bold flavors and inability to "get along" with other foods. So how cn you incorporate blue into a great grilly? By adding steak, of course.
This recipe below, which comes from Bourbon Steak in Washington, DC, is everything you'd find in a great raddichio-and-blue-cheese salad but, you know, melted on two slices of pumpernickel. Enjoy.
Photo by Esquire
Vintage Fondue Pots
Some argue cheese fondue is out of style. We say, nope, it's retro. Check out this slideshow of vintage fondue pots on Etsy to get the mood right at your next party.
In honor of National Cheese Fondue Day, which just passed, we've put together a round-up of the best fondue pots that can be found on Etsy. Because if you're going to eat fondue, which all of us should be doing, it should definitely be done in style.
Unique Yogurts from Snowville Creamery
Usually in the U.S., yogurt is sweet and only served as breakfast or a snack. But Ohio locals Snowville Creamery are attempting to bring interesting and savory yogurt flavors to the area. Tumeric and Mace, anyone?
They do a terrific plain yogurt, but their 6% butterfat flavored yogurts, in smaller sizes, are kind of blowing my mind. Their flavors are so fresh: Lemon-Ginger is a favorite, and next I'm going to try Coffee-Cardamom. But their Turmeric-Mace flavor was the latest, and most interesting.
Photo by Faith Durand
Herbed Goat Cheese Polenta Bites
If you haven't yet experienced the magic of polenta and goat cheese, now is the time. Heck, it's the time to share it with all your friends! And this super simple appetizer recipe is the way to do it.
These little appetizers add another option: they begin in much the same way that stovetop polenta does, but you then then layer them into a small pan and allow to cool. When the polenta has cooled completely, this once-creamy dish is firm and sliceable, and you quickly coat the small squares in panko bread crumbs and pan fry them.
Get the recipe
Photo by Megan Gordon
History Lesson: The Story of Beer
Unsurprisingly, the history of beer is a long and complex one, filled with arguments, classism, science, and of course, drunkenness. Want to learn how it all started? Check out the infographic below.
See the infographic here
Photo by Manolith.com
Two-Ingredient Pasta: Literally Mac And Cheese
Crafting the perfect mac and cheese has become a true art as of late, incorporating a whole host of ingredients. But what ever happened to the roots of the dish? Even the most simple recipes normally include milk and several types of cheese -- but not this one. One special type of cheese negates the need for milk!
But with the right cheese you can quickly cut the ingredients list to the two items in the dish's name (plus salt, pepper and water for boiling the pasta). What is the right cheese? It is one that melts into a smooth, creamy sauce that won't seize up and turn to concrete. And it is one whose flavor has complexity and interest enough that it needs no help.
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Photo by Edward Schneider
Mascarpone Sorbet
Usually, sorbet is a dairy-free dessert. But what dessert doesn't get better with the addition of some mascarpone?
And you might for a second entertain the idea of making the mascarpone from scratch, because you know how and you can’t help but think homemade mascarpone will make homemade mascarpone sorbet all the more delicious. But you don’t. Because you’ve learned your lesson. And when that lemony, perfectly sweet, creamy-textured sorbet amasses in your ice cream maker, you’re so happy you didn’t, because you’ve never tasted something so refreshing and so delicious for such little effort.
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Photo by Alexandra Cooks
US Craft Beer: How it Inspired British Brewers
It wasn't long ago that American beer was thought of in terms of Coors, Budweiser, and Miller. But just like artisan cheese, craft beer has seen a recent movement here in the U.S., with sales taking up over six percent of the entire market. American craft beer has become so popular, even some British brewers are hopping on the bandwagon, using high hops and alcohol content as their inspiration.
"There's a hipster cachet to it," says Melissa Cole, ale expert and author of Let Me Tell You About Beer. "Craft beer is seen as sexy right now, there's no doubt about it."
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Photo by BBC
Queso Sera, Sera: Discovering Cheese in Bolivia and Paraguay
Contributing editor for culture, Laurel Miller has spent the last decade exploring South America and its cheese. Most recently, she visited Bolivia and Paraguay, where among the fresh cheeses and queso-stuffed empanadas, she found, surprisingly, raclette.
Making raclette in the jungle ranks as one of the most unusual experiences I’ve had. Yet it was delicious, and it reminded me of why food is so integral to travel.
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Photo by Laurel Miller

