No longer does the grilled cheese evoke images of squished white bread or plasticky orange "cheese product." Artesian grilled cheese shops have sprung up across New York, stuffing their sandwiches with shortrib, truffles and raw cheeses. The breads are thick, and crunchy from better-than-butter spreads: cultured butter, made from fermented cream, and duckfat.

Sure, you could make this at home, provided you could find the proper ingredients, had access to a panini press (a kettle or flatiron won’t do) and tuned the heat precisely, so the cheese didn’t go past gooey into glop.

Why not just pay $5.75 for the version executed with military precision, if not always speed, by MILK TRUCK, various locations, (917) 520-7415, milktruckgrilledcheese.com? It was the best I tried in a recent tour of artisanal grilled-cheese shops, a culinary subgenre that has boomed in the last year.

Feta is paired with Kashkaval, a somewhat firm sheep's milk cheese, in this snackable appetizer.

Turkish borek can be made into beautiful shapes, turning pastry into delicate roses. Here we take a shortcut to a less involved but still somewhat floral-inspired approach, using puff pastry to create beautiful crisp cheese borek. These make addictive party snacks. Feel free to make up more than you need and freeze, unbaked, for your next party. They can be transferred directly from the freezer to the oven and will bake with just a few minutes' extra oven time.

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Photography by Deena Prichep for NPR

Fondue is no longer subject to a single pot. The EZ-Melter, made in Uruguay, is reminiscent of a muffin tin, ready for cubes of cheese to melt inside its individual cups.

Pop a square of good melting cheese — provolone is the choice in South America — into each hollow; put the dish in the oven, on a gas burner or even on a grill; and in minutes you have little blobs of molten cheese ready for toothpicks. You can doll up the cheese by wrapping each piece in a strip of prosciutto, bacon or salami, or use the plate to sear seafood — say, scallops topped with pesto or tomato. The plate is also perfect for escargots.

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Photography by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

To celebrate National Grilled Cheese month, whip up this sweet and savory sandwich made with dried fig jam and melty Manchego.

Though we love our homemade fig jam, the best part of the sandwich was actually the huge holes in the bread that let bits of fig jam and shredded Manchego drip down onto the pan when we were grilling. They became an extra bit of sweet, caramelized toasted cheese texture on the final sandwich.

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Photo by Sarah J. Gim

Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco posted this delicious recipe for Stilton breakfast sandwiches just in time for Grilled Cheese Month, and we think it looks like a winner. Give a try and let us know what you think. Deeelishus:

Right now, we’re celebrating cheeses from the British Isles, so I want to share a recipe for Stilton, which is made by the Colston Bassett Dairy specifically for Neal’s Yard Dairy. Two modifications make it different from the rest of their production: an animal rennet rather than a vegetarian rennet is used, and the cheese is pierced later than their others, allowing the “white” cheese to develop more flavor before the blue mold is introduced to air. I’ve played around with this recipe at home and think you’ll find it easy and delicious for a special spring breakfast!

Npr has the story on the Milk Not Jails program, created by Lauren Melodia in upstate New York. This non-profit's goal is to simultaneously employ ex-convicts and help out local dairy farmers, the combination of which will ideally boost the local economy overall:

Milk Not Jails' first complaint is that Dean Foods, a powerful food company that controls the majority of milk distribution in the region, has left many small farmers with few options but to sell to them. Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont has called Dean a "milk monopoly."

So Milk Not Jails is offering farmers another option: Sell their milk directly to buying clubs in New York City.

So where do the prisons and ex-cons come in? Milk Not Jails plans to recruit ex-cons who can't get a break to drive approved dairy products down to consumers in New York City.

Kitchen Careers sits down with Peggy Smith and Sue Conley of Cowgirl Creamery and asks some well-chosen questions. It's clear that these ladies have knowledge enough for all of us and more:

Cookie Monster has long proclaimed that “C is for Cookie.” Do you think he might change his mind with a sampling of artisan cheese?

Peggy: That is a great question! I think Cookie Monster would take on an all new personality when sampling artisan cheese. Why is he always so grumpy? I think artisan cheese would mellow him out.

Sue: Yeah, I agree. Maybe he could even meet a Cheese Monster and they could hook up and teach him about the wonders of artisan cheese that way.

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Sometimes the strangest combinations create the best dishes. Homemade mac 'n' cheese stuffed in a taco shell over spicy meat is bound to be a winner with at least a few crowds. What's nice about this recipe too is that you can make it all from scratch or take a few shortcuts if you're in a rush. Enjoy!

I got this idea when eating at a local buffet, after combining these two delicious meals into one, I just knew that I had to come up with a recipe of my own.

Get the recipe here.

Photo by Bobby at BlogChef

Looking for something irresistible to bring to parties and potlucks? This pimento cheese dip/spread/yummy goodness fits the bill for us.

For me, I spread it on a pretzel roll with a hot dog and caramelized onions. Shortly later I found myself spreading it on pretzels, and crackers. It was soon to run out, and probably the best as it has this addicting flavor. A bit of that garlic bite with the tanginess from the mayonnaise, and that wonderful Wisconsin cheese flavor, and well, let’s not forget the pimentos which are those wonderful cherry peppers.

Get the recipe here.

Photo by kthread

This is an unexpected stat, but apparently Domino's Pizza is a big deal in Japan. During Christmas, no less. Gawker's got the numbers, but we want more info:

In Japan, your average Domino's Pizza outlet has 50% higher sales than a U.S. outlet.

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Photo by The Pizza Review