Grilled Cheese with Tomato and Bacon

Hey, did you know it's National Grilled Cheese Month? It's also Holy Humor Month and National Straw Hat Month. And how could we forget the 13th through the 19th - it's Egg Salad Week! Don't believe me? The Internet told me so.

But back to the important stuff - cheese! Kathy at Panini Happy has organized a Grilled Cheese Pageant. Her roundup, er, list of finalists, will be posted on April 20th. I can't wait to see all the delicious contestants. is posted here. Go check it out! I dare you to not drool on your keyboard.











Never being one to pass up a grilled cheese opportunity, I had to make a sandwich for Kathy's event. I was literally dreaming about what kind of sandwich I could make. Fontina, arugula and fig preserves on ciabatta? Prosciutto, provolone and peperoncini on a nice crusty Italian? Roast beef, Havarti and horseradish on rye?

In the end, I didn't feel like going to the store, so I ended up with American cheese, bacon and tomato, on store-brand sourdough. Although every time I re-read the preceding paragraph, I drool a little. Have to make those...

















Please excuse the photographs, my kitchen is the worst for lighting. No, I take that back, the bathroom's probably worse, but you know what I mean.

Here's what I did:

Cook bacon.
Slice and pat dry tomatoes.
Butter bread, using a little less butter than you normally would.
Assemble bread, cheese, tomatoes, bacon, bread.
Heat a skillet with a little of your bacon fat.
Cook sandwich.
Eat sandwich, preferably with hot sauce.
And a glass of Chianti.

















Want to get in on the fun? It's not too late! Kathy's accepting contestants until noon (PDT) on Friday the 17th.