Cheese dream

Last updated
Cheese dream
Classic Cheese Dream.jpg
A basic Cheese Dream
Type Open sandwich
Place of origin United States
Main ingredients Bread, American cheese, butter (oil or margarine can also be used)

The cheese dream is an open-faced version of the American grilled cheese sandwich made with bread and cheese; it is cooked with either oil, margarine, or butter. Other ingredients such as bacon, avocado, pineapple, eggs, or sliced tomato can be optionally added to the open-faced sandwich as well. [1]

Contents

It can be cooked in a pan or skillet on the stove top, under a broiler or using a pan in the oven. In its simplest form, it consists of a slice of bread, topped with American cheese, and broiled until the cheese puffs up and browns. [2] Variants include the addition of ingredients such as bacon, sliced tomato, pineapple, avocado, and eggs.

History

Made with basic ingredients (bread, butter and cheese) and heated, cheese dreams are said to have originated as "the cheese dream" during the Great Depression, as "an inexpensive company supper dish" [1] [3] and an inexpensive option for feeding friends and family at Sunday supper. [4] Additions of sliced tomatoes, ham and bacon could be used, and they were often accompanied by olives and pickles. [4] A 1932 San Jose News story, "Cheese Dream New Favorite Sandwich," suggested sprinkling the cheese "very sparingly" with a bit of mustard, cayenne "and a little minced red sweet pepper"; the sandwich was browned on both sides and served with "very hot, rich tomato sauce." [5] The sandwiches may predate the Depression, however, as a 1918 Good Housekeeping issue mentions Cheese Dreams as a luncheon dish, "our teahouse friend." [6]

Cheese dreams were advertised in 1957 as a 55-cent (equivalent to $5.97in 2023) luncheonette lenten special in Daytona Beach, Florida's Sunday News Journal. [7] In 1960, the Milwaukee Journal recommended preparing Cheese Dreams in the oven with scrambled eggs and ham. [8]

Recent interest

Popular in the 1950s as a comfort food, the grilled cheese sandwich has made a comeback in various incarnations in the 1990s and 2000s. [4] It was estimated in 2001 that Americans consume around 2.2 billion grilled cheese sandwiches yearly and chefs have experimented with different types of bread and cheese in updates of the classic, old-fashioned cheese dream. [4] Pumpernickel, sourdough, dark brown and rye bread have been used, topped with Swiss cheese, Gouda and havarti respectively. Other options include apples with mozzarella, peaches with edam and pear with gorgonzola or brie; Italian herbs, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella; or turkey and ham, with which "a variation on a Monte Cristo" can also be created. [4] Scott Fletcher of the Grafton Village Cheese Company makes cheese dreams with rustic country bread, sharp Cheddar cheese, white pepper, eggs, milk, unsalted butter and maple syrup. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croque monsieur</span> French hot sandwich with ham and cheese

A croque monsieur is a hot sandwich made with ham and cheese. The name comes from the French words croque ("crunch") and monsieur ("gentleman").

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh rarebit</span> British dish of cheese sauce on toast

Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit is a dish of hot cheese sauce served on toasted bread. The original 18th-century name of the dish was the jocular "Welsh rabbit", which was later reinterpreted as "rarebit", as the dish contains no rabbit. Variants include English rabbit, Scotch rabbit, buck rabbit, golden buck, and blushing bunny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open sandwich</span> Single slice of bread with food items on top

An open sandwich, also known as an open-face/open-faced sandwich, bread baser, bread platter or tartine, consists of a slice of bread or toast with one or more food items on top. It has half the amount of bread of a typical closed sandwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horseshoe sandwich</span> Open-faced sandwich originating in Springfield, Illinois, U.S.

The horseshoe is an open-faced sandwich originating in Springfield, Illinois, United States. It consists of thick-sliced toasted bread, a hamburger patty or other choice of meat, French fries, and cheese sauce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grilled cheese</span> Type of hot melted cheese sandwich

The grilled cheese is a hot cheese sandwich typically prepared by heating slices of cheese between slices of bread with a cooking fat such as butter or mayonnaise on a frying pan, griddle, or sandwich toaster, until the bread browns and the cheese melts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schnitzel</span> Breaded, fried flat piece of meat

A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutton, beef, or turkey. Schnitzel originates in Austria as wiener schnitzel and is very similar to dishes such as escalope in France and Spain, panado in Portugal, tonkatsu in Japan, cotoletta in Italy, kotlet schabowy in Poland, řízek in Czech Republic, milanesa in Latin America, chuleta valluna in Colombia, chicken chop in Malaysia, and chicken-fried steak and pork tenderloin of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese sandwich</span> Sandwich whose main ingredient is the cheese

A cheese sandwich is a sandwich made with cheese on bread. Typically semi-hard cheeses are used for the filling, such as Cheddar, Red Leicester, or Double Gloucester. A Guardian article called the cheese sandwich a "British lunchtime staple". Using a pie iron or frying pan can transform the cheese sandwich into a cheese toastie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMuffin</span> Breakfast sandwiches sold by McDonalds

McMuffin is a family of breakfast sandwiches sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. The Egg McMuffin is the signature sandwich, which was invented in 1972 by Herb Peterson to resemble eggs benedict, a traditional American breakfast dish with English muffins, ham, eggs and hollandaise sauce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of New Jersey</span> Cuisine of the State of New Jersey

The cuisine of New Jersey is derived from the state's long immigrant history and its close proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia. Due to its geographical location, New Jersey can generally be divided by New York City cuisine in the northern and central parts of the state and Philadelphia cuisine in the southern parts. Restaurants in the state often make use of locally grown ingredients such as asparagus, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, corn, and peaches. New Jersey is particularly known for its diners, of which there are approximately 525, the most of any state. Various foods invented in the state, such as the pork roll, and salt water taffy, remain popular there today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uruguayan cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Uruguay

Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from several European countries, especially of Mediterranean foods from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. Other influences on the cuisine resulted from immigration from countries such as Germany and Scotland. Uruguayan gastronomy is a result of immigration, rather than local Amerindian cuisine, because of late-19th and early 20th century immigration waves of, mostly, Italians. Spanish influences are abundant: desserts like churros, flan, ensaimadas yoo (Catalan sweet bread), and alfajores were all brought from Spain. There are also all kinds of stews known as guisos or estofados, arroces, and fabada. All of the guisos and traditional pucheros (stews) are also of Spanish origin. Uruguayan preparations of fish, such as dried salt cod (bacalao), calamari, and octopus, originate from the Basque and Galician regions, and also Portugal. Due to its strong Italian tradition, all of the famous Italian pasta dishes are present in Uruguay including ravioli, lasagne, tortellini, fettuccine, and the traditional gnocchi. Although the pasta can be served with many sauces, there is one special sauce that was created by Uruguayans. Caruso sauce is a pasta sauce made from double cream, meat, onions, ham and mushrooms. It is very popular with sorrentinos and agnolotti. Additionally, there is Germanic influence in Uruguayan cuisine as well, particularly in sweet dishes. The pastries known as bizcochos are Germanic in origin: croissants, known as medialunas, are the most popular of these, and can be found in two varieties: butter- and lard-based. Also German in origin are the Berlinese known as bolas de fraile, and the rolls called piononos. The facturas were re-christened with local names given the difficult German phonology, and usually Uruguayanized by the addition of a dulce de leche filling. Even dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) have also made it into mainstream Uruguayan dishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese on toast</span> British dish of melted cheese

Cheese on toast is made by placing sliced or grated cheese on toasted bread and melting it under a grill. It is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, and in African countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breaded cutlet</span> Meat in breading or batter

Breaded cutlet or braised cutlet is a dish made from coating a cutlet of meat with breading or batter and either frying or baking it.

<i>Carrozza</i> (sandwich) Italian dish

A carrozza, also referred to as mozzarella in carrozza, is a type of fried cheese sandwich or pastry in Italian cuisine. It is prepared by coating a mozzarella cheese sandwich in egg and flour, and frying it. It is a popular dish in the Campania region of Italy and in areas of New York City. Mozzarella fritta is a variation of the dish that consists of battered cheese, without any bread.

Breakfast, the first meal of the day eaten after waking from the night's sleep, varies in composition and tradition across the world.

References

  1. 1 2 Uebelherr, Jan (March 26, 2004). "There's no secret to great grilled cheese". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  2. "The Official CheeseDreams Network - All things CheeseDreams!". The Official CheeseDreams Network. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  3. Meitus, Marty (January 3, 1999). "OLD FAITHFUL GRILLED CHEESE, A DEPRESSION-ERA STANDBY, HAS RETURNED". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2010. During the Depression, when Sunday Night Suppers became a popular way to entertain, the cheese dream began to appear on dining tables from coast to coast.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Marty Meitus Dreaming up variations of grilled cheese Oct 10, 2001 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p. 29 (Scripps News Service)
  5. "Cheese Dream New Favorite Sandwich". San Jose News . July 15, 1932. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  6. Eaton, Florence Taft (1918). "Meatless Main Dishes". Good Housekeeping . Vol. 67. p. 52.
  7. "W.T. Grant Co. advertisement". Sunday News Journal . Daytona Beach, FL. March 10, 1957. p. 18.
  8. The Milwaukee Journal . September 26, 1960. p. 21.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. Tracey Medeiros (2008). Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State. p. 112. ISBN   9781603420259.