Day One hundred and nine : A very Memorial GCF

As the summer gears up to get started with the first "official" weekend of the season, Memorial Day, I thought it was necessary to do a celebratory GCF! Memorial Day, although a federal holiday and the reason most of us have a three day weekend is meant to commemorate the service men and women who have served our country in times present and past. First enacted to honor soldiers who fought in the American Civil War, its significance has expanded as the years have gone by. In honor of Memorial Day, I thought I would propose a Red, White, & Blue GCF.

A simple sandwich that is delish served grilled and warm or deconstructed and used as part of a picnic. Such a simple sandwich, you can't go wrong, with only two extra ingredients, besides the essential Red, White, & Blue ingredients. Let me first tell you those and then I will fill you in on how I would prepare the sandwich.

Red : As late May and June are the height of strawberry season, I think their luscious juicy ripeness would be perfect in our sandwich. Although you may see and buy strawberries year round, they really are best in the late Spring and early Summer months when you can get them from your local farmers not shipped in from the tropics.

White : French Baguette - Made with white flour, the interior of this bread tends to be fluffy and the exterior perfectly crusty with prime crunch factor when biting into the sandwich.

Blue : Grassland Blue - Made in Wisconsin, but taking its name from the grasslands of Minnesota, this blue is American through and through. Not the America of Cheez Whiz and Kraft singles, but an excellent example of American artisanal cheese making. It is a raw cow's milk cheese cave aged for three months. Pungent, spicy, tangy, nutty, and full flavored, this is a uniquely special blue cheese as it utilizes a very particular mixture and amount of Penicillium Roqueforti that slow releases during its aging process.


Now that you have your Red, White, and Blue, so lets construct our sandwich -

Slice about one third of a nice French Baguette. Next, take three large strawberries and slice very thinnly. Place these on either side of the baguette. Next place a few nice slices of the Grasslands Blue. Then for the two additional ingredients -- add two to three mint leaves and a very very light drizzle of raw honey. The honey will complement the sweetness of the strawberries and will be a perfect counterpart for the piquant qualities of the cheese. The mint will add a nice sense of freshness to the sandwich, making it taste like a picnic in your mouth! Heat and enjoy!

Have a lovely holiday weekend ladies and gents!