There is little I love in this world more than cheese. And yesterday on Alberta Street in NE Portland, we stumbled upon my version of heaven: The Grilled Cheese Grill.

It was perfect timing – I was just starting to reach the point of grumpiness from hunger. You know, when you don’t realize that you’re hungry, but you start just being irritable? I find this happens a lot when you’re on vacation with no discernible eating schedule. Anyways, we were walking east on Alberta, sort of away from the majority of the shops, thinking we would turn around and just go to a sit-down restaurant for lunch, when we noticed yet another street food cart.  The others on the street mostly hadn’t yet opened or were serving vegan fair that doesn’t fit my fancy.  This proved disappointing when we had primed ourselves for some BBQ at Dixon’s Rib Pit, only to find them closed.  But, this one had people sitting at tables! One point for being opened. Wait, what does that sign say? Something about cheese…the Grilled Cheese Grill!?! I jumped up and did a little jig. Grilled cheese is my ultimate comfort food. Lunch time.

Can't talk, chewing

Their menu featured everything from the Classic (regular old grilled cheese)  to the Cheesus Burger (a burger with 2 grilled cheeses as buns). I opted for the daily special called the “Pittsburgh, PA” (I think because they had G20 protests there that day) which was apple butter, ham,  Tillamook horseradish cheddar cheese and avocado. It was a taste bud trifecta of sweet, salty and cheesey.

Jason went with one called the BABS; the picture basically says it all.

The BABS: Bacon, Apple, Bleu Cheese, Swiss on Rye

My only complaint is that they don’t have one in Chicago. Bonus: Their twitter feed seems to basically just be links to old cartoon clips. Love it.

This was the first of 2 pâtés my station partner and I were lucky enough to make in our Intro to Garde Manger class a few weeks ago. Typically this isn’t part of the certificate curriculum, but our Chef instructor was kind enough to let us give it a shot.  The Pâté De Campagne (country pâté) shown above was a big hit when served to our class with some toast points, some mustard, and of course cornichons. The recipe included liver in the force meat which added a terrific depth of flavor. The entire terrine was also wrapped in bacon, which can never be a bad thing.

Our second pâté didn’t taste quite as good. It didn’t include the liver, and instead had a pork tenderloin in the center surrounded by the force meat. I felt the flavor was bland, and the texture not as smooth.  It’s going to need some dressing up before I serve it to the husband. I’m thinking a whole grain spicy mustard, and some dark rye or pumpernickel bread might do it some good.

I’m definitely going to have to get a meat grinding attachment for my Kitchen Aid so I can remake the first recipe at home.