Take a Giant Bite: A Grilled Cheese Creation for Each Monkee

Take A Giant Bite

Come with me, I’ll take you where the taste of life is cheese.
And everyday holds barriers to be lean.
Come with me, leave your diet behind.
And take a giant bite out of four kinds.

I was born, July 15th, 1984. I’ll be 29 on Monday. But some say I was born in the wrong era.  Sometime throughout middle school, Nick-at-Nite started showing the Monkees as part of their “Block Party Summer” programming. It was 3 hours of Monkees episodes on Monday nights. On top of that, my buddy Katie was also really into them. (She was also a huge Lucille Ball fan, speaking of not living in the right era.) So we dorked out like the little school girls that we were, over Micky, Davy, Peter and Mike… but in the 90’s. Davy was her favorite, Micky is mine. (Love you, Mr. Dolenz!)

In 2004, I procured tickets to a Davy Jones solo show in Ohio. My friend and roommate, Andrea, gave up her Valentine’s Day to drive me 3.5 hours to this Davy Jones concert. After which, I waited outside to catch a glimpse of him. I got to meet him and he autographed a photo for me. I remember crying like a psycho when Andrea and I went back to the car.

When we lost our beloved Davy, I was as upset as a fan could be. Shortly after that, the guys came through Philly to do a show and I was out of town and couldn’t make it. I was pretty devastated. I’ve made it my goal to see the rest of them play. And to my extreme excitement, THIS WEEKEND, they’ll be playing here. My husband awaited the exact moment he could buy tickets and got them for me for my birthday. I’m ecstatic!

As anyone who has been THIS excited about something knows, your mind kind of goes one-track for awhile. So that bring’s me to this blog post. I got Monkees on my mind. I wanted to do a tribute to my four loves, in food form. So I’ve designed a grilled cheese sandwich, my specialty, to honor each of them. They are all delicious, in different ways… just like the boys!

And in case you were wondering, I used No Thyme. No Thyme at all.

Micky, Peter, Mike, these are for you! Thank you for the music and happiness throughout my life!

DAVY: THE BRITISH INVASION
Bangers and mash with English cheddar on a rustic French bread.

Davy Jones: The British Invasion Grilled Cheese

1 thick pork sausage, sliced into coins and cooked
¼ cup mashed potatoes, prepared
2 tbsp gravy, prepared
several slices of English cheddar
2 slices rustic French bread
butter
coarse sea salt

Lay out your bread and cover both slices with cheddar. (The more, the better, right?!)

Layer on the mashed potatoes, followed by the sausage* and the gravy.

Close up your sandwich and butter, then sprinkle with coarse sea salt (both sides).

In a preheated and oiled skillet, plop down your sandwich. Cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side. You’ll definitely want to use something like a bacon press (or a can of tomatoes covered in foil) to press your sandwich a little so it becomes more compact and easier to eat.

When your bread is brown and crispy and cheese is nice and melty, take it off the stove. Let it cool for a couple minutes before cutting into it and devouring.

*I reserved the two ends of the sausage to skewer on a toothpick for garnish.

MICKY: THE CIRCUS BOY
Peanut butter, banana and mascarpone on a soft white bread.

Micky Dolenz: The Circus Boy Grilled Cheese

1 banana, sliced into coins
peanut butter
mascarpone
½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp sugar, blended
2 slices soft white bread
butter
1 circus peanut, for garnish
⅛ cup of chocolate, melted, for garnish

If making garnish, melt your chocolate in the microwave in a small coffee mug. 1 minute, stir. 30 seconds stir. Repeat until just melted. Dip your circus peanut half way in it, then set on wax paper to dry.

Lay out your bread. Shmear one slice with a generous helping of peanut butter and the other with a generous helping of mascarpone. Sprinkle your cinnamon sugar mixture over the mascarpone. Follow suit with the banana pieces.

Close up your sandwich and butter both sides. Cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side. When your bread is brown and crispy, take it off the stove. Let it cool for a couple minutes. Garnish, Instagram, Eat.

MIKE: THE WHITE OUT
Ricotta, Roasted Garlic, Fontina, White Cheddar and Brie on a rustic French Bread.

Mike Nesmith: The White Out Grilled Cheese

¼ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
several cloves of roasted garlic, smashed with a fork*
2 slices of fontina
2 slices of white cheddar
several slices of brie
salt and pepper (white pepper if you have it)
French bread
butter

Lay out your bread. Put a slice of fontina and white cheddar on each slice.

Cover one slice with a thick shmear of ricotta.

Put the smashed roasted garlic on the other slice. Salt and pepper both slices.

Lay brie slices on one of the pieces of bread.

Close up your sandwich and butter.

In a preheated and oiled skillet, plop down your sandwich. Cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side. Feel free to use a press to flatten your sandwich.

When your bread is brown and crispy and cheese is nice and melty, take it off the stove. Let it cool for a couple minutes before cutting and eating it.

*I reserved 2 cloves of roasted garlic, unsmashed, for garnish.

PETER: THE PULLED TORK
Pulled Pork, Muenster, Kimchi and BBQ sauce on a soft white bread.

Peter Tork: The Pulled Tork Grilled Cheese

½ cup prepared pulled bbq pork
¼ cup prepared Korean kimchi*
4 slices of muenster cheese
2 tbsp bbq sauce
2 slices white bread
butter
smoked sea salt

Lay out your bread and cover both slices with muenster.

Layer on the pulled pork, followed by the bbq sauce and the kimchi.

Close up your sandwich and butter, then sprinkle with smoked sea salt (both sides).

In a preheated and oiled skillet, plop down your sandwich. Cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side. You may want to press your sandwich a little so its less huge, though be careful that your ingredients don’t all squeeze out.

When your bread is brown and crispy and cheese is nice and melty, take it off the stove. Let it cool for a couple minutes before cutting into it and devouring.

*I reserved a big hunk of kimchi for garnish.