Cheese dream
Encyclopedia
The cheese dream is an open faced
version of the American grilled cheese sandwich made with bread
, cheddar cheese
, and butter
, as well as other ingredients. It can be cooked in a pan or skillet on the stove-top, or using a pan in the oven. Variants include the addition of ingredients such as bacon
, tomato
, pineapple
, and egg
s.
, as "an inexpensive company supper dish" and an inexpensive option for feeding friends and family at Sunday supper
. Additions of sliced tomato
es, ham
, and bacon
could be used, and they were often accompanied by olive
s and pickle
s. 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." The sandwiches may predate the Depression, however, as a 1918 Good Housekeeping issue mentions Cheese Dreams as a luncheon dish, "our teahouse friend."
Cheese dreams were advertised in 1957 as a 55 cent luncheonette lenten special in Daytona Beach, Florida
's Sunday News Journal. The Milwaukee Journal recommended preparing Cheese Dreams in the oven with scrambled eggs and ham in 1960.
, the grilled cheese sandwich has made a comeback in various incarnations in the 1990s and 2000s. 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 cheese dream of yore. Pumpernickel
, dark brown, and rye
bread
s 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, sundried tomatoes and mozzarella; with turkey and ham "a variation on a Monte Cristo
" can also be created. Scott Fletcher of the Grafton Village Cheese Company
makes cheese dreams with rustic country bread, sharp cheddar, white pepper, eggs, milk, unsalted butter, and maple syrup
. The open faced sandwiches make an appearance in Luanne Rice
's novel Stone Heart.
Open sandwich
An open sandwich, also known as an open face/faced sandwich, Ulrich Sandwich, bread baser, or tartine, consists of a single slice of bread with one or more food items on top.- In various countries :...
version of the American grilled cheese sandwich made with bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
, cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
, and butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
, as well as other ingredients. It can be cooked in a pan or skillet on the stove-top, or using a pan in the oven. Variants include the addition of ingredients such as bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, and egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
s.
History
Made with basic ingredients (bread, butter, and cheese) and heat, cheese dreams are said to have originated as "the cheese dream" during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, as "an inexpensive company supper dish" and an inexpensive option for feeding friends and family at Sunday supper
Sunday roast
The Sunday roast is a traditional British main meal served on Sundays , consisting of roasted meat, roast potato or mashed potato, with accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables and gravy....
. Additions of sliced tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es, ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
, and bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
could be used, and they were often accompanied by olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s and pickle
Pickled cucumber
A pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...
s. A 1932 San Jose News story, "Cheese Dream New Favorite Sandwich," suggested sprinkling the cheese "very sparingly" with a bit of mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
, cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
, "and a little minced red sweet pepper"; the sandwich was browned on both sides and served with "very hot, rich tomato sauce." The sandwiches may predate the Depression, however, as a 1918 Good Housekeeping issue mentions Cheese Dreams as a luncheon dish, "our teahouse friend."
Cheese dreams were advertised in 1957 as a 55 cent luncheonette lenten special in Daytona Beach, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's Sunday News Journal. The Milwaukee Journal recommended preparing Cheese Dreams in the oven with scrambled eggs and ham in 1960.
Recent interest
Popular in the 1950s as a comfort foodComfort food
Comfort food is food prepared traditionally that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal. Comfort foods may be foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture...
, the grilled cheese sandwich has made a comeback in various incarnations in the 1990s and 2000s. 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 cheese dream of yore. Pumpernickel
Pumpernickel
Pumpernickel is a type of very heavy, slightly sweet rye bread traditionally made with coarsely ground rye. It is often made with a combination of rye flour and whole rye berries. It has been long associated with the Westphalia region of Germany. The first written mention of the black bread of...
, dark brown, and rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
s have been used, topped with swiss cheese
Swiss cheese
Swiss cheese is a generic name in North America for several related varieties of cheese which resemble the Swiss Emmental. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "eyes". Swiss cheese has a piquant, but not very sharp,...
, Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
, and Havarti
Havarti
Havarti or Cream Havarti is a semi-soft Danish cow's milk cheese. It is a table cheese that can be sliced, grilled, or melted....
respectively. Other options include apples with mozzarella
Mozzarella
Mozzarella is an Italian Traditional Speciality Guaranteed food product. The term is used for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...
, peaches with edam, and pear with gorgonzola
Gorgonzola (cheese)
Gorgonzola is a veined Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow's and/or goat's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining.- History :...
or brie
Brie
Brie is a historic region of France most famous for its dairy products, especially Brie cheese. It was once divided into two sections ruled by different feudal lords: the western Brie française, corresponding roughly to the modern department of Seine-et-Marne in the Île-de-France region; the...
; Italian herbs, sundried tomatoes and mozzarella; with turkey and ham "a variation on a Monte Cristo
Monte Cristo sandwich
A Monte Cristo is a fried ham and cheese sandwich. The cheese used is Emmental or Gruyère.-Description:The sandwich can differ regionally. Regional variations may include sliced turkey along with the ham and cheese. Traditionally, the sandwich is dipped in its entirety in egg batter and fried...
" can also be created. Scott Fletcher of the Grafton Village Cheese Company
Grafton Village Cheese Company
Grafton Village Cheese Company is a cheesemaker in the town of Grafton in the U.S. state of Vermont. The company produces hand-crafted aged cheddar cheese and was established in 1892 as the Grafton Cooperative Cheese Company...
makes cheese dreams with rustic country bread, sharp cheddar, white pepper, eggs, milk, unsalted butter, and maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
. The open faced sandwiches make an appearance in Luanne Rice
Luanne Rice
Luanne Rice is the bestselling American author of twenty-five novels. She often writes about nature and the sea, and many of her novels deal with love and family....
's novel Stone Heart.
See also
- Cheese on toastCheese on ToastCheese on toast is a snack made by placing cheese on slices of toasted bread and melting the cheese under a grill. It is a simple meal, popular in the United Kingdom.-Recipes:...
the open faced sandwich popular in the UK - Open sandwichOpen sandwichAn open sandwich, also known as an open face/faced sandwich, Ulrich Sandwich, bread baser, or tartine, consists of a single slice of bread with one or more food items on top.- In various countries :...
- Grilled cheese a closed melted cheese sandwich
- Monte Cristo sandwichMonte Cristo sandwichA Monte Cristo is a fried ham and cheese sandwich. The cheese used is Emmental or Gruyère.-Description:The sandwich can differ regionally. Regional variations may include sliced turkey along with the ham and cheese. Traditionally, the sandwich is dipped in its entirety in egg batter and fried...
- Croque-monsieurCroque-monsieurA croque-monsieur is a hot ham and cheese grilled sandwich. It originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars...
the French fried cheese and ham sandwich - Welsh rarebit cheese sauce served over toasted bread
- FondueFondueFondue is a Swiss dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot over a spirit lamp , and eaten by dipping long-stemmed forks with bread into the cheese...
the cheese sauce that food is dipped in, from Switzerland - Comfort foodComfort foodComfort food is food prepared traditionally that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal. Comfort foods may be foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture...
- List of sandwiches