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Friday, October 17, 2008

Cheese Challenge

The conversation this post is based on started as an extension of my blog post from last Friday -Kathy and Justin and I were discussing foods that gross us out. I told them that one food I hate even hearing about is the tuna melt. There's just something about the combination of cheese and tuna fish that grosses me out. They disagreed whole heartedly, which led to a discussion about what foods are acceptable to mix with cheese. Justin, who always takes things too far, said that he'd eat anything with cheese. "Anything? Really?" I asked him. "Yes. Anything." He said. Being the mature person I am, I had to challenge this.

Me: "What about a peanut butter and cheese sandwich!?"
Justin: "I'd try it."
Me: "Well guess what? You're getting one for lunch this week."
Justin: "I can't wait."
Kathy: "I'm going to throw up in my mouth."
Me to Justin: "What about cheesy brownies!?"
Justin: "Yum."

You guys, I had to do it. I had to call his bluff. I mean, brownies with cheese? Justin tried to convince us that other countries think chocolate and cheese are delicious together by sending us this link to a product eaten in Asia. It looks like Kraft singles, but it's chocolate cheese.



In discussing this topic with other people, I've discovered that people have some strange ideas about what cheese tastes good with. My mom loves cheese with her apple pie, for instance. And imagine my surprise when I was hanging out with a few friends last night talking what mixes with cheese, and Shauri told me that she grew up eating cheese and peanut butter sandwiches. She claims they're delicious. I guess I have a lot to learn about what cheese mixes with.

So, I made the cheesy brownies. Actually, not wanting to waste the whole brownie mix, I made a normal batch of brownies, but I made one special cheesy brownie.


Today is the day. Justin is going to eat at least part of the brownie. Kathy is repulsed already and it hasn't even happened yet. What do you think his reaction will be to it? I'll keep you updated.

*****UPDATE*****
Ok, we ate the brownie. Yes, WE. I asked Justin, right before he took the first bite, if he was nervous. He paused and said, "No....not nervous. Maybe a little anxious." Then he dug in. He said it wasn't bad, and that the texture was interesting. So, I caved. I had to know. So I ate a tiny bite. Then another. To be honest, you couldn't taste the cheese. Justin pointed out that it could have just as easily been coconut, and he's right. Maybe next time, I'll try it with Velveeta. And in case you were wondering, Justin ate the whole thing (minus my bite).

12 comments:

Shauri said...

I have a feeling he'll be delighted with it.

And yes, totally grew up with pb&c sandwiches and truth be told I LOVE 'EM!

(my dad made them and he only knew how to cook with four ingredients - bread, crackers, cheese and peanut butter. You can imagine the amazing combos.)

In our family, cheese is the number one food product used in all cooking. Not sure i'm down with the brownies, but it's a great add to most dishes!

Amy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amy said...

Cheese goes great with many things, and chocolate with many more, but I have major doubts about cheese and chocolate. Still, you never know - combinations can surprise you. Once I made up a recipe for garlic-and-onion cookies on a challenge and they turned out surprisingly...decent. I even kept the recipe just for fun, but will probably never make them again because even if they didn't taste half bad, the idea still sort of makes me queasy. Like cheese brownies.

Anonymous said...

it really was worth the wait. I'm excited to try cheese in other desserts, like banana cream pie or maybe chunky monkey ice cream. And I can tell, just by the jealous look on Kathy's face, that she wants to try it too.

Anonymous said...

I personally heard Justin say that it tasted sour. SOUR?!?! And Elizabeth, you just said there was an aftertaste. I can't even look at this blog without having to fight the urge to dry heave into my wastebasket.

Anonymous said...

No Justin, the green in my face is not from envy, it's from being sick to my stomach. STOP EATING IT! I can hear your lips smacking on it.

Elizabeth Downie said...

"That last bite was powerful. There was a lot of cheese." - Justin Ha!

D said...

I think it all depends on what you mean by with cheese. I doubt your mom melts cheese all over her apple pie (or does she?) But eating a slice of cheese and then a bite of apple pie...not so gross. I think that's how cheese and chocolate are meant to go together. Separate appetizers that you eat from the same plate in the same meal. But there could be a recipe out there that surprises me. I would agree that cheese tends to make most things better including broccoli and brussell sprouts. I'm not so sure about the peanut butter and cheese sandwich... I'm guessing you won't even taste it in the brownies...Can't wait to find out!

Katherine said...

I'm with Kathy. While I am a lover of the tuna melt, I feel queasy just thinking about the cheesy brownie. And the pictures are really quite digusting! I like cheese, and I like chocolate, but not melted together...

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, I had forgotten about chocolate cheese until this post! You don't have to go as far as Asia to get it...they make it in Frankenmuth! I remember watching them do it at the local Cheese Haus, and being horrified! Dang, I had tried to suppress that memory, but you brought it back up. Thanks a lot... :)

Brady said...

I tasted the chocolate cheese at the Cheese Haus, and I can say with some confidence that it tasted neither like cheese nor like chocolate. It was some other, possibly new flavor.

I will vouch that a sharp cheddar is supremely good with apple pie. The tang compliments the sweetness of the apples.

In Chile, they are wont to eat cheese on jam and bread. I refrained for a long time from trying it, but one day I caved. It was wonderfully delicious! Granted the cheese was fairly mild, but it complimented the jam perfectly.

Cheese brownies still kind of grosses me out, but I think if you thought about the type of cheese, you could actually improve the recipe.

Liz Hughes said...

I had some chocolate cheese when I went to Frankenmuth. It was seriously so disgusting, I threw up a little.