GUEST POST ALERT! Cheese & Toast Off Cornwall 2012

Rainy holiday in Cornwall? Cheese to the rescue! A couple of weeks ago a group of us fled the city for a week of fun in the sun down in the west country, namely the beautiful Polzeath in Cornwall. Only there was no sun, so we had to be a bit creative to ensure that it was still a lot of fun, without relying solely on excessive drinking. Whilst pondering this conundrum one afternoon Confessions of a cheese lover author K-Dawg and I, plus our friend Bushy were also snacking on some excellent cheese on toast, and thought it was interesting that we were all determined that our way of making it was the best. And so we got to thinking, just how creative could we be with cheese on toast, and so the GREAT POLZEATH CHEESE ON TOAST-OFF 2012 was born. The rules: ·         The final product must primarily consist of toasted bread and grilled cheese ·         Each contestant must make 4 slices, with 1 or 2 varieties of topping ·         The 5 tasters must come to a unanimous decision as to which one variety is the best, and then announce the winner The ingredients: ·         A beautiful artisan sourdough loaf from the local deli, Lewis’ deli in Rock (near Polzeath) ·         A Cornish blue, a Cornish smuggler, and a Tintagel smoked cheddar, all from the excellently stocked deli counter in the Spa in Polzeath ·         2 varieties of chutney, one called cheesemakers (an epically good version of a standard Bramston pickle style chutney) and one which was lemon, balsamic and fig chutney. ·         Some additional bits and bobs, bacon, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, spring onions,  herbs and spices, Worcester sauce, and other general store cupboard goods.   The entries: Rose's Entries Mine – Variety 1: Smokey and Spicey ·         Tintagel Smoked Cheddar ·         Cornish Smuggler ·         Medium Cheddar ·         Finely chopped fresh chilli ·         Quartered cherry tomatoes All the above was mixed together and spread on lightly toasted sourdough, which had been spread with a thin layer of the fig, lemon and balsamic chutney. The slices were then placed under a hot grill until the cheese was melted and starting to lightly brown. Mine – Variety 2: Mushroom Blues ·         Cornish blue ·         Cornish Smuggler ·         Medium Cheddar ·         Pan fried finely diced mushrooms ·         Worcester Sauce All the above was mixed together and spread on lightly toasted sourdough, which had been spread with a thin layer of cheese makers chutney. Then grilled as above. K-Dawg’s – Variety 1: Cornish Rarebit ·         Tintagel smoked Cheddar ·         Medium Cheddar ·         Flour ·         Cayenne pepper ·         Local pear cider ·         Melted butter All of the above was mixed together and spread on a lightly toasted sourdough, which had been spread with a thin layer of cheese makers chutney. Then grilled as above. At work K-Dawg’s – Variety 2: Meat lovers Rarebit ·         Tintagel smoked Cheddar ·         Medium Cheddar ·         Flour ·         Cayenne pepper ·         Local pear cider ·         Melted butter ·         Grilled smoked back bacon All of the above was mixed together and spread on to the bacon slices, which were layered on top of a lightly toasted sourdough. Then grilled as above. Bushy’s - Controversial pizza cheese on toast ·         Cornish blue ·         Cornish Smuggler ·         Tintagel smoked Cheddar ·         Grilled smoked back bacon (roughly chopped) ·         Spring onions (finely chopped) ·         Worcester sauce All of the above was mixed together and spread on a un- toasted sourdough, which had been spread with a thin layer of tomato paste mixed through with dried mixed herbs. Then grilled as above. enjoying the spoils! The tasting was delicious, the judging was intense and there was a lot of debate over whether Bushy’s offering was too similar to a pizza and not similar enough to a slice of cheese on toast to qualify, but finally, after a nerve wracking 20 minutes, the judges came to an agreement and we were called back in to hear our fate. And the winner was – drum roll please – K-Dawg’s Cornish Rarebit! No no, that’s fine, I’m not upset at all. Even though I was the only one not to try the cheap tactic of wooing the largely male judging panel with off piste ingredients like bacon?!?, and allowed the cheese to be the star of my toasts, I will accept the judge’s decision and harbour no long term grudge against your beloved author. As long as she takes me out for cheese soon to make up for it that is! Let us know what you think of our entries, and what you would put on your ultimate cheese on toast. RR – fellow cheese lover and good friend of K-Dawg. Xxxx Rose