“There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars, and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by, and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe.”
-Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese
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_ _ For about a year, I was employed at a club in Boston, during which time I was gifted many life lessons by simply watching the patrons- the most important of which is that drunk people are creepy, and absolutely LOVE the Eddie Money song “Take Me Home Tonight.” The real benefit of spending so much time in this ridiculous environment is that I can now drop some pretty awesome name-bombs: I got to watch Paris Hilton make a fool of herself lip syncing on stage; I ran straight into Sir David Ortiz lurking in a dark corner and nodded like an imbecile pretending that I could understand the words coming out of his mouth; but most importantly, I danced with Wes Welker and realized that off the field, not a single person knew who he was… GO PATS! As football season is heating up, despite not having my boy-o around to make me actually watch this season, I’ve decided to get in the spirit by making gameday type foods anyway. Enjoy these jalapeno popper grilled cheeses and finally admit to yourself that you’re only interested in the sport because of Tom Brady… GO PATS!
Servings: 2 sandwiches
Ingredients:
Latex gloves (for handling the jalapenos… optional but highly recommended)
2 tbsp Butter, melted (or use the spreadable kind)
4 slices Bread, thick cut (recommended: sourdough)
2oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
3 whole Green Onions, finely chopped/sliced
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 whole Jalapenos
1 cup Cheddar or Colby Cheese, shredded
1 slice Bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
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1. On a hot griddle pan, grill the fresh jalapenos until the skins are charred and black all over (about 10 minutes). Put them immediately in a ziplock plastic bag and seal it to let them steam for about another 15 minutes.
2. While the jalapenos are steaming, prepare the cream cheese mixture. In a small bowl mix the cream cheese with the black pepper and sliced green onions. Spread the mixture onto one side of 2 slices of bread. On all four slices of bread, spread the butter on one side of each slice (obviously on the slices with the cream cheese mixture, butter the other side).
3. When the jalapenos have steamed, put on the latex gloves and wash your hands (in the gloves) with soap and water. This may not be necessary but I didn’t want any of the powder from the gloves to get on the food. Peel the skins off the peppers and discard them. Slice the tops off of the peppers and then cut down the sides to open them and remove the seeds and the white spines.
4. Lay the cleaned peppers on the bread slices with cream cheese and sprinkle with the cheddar (if using bacon, add this now as well). Lay another slice of the bread on top, buttered side out, and cook on the griddle, flipping when the bread is golden brown.
LIFE SHOULD TASTE GOOD... cooking for an army of two 
Ok, i have always said my last meal would either be mac’n cheese, pizza, or grilled cheese– preferrably an amazing mixture of the three (hey, Cici’s has a macaroni pizza! why not? haha). You evil woman would have to post such a delectable, cheesy, gooey, delicious looking picture of grilled cheese to make me crave one right now! I’m typically not good with spicy food, but this looks worth it! MMMMMMMMMMM!