When I was a little eighteen year old brat, I decided to fill in my free time by volunteering for Jumpstart, a non-profit dedicated to helping at risk children acquire literacy and problem solving skills. It really didn’t take me long to fall in love with the program. I’m really excited to say that Roxy’s will be contributing to Jumpstart’s Read For The Record Campaign – every year millions of kids read with their families all over the world. We will be giving away books, giving a dollar from every sandwich to them, and most importantly, giving families a place to read together. Were not sure we will be yet, but we will keep you posted, and hope you and your family will join us.

The generator is the brain and the truck is the body. Without it, our operation isn’t really possible. But we can just call and get it fixed, right? Well we thought we could. But apparently truck brain surgeons aren’t readily available. We think we may have found a place today. We are driving a considerable amount of miles to and from without any guarantee that we can get it fixed. We will keep everyone posted.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/roxys-grilled-cheese/video/index.html

Taken from bio on www.foodnetwork.com

“Boston — Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, run by brothers/bandmates James and Mike DiSabatino, along with trained chef Marc Melanson, serves gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and makes each dish an experience. While touring with their band, James and Mike sometimes lived off $5 a day, so simple sandwiches became their dietary mainstays. These Boston hooligans have fun serving up their twist on the childhood classic, adding ingredients like guacamole and foie gras. Marc joins in with his ingenious grilled cheese creations, as the competitive trio vies to put Boston on the map in the food-truck business.”

http://www.foodnetwork.com/roxys-grilled-cheese/bio/index.html

I’m about to tell you something that I’ve told many people before. What I’m about to say isn’t for the faint of heart. You may raise your eyebrows, you may curse at me, or you may even faint. Just make sure you listen to everything I have to say: I never use butter to make a grilled cheese. I use mayo. There, I said it. Some people think I am committing a mortal sin, but what I’m actually doing is creating a grilled cheese that is tastier and, if you can believe it, healthier for you.

Here’s the rundown.

BUTTA Melted butter makes for a disastrous grilled cheese sandwich. It’s hard to coat sandwich bread with, it drips everywhere, and it makes for one damn greasy sandwich. Melted butter clings to bread like a sponge clings to water. That means that you’re not only consuming the butter on the surface of the bread, but all of the butter that has been mopped up too. The griddle is only going to brown whats on the surface, leaving all that extra butter to find a home on your fingers once you pick it up and eat it. All the butter hiding inside your bread can add up to some serious calories too. So let’s explore what happens when you use mayonnaise.

MAYO isn’t much more than whipped eggs, oil, and vinegar, and salt. It provides the same toasting properties as butter with near identical flavor with a fraction of the saturated fat and cholesterol. I mean really, it’s not even close. Here is how the two match up.

Butter – One Ounce

Saturated Fat – 14g, 72% dv

Cholesterol – 60mg, 20% dv

Mayo – One Ounce

Saturated Fat 3g, 17% dv

Cholesterol – 11mg – 4% dv

Add in the fact that mayo won’t soften and absorb like butter will, so you’ll be using a lot less mayo than you would butter. Remember, you heard it here first.

-Mozzarella
-Provolone
-Cheddar
-Swiss
-Fontina
-Gruyere
-Havarti
-Meunster
-Monterey Jack
-Gouda

The questions that plagues many is simple: why do some cheeses melt while others don’t?
While some of the hardest cheeses melt (parmesan) and some of the softest cheese don’t (gouda), meltability isn’t determined by original texture, rather, it can be determined by a cheese salt content, acid levels, and levels of whey protein. Cheeses with very high salt contents won’t melt, while neutral acid levels and low levels of whey protein make cheese ready to be thrown on the griddle with your favorite bread.

Another thing you’ll notice among melters is the way they melt. Some cheeses, like mozzarella and provolone, get stringy, while others, like cheddar, won’t coagulate. Mozzarella and provolone are made from milk curds, which are very high in protein. When cheeses such as mozzarella and provolone are heated, the proteins become elastic, and viola, the only thing between you and your pizza is a draping foot long strand of mozzarella.

Using Science to Create the Perfect Melt
Grilled cheese tends to be greasy. But you can minimize your greasiness without sacrificing butter. Subjecting melters to high heats cause the proteins in the cheese to seize up and squeeze out water and fat. Solution: turn the temp down a bit, and remove the cheese from the heat as soon it has melted. Cheese actually prefers lower heat, and unlike pizza, where a 500 degree oven will draw every ounce of oil out of the cheese, grilled cheese can be virtually grease free with the proper heating technique. We’ll be posting videos on how to create the perfect melt, and other things, in the future.

thx to Robert Wolke for some info!

When I was eleven years old, my family went on a trip to Montreal. We visited a 24-hour Jewish deli, and whenever I visit  a Jewish deli, I order the same thing. The man took my order:

-”What can I get for you?” he blurted out.

-”Umm, Roast beef on rye with American cheese and mayo,” I commanded, with all the strength and security an eleven year old voice can muster.

Within seconds, the entire deli, from the meat slicer to the men’s room, had erupted into a fit of laughter. Some were smug “muhaha’s”, and some were full on cackles. What the hell did I do wrong?

“We don’t have American cheese here,” said the deli man, who’s accent seemed to become more and more french as the sentence progressed, “we have orange cheese.”

That day, I realized something: I love America, and I love American cheese. But I didn’t really know what American cheese was. Well now I do, and now I can share what it means to be American cheese.

American cheese dates back to when British Colonists arrived here. Colonists began making their own version of cheddar cheese. Around 1790, colonists began exporting it back to Great Britain, where they coined the terms “American Cheese” and “Yankee Cheese.” But today, American cheese is legally defined as pasteurized process cheese. Despite this legal definition, no two “American” cheese’s are actually the same. Let’s look at two examples: Deli cheese and individually wrapped cheese.

Does this guy not rule?

DELI CHEESE

-typically firmer than the individually wrapped counterpart.

-less process, more of a natural blend of cheddar and colby.

-typically white or yellow.

I wouldn't eat this, but thats just me.

INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED CHEESE

-cheese poured into each wrapper and then emulsified.

-orange color denotes a more processed cheese.

- typically made from a mixture of milk, whey, milkfat, and milk protein concentrate, rather than a blend of cheese.

-is gross.

I’m sure we’re all thinking the same thing – the idea of American cheese sounds kind of gross, but damn is it delicious. I don’t think I could live without it. I would always encourage anyone to go out and try every melt-able cheese there is, but when it comes to American cheese, well, let your taste buds make the decision for you!