Member Reviews

I love a good traditional grilled cheese and have always thought my mom made the best (and I still do), but these non-traditional grilled cheese options look amazing and I will definitely be making some!

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It’s amazing what an imagination can do, and Kim Wilcox has used hers well to create an excellent cookbook on grilled cheese, Great Book of Grilled Cheese: 100+ Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food, Soups, Salads, and Sides Cookbook - Delicious Sandwiches, Toasties, and More with Simple Ingredients. Grilled cheese is a universal comfort food, and almost everyone makes them when time is short. But Wilcox takes the lowly grilled cheese to amazing heights, and transforms grilled cheese sandwiches into mouthwatering delights that will appeal to everyone. Also included in this fun cookbook are sides, such as soups, salads, toppings, condiments, and even desserts (there is even a Chocolate chip Cookie Dough grilled cheese made with chocolate chip brioche and cream cheese- Yum!)

Most of the recipes have minimal ingredients, and are easy-to-follow. These recipes can be made by chefs with skills ranging from beginning to advanced, and the beautiful photographs will tempt everyone to make grilled cheese much more often than usual. One of the best parts is the prose which is well-written and covers the history of grilled cheese (who ever thought about its origins – it’s seems to have always been there), as well as basics and cooking equipment and utensils needed to make the best grilled cheese ever.

Many of the recipes include meats and condiments, and the author has included several ways to make the outside crisp, cheesy, or crunchy. This is one of those cookbooks that is going to be used often and belongs on the cookbook shelf of every home. Even food snobs and gourmands will enjoy this book (although they may not admit it). Grilled cheese is a universal American iconic food and this cookbook will help to expand the ways all of us eat it. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

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Grilled cheese is a favorite, quick and easy meal. When I saw the Great Book of Grilled Cheese: 100+ Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food, Soups, Salads, and Sides by Kim Wilcox on netgalley, I immediately requested it.

Warning: Don’t read this book on an empty stomach! If the recipes don’t get get your stomach grumbling, the photos definitely will. Though it’s touted as a grilled cheese cookbook, there are many recipes for other dishes. Of the 8 I marked to try, only one is for anything remotely considered grilled cheese. In addition to recipes featured at Wilcox’s family restaurant (All So Yummy in Knoxville, TN), there are several from celebrity tv chefs. Look for this one soon, as the publication date is December 1, 2021.

3.5 ⭐️ for yummy recipes

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Perfect guide to grilled cheese sandwiches. The author owns It's All So Yummy in Knoxville, TN. After a chapter on history and tools come the recipes. The Table of Contents lists all the recipes, with icons indicating sandwiches, sides, sauces/fillings/adaptable extras, and desserts. The recipe chapters are Best of the Best (favorites from the restaurant), Gourmet Grilled Cheese, Vegetarian Options, Local/Regional Flavors, All My Chef Friends, and Family Desserts (baked goods, not grilled cheese).
I like that each grilled cheese recipe includes a side to go along with it. I love how many photos there are of all the sandwiches, sides, and extras.
This is a great book for anyone who loves grilled cheese and is looking for new ideas.

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Loved the recipes. The initial few pages talk in depth about the techniques and utensils required which was very informative. Love the vegetarian recipes.
Thanks Netgalley!

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Well if I wasn’t hungry before going through this cookbook, I sure am now!!! So many different versions using different kind of bread. I will definitely be making some of these in the future and will be buying the physical copy when it is released next month. Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A delicious cookbook of delectable grilled cheeses with a variety of breads, spreads and pictures. I plan to purchase a copy when it comes out. Can't get higher praise than that!

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If you are not hungry now, you will be after reading the Great Book of Grilled Cheese: 100+ Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food, Soups, Salads, and Sides by Kim Wilcox. Amazing recipes along with mouthwatering pictures. #GreatBookofGrilledCheese #NetGalley

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Well as someone originally from the South and who has driven through Knoxville, Tennessee many a time I'm so sad that I've never stopped at Kim Wilcox's restaurant It's All So Yummy. First off the best thing about this book is the amount of pictures. I believe cookbooks should have pictures and it's not truly a cookbook without them. People eat with their eyes just as much as their stomach, so I would think it would be common sense to include pictures in a cookbook so you can actually see what you want to cook.

I've been interested in revamping the grilled cheese. I haven't gotten too far because sometimes I don't know where a grilled cheese just crosses into being a heated sandwich. (Looking at you Monte Cristo). One of my own first forays into experimenting with this simple cooking medium was making a grilled cheese with queso fresco. Delicious! So I was very excited to get this books and knew it was the right choice when the very first recipe you turn to is one for a Crab Rangoon Grilled Cheese. I'll admit that one makes me a little skittish but there are other one's more in my ball park like Deviled Egg Bacon Grilled Cheese. I love bacon, melted cheese, and deviled eggs what could go wrong. One of the best parts of this book is that the author also provides recipes for the components of some of the sandwiches. A good example is the Sausage and Gravy Grilled Cheese. You need to know a gravy recipe to make it and while I do have my own others might not and it can be annoying to then have to find a second recipe just to make a recipe in a cookbook you bought.

Now one criticism of the book is that she included side recipes with the sandwiches. I actually liked this at first because most of the sides paired well with the sandwiches, like a Pizza Grilled Cheese with an Italian Salad. As you go along in the book some of them get a little more out there like a Pistachio Salad with a Turkey Bacon Ranch Grilled Cheese. The sandwich sounds delightful but I don't get it's connection to Pistachio Salad. I do think the mixing of mains with sides worked toward the beginning it just started to wane as the book went on. I would highly recommend this book to add to your cookbook shelf even if it is just to ask your friends "Hey you want to see a recipe for a Spaghetti Grilled Cheese?"

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.
I will also post this review closer to the publication date on Goodreads and Amazon.

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Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for this free eARC.
Oh. My. Goodness.
I literally wanted to eat every single sandwich from this book.
The recipes are excellent and you can get inspiration for which ever occasion.
The sides are also so well thought of, you get a complete menu from this book.
I highly recommend it

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This has amazing recipes!!! I highly enjoyed trying some new takes on an old favorite. Comfort food in a book.

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Who knew there are so many inventive ways to create a grilled cheese sandwich? Kim Wilcox, owner of All So Yummy Café in Knoxville, TN, has written a book that takes the humble grilled cheese up more than a few notches. There are over 100 recipes for grilled cheese, soups, side dishes, salads, and desserts. And so many of them sound….yummy!
From simple to gourmet, the recipes are creative and well-written. The accompanying photographs are gorgeous and I really enjoyed the “fun facts” that can be found throughout the book. While not every recipe is appealing, most of them are and will be fun to prepare.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

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The initial section of the cookbook includes the standard description of tools needed, food ingredients, and info about the author's story. The recipes seem very easy to follow, and I definitely would not have thought of most of these grilled cheese variations. I'm excited to try some of these out!

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When I saw the title, I thought gee, how many ways are there to make a grilled cheese sandwich? Turns out there are a lot, but...

The author included the history of this little unassuming but beloved sandwich, and that was fun to read. If I'm ever in Knoxville I'll be sure to stop by her restaurant, It's All So Yummy, because it sounds like a delightful place to grab a meal. As an experienced cook, I didn't need the section on tools and pans, but it would be good reading for cheese lovers just starting their kitchen capers.

On the plus side, there are photos of every recipe. Thank you for doing that! Many of the recipes sound terrific - tasty with a low degree of difficulty.

I do have a few quibbles, though.

First and most important - taking something like cooked chicken and putting it between two slices of bread, on which have been melted some cheese, does not a "grilled cheese" make - at least not to me. It makes a very good sandwich - with melted cheese - but personally I wouldn't call it a grilled cheese.

The frustrating part is that so many of the recipes for sides, or for the meaty fillings that went between the bread and cheese, are good enough to stand on their own. As in, make this chicken, and have it for dinner tonight, and then use the leftovers the next day on this great sandwich.

Organization - we all have our favorite ways of organizing recipes, I guess. But if I'm looking for a side dish, I prefer to look through a chapter of side dishes instead of having to page through an entire book. I understand what she was trying to do, and again, for an inexperienced cook this might be a great way of putting a meal together. However, I think the same information could have been presented with a note at the bottom of a main dish page, recommending a couple of sides that would pair nicely with it.

Finally, the cover reminds me of the cookbooks I used to purchase when my husband and I were first married. But that was in 1976! The photo seems a bit dated to me.

I do hope this publication allows Kim Wilcox to get her fish spatula firmly in the world of cookbookery, because I'd like to see more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley, Fox Chapel Publishing and Kim Wilcox for this ARC.

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Absolutely love it!!
So many great ideas and recipes in this book!
I hadn't had a grilled cheese in such a long time and this made me all excited again.
As a vegetarian, there are still plenty of recipes to try (it's all about cheese after all!) and even more you can easily adapt.
The great thing is they come with sides and salads and accompanyments so it makes for a full meal and something you can serve up to friends and family.

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The cookbook, Great Book of Grilled Cheese, takes Grilled cheese to a new level. The book begins with a very detailed listing of what supplies to have on hand which is great for greeting started. The book takes grilled cheese up a notch even more by providing recipes for sauces and sides. It would be helpful to include recipes and options to make recipes allergen friendly such as gluten free or dairy free options. The dessert section goes beyond grilled cheese and seems out of place in a book devoted to grilled cheese and related sides and sauces.

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Pros: I agree that a grilled cheese sandwich is the ultimate comfort food and love that there is a cookbook devoted specifically to the grilled cheese sandwich. There are so many fantastic ways to pair bread and cheese! One thing I picked up from this book that I thought was brilliant is putting Goldfish crackers on tomato soup. I’m not sure all of these sandwich ideas sound appetizing, but I appreciate the creativity behind them! One recipe I definitely want to try is the naan grilled cheese.

Cons: I did not love the cover of this book. It feels too busy. I also didn’t love all of the photographs in the book—some didn’t make the food look very appetizing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

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There is a grilled cheese for everyone in this book, There are also many wonderful sides to choose from. To name just a few ( I had my work cutout to only name a few) that I wan to try- Meatloaf Melt, Rooster and Honey, Mississippi Chicken, Cinco de Mayo, and Chicken and Waffle. There are also vegetarian options such as Super Cheesy, Naan, Caprese and even Peanut Butter and Cheddar. Regional flavors include Nashville Hot Grilled Cheese, All Shook Up Grilled Cheese and some of the wonderful sides are Orange Salad, Pinto Bean Soup, Homemade Applesauce, Grilled Pineapple, Homemade Chips and Pickled Red Onion. Seriously, everything in this book looks mouth wateringly good. This book will make you hungry!

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Cafe owner Kim Wilcox definitely knows what she's talking about when it comes to grilled cheese. She starts this comprehensive guide with a history of grilled cheese sandwiches, followed by a scientific look at different types of bread, tools and heat sources, etc. The recipes are bold, from a crab rangoon grilled cheese to an Eminem-inspired sandwich with spaghetti inside. There are interesting side suggestions for each grilled cheese variety, from pinto bean soup to a frozen berry salad. This is diner food at its best, and the photography is full of gooey cheese and hearty portions.

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My go to comfort food has always been grilled cheese sandwiches. The Great Book of Grilled Cheese by Kim Wilcox has over 100 recipes all of which she serves at her restaurant, It's All So Yummy in Knoxville, Tennessee. With this book you not only get recipes for grilled cheese sandwiches but also side dishes that perfectly go with each type of sandwich. The book also includes salad and dessert recipes. The recipes look very easy to follow and the ingredients will be easy to find. There are also beautiful pictures of every recipe.

Overall, I really liked this book. I can't wait to try several of the recipes. I also put It's All So Yummy on my list of restaurants I have to try.

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