"New England" Grilled Cheese

Please, hear me through on this one. It may sound weird to you. But just hear me through. I have people who will back me up and say that though this sounds weird, it tastes good. I may sound like I've gone crazy -- but even taking on my first class of the semester today hasn't made me completely insane yet.

Ever since I was little, my mom has talked about the grilled cheese with Karo that her father (who was from Kentucky) used to make for her. She finally made it for me once, and it was YUMMY. Then, it was dad's turn. Years later, he skeptically tried it . . . like around this Christmas. Though he said it was weird, he had to agree that it was tasty.

Apparently, or so I've heard, this is a southern thing. You make grilled cheese with Velveeta cheese, then pour Karo corn syrup over it and cut it into squares and eat it with a fork. The squares and the fork are important.

So, I decided it was time for New England to get their own version. What say "New England" better than, well, cheddar cheese and maple syrup?

Answer: probably nothing. At all. Ever.

So, I made a grilled cheese on Maine-baked bread, with Vermont cheddar cheese and New Hampshire maple syrup. And it was goooooood.

I know, it sounds weird, but it's good. Trust me. It's the sweet and salty thing, I think.

This was a good way to brighten up the Friday of an exhausting, so-so teaching week. Two-hour delays in a snowstorm when everyone else has the day off and a half hour drive takes an hour are not fun. And suddenly being responsible for 15 young minds learning all the rest of the math they need to know their sophomore year of high school is a bit intimidating too. Yup. Now AB is coming over and we are going to make cupcakes (from a box, which isn't quite as exciting, but still good) and watch movies. Cupcakes make everything better.

P.S. This is what happens to a kitchen when 3 of 6 of the people in an apartment are in an operetta opening tonight. And two of the others are student teachers.