OF DONUTS AND PRACTICALITY . . . OR . . . INSIDE OUT GRILLED CHEESE

I was in the mood for an easy dinner, and grilled cheese seemed like the perfect solution. I rarely run low on cheese in the Eggplant Kitchen, and had some Kenny's Farmhouse cheddar, chive jack, and tomme that would deliver the oozy goodness I was after.

But the only bread in the house was half a loaf of focaccia. Sturdy and dusted with rosemary and thyme, it would certainly be flavorful, but it was only an inch and a half thick. Slicing it from top to bottom would yield miniscule pieces with barely enough surface area to be worth the trouble. On the other hand, if I sliced across the round loaf, I wouldn't be able to get a crispy sandwich exterior from the top and bottom of the loaf.

Then I remembered the unique grilled cheese donut offered by Tom + Chee, a pop-up eatery that operated out of a tent last winter adjacent to the ice skating rink on Fountain Square. The name refers to their primary menu items, a variety of tomato soups and grilled cheese sandwiches, which they served along with hot chocolate - perfect outdoor winter fare. (Happily they'll be back on the Square June 1 with an expanded menu.)

Although I sampled a number of their soups and sandwiches in December, I couldn't quite bring myself to go for their signature sandwich, a grilled cheese made with a glazed donut. However, I remembered that they grilled the donut inside out - cut side, not glazed side on the griddle - and, taking a similar tack, my focaccia conundrum was solved. I fried a couple of slices of bacon and layered them with cheese between slices of crust-inward bread.

Once I get a good crust on the bread, I usually place a lid partially over the skillet to encourage the cheese to melt. But this sandwich was taller than the sides of my skillet. So I improvised, with another pot over the skillet, ajar so the cheese would melt but I wouldn't steam all the crispness out of the sandwich.

Worked like a charm. With a side of asparagus spritzed with Meyer lemon juice (which also helped balance the fatty goodness of the sandwich), it was the perfect plate of comfort food for a chilly spring evening.