In Western cuisine, few ingredients are as universal as cheese. Humans first figured out that they could turn milk into a solid, savory wheel of flavor thousands of years ago, and since then, we’ve never lost interest in the culinary staple.
Today, there are hundreds of recognized varieties of cheeses. Walk into any deli or grocer in America, and you will be presented with at least half a dozen distinctly different options for a time-honored addition to a sandwich. Visit any major city in the world and chances are high that there will be at least one storefront dedicated entirely to the cultivation and sale of high-end cheese products. Each individual breed of cheese possesses its own unique characteristics, striking your tongue in a different way. Taste a Greek feta and a Mexican Cotija, and despite their uncanny resemblance to your eye, your tongue will inform you of their immense differences.
Chilled, served at room temperature or melted over food, there is no wrong way to enjoy a good cheese. However, there are few experiences as pure as a buttery grilled cheese.
With March Madness now upon us, a grilled cheese is a fantastic meal or snack concept; a sandwich that’s quick and easy to make, so you never have to take your eyes off the game for more than a few minutes. But how do you make it more exciting? And perhaps basketball-themed? Enter the Transatlantic grilled cheese dunker.
Combining Colby, Mozzarella, Gouda, Brie, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, your favorite bread, tomato bisque and mouthfuls of flavor, this sandwich goes hard in the paint.
France, Italy, Holland, England, The U.S., and Mexico are all represented in this palate quiz of a meal. Which one wins the tournament? You decide!
Cinderella Stories From The NCAA Basketball Championships
In 1979, Penn reached the quarterfinals in one of the most unlikely runs in NCAA basketball history. Entering the tournament ranked at the ninth seed, expectations for Penn Basketball were very low. The underdog team would defeat Iona in the first round and go onto face the number-one seeded North Carolina in the next game. Penn’s defeat of championship favorites, North Carolina would prompt sports analysts to nickname that day in history as “Black Sunday”. Penn would then go on to defeat Syracuse and St. John’s before being beaten by eventual champions Michigan State. 1979 is known to many Basketball fans as the year that the sport truly became popular, helped in large part by Penn’s unimaginable run in the tournament and the final game between Indiana State and Michigan State which featured the first chapter in one of the greatest sports rivalries of all time, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird.
In 2008, a small liberal arts school would make a deep dive into the NCAA championship, capturing the hearts of tournament viewers and giving us one of the modern day NBA legends. Davidson is a small school in North Carolina with less than 2,000 students on campus. In 2008, a team led by now household name Steph Curry fought through two games where they trailed at the half to earn their place in the elite eight. Steph would shoot lights out through most of the tournament, scoring more than 120 points in just three games. Famously, Davidson came within two points of beating the heavily favored Kansas Jayhawks to make it to the final four.
Though there are dozens of stories of small schools and unlikely teams going deep in the tournament, the story of the 1985 Villanova Wildcats is the only one in modern history to end in a championship. Entering the NCAA tournament ranked eighth in their conference, very few expected ‘Nova to make it to the sweet sixteen, much less make an appearance in the championship. The Wildcats tore through the competition before facing a Georgetown team that was anchored by the legendary Pat Ewing. ‘Nova played what has been referred to as “The Perfect Game” and hoisted their only NCAA Championship win (until 2016), on that Saturday in 1885.
