Grilled Cheese with Apple inspired by "The Princess Bride" #FoodnFlix

Inconceivable!!  That I had never noticed any food in the movie, The Princess Bride, the first few times I saw it.  Of course, that was way before my blogging days, so I never had my food goggles on. This time, I watched it with my FoodnFlix club.  The FoodnFlix club is a group of bloggers who watch the same movie each month and then share a recipe inspired by the movie.

Sometimes we watch foodie movies and other times, like this month, we watch other types of movies, keeping an eye open for food inspiration. This month's selection was chosen by my friend, Deb of Kahakai Kitchen.  You can see her announcement post and learn how to join in the fun here.

This movie has been out for 30 years!!  That makes me feel so old.  When our kids were young this was one of the movies that was frequently on at night as we sat around a big bowl of popcorn.  I have to admit that after the first time, when the others would be watching, I would be flipping through magazines or reading a book while they watched.  This was long before the popularity of laptops, otherwise I probably would have been playing a game or blogging while it was on.

This time I gave the movie my undivided attention paying special heed to any food inspiration.  I was surprised how much there was.  For those of you that have never seen this movie (probably because you are too young) it is about a young boy (Fred Savage) being read a bedtime story by his grandfather (Peter Falk).  As the grandfather reads the boy is drawn into the story of a young girl, Buttercup who falls in love with her stable hand, Wesley.  Wesley goes off to find fortune so that he is worthy to have Buttercup's hand.  He disappears and is presumed dead.  Wesley reappears as a pirate to save his beloved from being bound by marriage to Prince Humperdink, whom she does not love.

During this quest, Wesley meets up with numerous characters, some of who obstruct his quest and some of whom give him aid.  We meet a giant, a fencer, a warlord, a wizard and a count who create a debacle of goofiness and fun that is sure to make you laugh out loud,

Food inspiration includes:

• Cheetos on the headboard of the little boy who is being read the story.
• chickens on the farm where Wesley works for Buttercup
• apples waiting to be turned into a pie by Buttercup
• sheep walking through the kingdom
• cheese, being eaten by the warlord after he kidnaps Buttercup
• eels, that nearly eat Buttercup
• wine, bread, cheese and apples in a picnic lunch that the warlord is eating when Wesley finds him and rescues back his love.
• lunch of a sandwich and oj being eaten by the young boy as his grandfather takes a sip of coffee and continues the story.
• stew, being served up in the royal palace
• the mention of a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich being fondly remembered by the wizard
• melted chocolate covering on a "miracle pill".
• goats walking through the village amongst baskets of fruits and veggies in the marketplace
• bowls of fruit including pineapple, pears and mangos and bowls of nuts being knocked off a table in the palace during a sword fight.

As you can see, there was absolutely no shortage of food/recipe ideas.  I decided to make a sandwich and fill it with cheese and apples since these three things were seen more than once in the movie.  Oh, and because I love grilled cheese sandwiches and knew the crunchy sweetness of an apple would add another layer of flavor to this classic dish.

I want to wish all Moms out there a very Happy Mother's Day.  Order up this movie, pop some popcorn, gather around your kids and watch or rewatch this classic tale.  It will provide wonderful Mother's Day memories for years to come.

Grilled Cheese with Apple Sandwich

For each sandwich:

2-3 oz of your favorite cheese, shredded ( I used a blend of colby and sharp cheddar)

2 slices whole wheat bread
butter, room temperature
5-6 thin, half moon, slices of apple, peeled (I used Honeycrisp)

Butter one side of each slice of bread.  Lay one slice of bread, butter side down, on a hot griddle or skillet.  Cover with 1/2 of the cheese.  Layer on the apple slices over the cheese and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the apples.  Top with the second slice of bread, butter side up.  Cook until bread is golden brown and cheese begins to melt, flip and cook the other side until golden brown and toasted.  Print Recipe