If you’re still not convinced the Grilled Cheese Invitational is worth your precious Saturday night, consider this: 40 self-lighting propane grills, 16 judges per sandwich and one Mayor of Cheese. Show up and register to judge the sammiez yourself. And if that isn’t enough, here’s a sneak preview of our own humble cheese roster for the upcoming contest.

“Italian Stallion”
A foglie de gnocci (hard pecorino aged in walnut leaves) encrusted tallegio melt.

“Pepper Jacked”
Pepper syrup rubbed Texas toast stuffed with roasted green chili, young Monterey Jack from Oregon and hard aged Monterey Jack from Sonomo and tri-colored exotic peppercorns (telicherry, Szechuan, white).

“Strawberry Shortcake”
Fresh chevre on English muffin loaf with strawberry-balsamic compote, fresh basil and balsamic glaze.

Despite the impending cold and rainy forecast for this coming weekend, and the endless onslaught of snowstorms in the southwest, we are ardently in support of a special little someone’s prediction of an early spring. It felt like the little dude’s no-fear attitude was for real, earlier this week at least, despite the nearing apocalypse.

To keep things positive, we decided to formulate a colorful vegan take on a classic French soup known for its lightheartedness and comforting ability. Knock out a batch of this chilled treat when the temperatures start to climb back to bearable, and head to the park to bask in carbohydrated glory. (This soup also rules warm, if you really feel like defying tradition…)

Roasted Vichyssoise
6 small purple potatoes
1 beet
1 jalapeno cut in half
3 leeks
6 shallots chopped
1 red onion
1 cup virgin olive oil
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
3 cups veggie broth
1 cup water
3 Tbs. sherry vinegar
1 Tbs. sea salt
1 Tbs. ground black pepper

Sage Tempura
1/4 cup tempura mix
A few sips worth of the beer you should be drinking
8 fresh sage leaves
1 cup canola oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes and the beet, peel and cut into 1/4″ dice. Skin and roughly chop the red onion, and combine all three roots in a baking dish. Dress with 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 Tbs. of sea salt, 1/2 Tbs. of ground black pepper, and the bifurcated jalapeno and place in the oven. Remove the dish from the oven and agitate with a spoon or a spatula to avoid burning.

Trim and clean your leeks, and dice them as finely as you can. In another casserole dish, combine the shallots the leeks, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 Tbs. each of salt and pepper and the vinegar. Roast similarly to the potatoes and beet, checking the vegetables every five minutes to stir them.

Both dishes of veggies should be thoroughly roasted within 25 minutes. The shallots should be very soft, the potatoes and beets easily mashed with a fork. When the roots are roasted, combine the contents of both dishes and let cool for 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl combine the veggie broth, water and soymilk.

Using a food processor puree the vegetables in batches, adding enough of the soy-veggie-water to create a smooth roasty paste. When you’ve pulverized the hell out of the solids whisk in the extra liquid, season with extra salt and pepper if needed and place in your fridge to cool.

Heat a medium sized skillet on high for three minutes then add the canola oil

Now combine the tempura batter and enough beer to make a batter comparable to that of pancake. Mix it with your hands, and don’t be too thorough. Dunk the sage leaves in the batter until coated. Fry the leaves in the oil for approx 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown. Dry the leaves on paper towels. For gods sake please be careful not to burn yourself.

Serve the chilled soup in small bowls. Garnish with a small, lightly dressed chiffonade of cabbage or radicchio, and the still warm sage tempura.

Beverage: Port Brewing Co’s Lost Abbey ale
Soundtrack: Lou Reed’s “Vicious”