What do Picasso, Van Gogh, and Rembrandt all have in common? All three of these famous creatives were able to produce stunning artwork from relatively simple materials. The magic lies in the artist’s ability to create something greater than the sum of their materials, and this philosophy is exactly what propelled UCSB’s Bren School to victory at the 6^th Annual Grilled Cheese Smackdown. For those unfamiliar, the Grilled Cheese Smackdown is the biggest cooking competition west of Paris, and draws some of the world's best chefs and artisan sandwich makers (that we know of). With stiff competition and numerous competitors duking it out for the coveted Golden Spatula trophy, recipes are often kept secret. After all, why would you divulge such confidential and fame-inducing information? But this reserved mindset is not shared by all, especially the team from UCSB’s Bren School. They were generous enough to share the recipe to their winning sandwich, The Vampire Slayer, so everyone can enjoy their marvelous creation. Recreating the greatest grilled cheese sandwich of the year may be difficult, but rest assured, with enough time and dedication, you’ll surely be able to turn out a sandwich capable of slaying vampires!

The Vampire Slayer by UCSB’s Bren School

Ingredients 1 loaf of sourdough bread (The winning bread was from Helena Ave Bakery.) Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar Cheese (Try some from Face Rock creamery.) Dubliner Irish Cheddar Cheese (The one from Kerrygold is a good bet.) Garlic Parsley Butter (1 stick of butter, 4 cloves of mashed garlic, liberal pinch of parsley.) Homemade Marinara Sauce. Instructions For one sandwich, allocate enough Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar Cheese slices to cover an entire piece of sourdough bread. Top the Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar cheese with a few slices of Dubliner Irish Cheddar Cheese. Liberally apply garlic parsley butter to the outsides of both pieces of sourdough bread. After the garlic butter has been applied to the bread, garnish the outsides with parmesan cheese for a toasted parmesan crust. Place the sandwich on an already hot griddle, and toast until the bread has a light brown color, and a crispy texture. Now you are ready to experience The Vampire Slayer!

The best team of the 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Smackdown, UCSB's Bren School!