Kids Cuisine

Alas, what could be more typical of kid food than a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich? Now granted, my kids have their taste buds very much alert even when it comes to the simplest PB&J. My 4th grader only eats “grandmother’s strawberry jelly,” (freezer jam made mid-summer to supply an entire year of lunches). My 5th grader would probably try rhubarb or blueberry or peach jelly — just because he is curious. They have a friend who only eats peanut butter, no jelly, and a cousin who would rather die than eat crunchy peanut butter. Have you tried soy butter?

When I was a kid, I always loved the creamed honey with peanut butter, and the honey would soak into the bread by lunch, giving it a crystallized crunch, a texture I adored. I would make blackberry jam, but our blackberries usually were sequestered to their champion role as pie-fillers. So many options, so many personalities and opinions all borne out of this simple, unassuming sandwich.

And yet… you must tempt your children with just one more alternative. Grilled. Yes, you heard me: grilled. Some random person made me a grilled PB&J a gazillion years ago. And that officially became MY favorite way to eat this “standard” sandwich. And now, of course, my kids like the warmed version too.

Treat it like a grilled cheese sandwich, or pop it into your panini grill (if you were lucky enough to get one for Christmas). Just lightly butter the outsides of each bread, make your favorite peanut butter and jelly combo and grill in a skillet over low-medium until each side is lightly browned. It is good because: the outside is crispy, the inside peanut butter is creamy and warm and the jelly is notably cold and perfectly sweet.

I wish you many happy, sometimes grilled, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in 2007! To hear me ramble more about my infatuation with PB&J’s, click here.