The winner has been announced in the Seattle Cheese Festival’s grilled cheese recipe contest, and it’s the “Grilled Suds ‘n Cheese” sandwich created by Cristal Ortiz. Ortiz will demo the sandwich during the festival, at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, and it will be on the menu at the cafe at DeLaurenti. 

I’m in a hotel room right now and can’t test the recipe for you, but I’m willing to bet it’s good. Why? Because it calls for a half-stick of butter. Not good enough? It also calls for a pint of good German beer. Resistance is futile:

Grilled Suds N’ Cheese Sandwich:

Serves 4

1/2 stick unsalted butter softened

8  1/2-inch slices of Grand Como bread

1 pint of good German beer (Recommended: Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen )

1 large Walla Walla sweet onion

4 ounces German Chiantino shredded

  4 ounces Irish Invernia shredded

 Peel onion and cut it in half. Slice each into thin half rings. 

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a skillet.

Add onion and stir to combine.

Pour all but about 2 ounces of the beer over onions in skillet and cook them down over medium heat, stirring occasionally until all beer evaporates and onions are soft.

Mix last 2 ounces of beer with softened butter until combined. This is best done by “smooshing” the butter into the beer with the back of a spoon in a small ceramic bowl.

Butter each slice of bread liberally.

Place buttered bread into skillet over medium heat and top with 1 oz. of each of the two kinds of shredded cheese.

Put a generous spoonful of the softened onions on top of the cheese.

Cook 4 minutes on the first side, flip and cook about 2 minutes on the second side until onions melt into cheese and bread is brown and crusty.

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