Raspberry Jam: A Grilled Cheese's Secret Weapon

Back in 2013, the plan was to start Mad Munch at Golden Hill in early April, but there were some schedule conflicts: 

The first weekend, we made plans to go camping out in the Anza-Borrego desert & I was gonna do my first run through of making Cheezers on the grill (See A Cheezer Dinner Near the Mud Caves post).  

Saturday (4/20), was no good.  Kate had convinced me into going to Coachella with her, her roommates & their whole crew of festival fanatics.  It was a long weekend that almost took another weekend off to recoup from.   

My birthday was the second Saturday & I had already reserved a Best Western with points up in Huntington Beach so we could get to Knott's Berry Farm early the next day.  

Neither one of us had ever been there, & after visiting Legoland with free tickets a couple months prior, I had the theme park itch.  It was a great experience & for about half the price of Disneyland, it's where the teenagers go to ride roller coasters, not so much the families with strollers & toddlers.

If you do go, make sure to visit Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant.  It was my first day being in my thirties & we treated ourselves to a family feast.  Fried chicken is one of my favorite all time meals & being able to try out the different Knott's jams with fresh biscuits was something else.  

And, that sweet taste stuck with me for years to come.  

Even as I celebrate my birthday, twelve years later, that sweet jam slathered between two buttered slices of our specially seasoned, local sourdough bread can still be found on our menu.  

We took Mrs. Knott's Raspberry Jam & took it a step further, melting it between Colby Jack, Mozzarella & Goat Cheese Crumbles- transforming it into the Pump Up the Jam.  One of my favorites & a virtually unchanged Mad Munch masterpiece, since August 2015.