Once a year we thoroughly eschew our "mostly vegan" credentials and stock a veritable arsenal of family-made French cheeses to compete in the only competitive food event that we think doesn't blow, the Grilled Cheese Invitational. This year was our third competing and we had our sights set on one prize and one prize only: a trophy in the desert category (the "Honey Pot").

It was also the first year the event moved out of the underground and into the sunlight, literally since last weekend's much hyped 6th 1st Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational took place in a picnic stadium of Griffith Park attended by 1,500 screaming-for-cheese judges. In short, there were high expectations, and a lot riding on the contest for Team Hot Knives. Like everything else we mess with in the test kitchen, we took some video of us cooking and crossing our fingers. When trouble arose, we even got some last-minute pitch hitting relief from our awesome friend Mike Dunn, who is a recipe test-kitchen guru in his own right. The results? Stay tuned for Part II and, of course, the recipes.