I know, they're the simplest things in the world (although people always said that about pancakes, and look where that got me for years). It's the ultimate comfort food! Bread! Butter! Cheese! How could I have resisted its siren song for so long?
Well, no more my friends. This grilled-cheese virgin has finally cleared the one hurdle that has prevented her from having a go at the darned sandwich all these years: American cheese. You just have to come to terms with the fact that a grilled-cheese sandwich made at home for your husband with a side of chips needs to comprise American cheese.
Schmear some butter on one side of 2 pieces of whatever bread you've got, lay 4 pieces of the bright-orange stuff between the non-buttered sides, and grill 'er up good and gooey. Boom. You've got pure 100% guilt-ridden-but-who-cares American comfort food. Weekends done right.
(PS: I do realize, in case you were wondering, that a "grilled" cheese doesn't need to be made on either an actual grill or, as in this case, even a grill pan. But I do so love my grill pan, and it was right there…)
How do you feel about the cheese in a grilled cheese? Is American the only way to go, or what?
i like mine with cheddar. mustard and pear or apple butter on the insides. d likes to butter and grill the insides, too.
ReplyDeleteTomato, basil, pepper and any sharp, soft cheese. Always amazing.
ReplyDeleteI know this sounds like bringing a sledgehammer to an icepick party, but the best possible grilled cheese situation I have found is using the George Foreman Grill! I'm serious. With this bad boy you can get as awesome and crusty a bread as you can manage, and smash it down hot and flat on top of whatever cheese you like (usually an old cheddar for me but it could be any combination of things). The cheese might leak out the sides and get crispy (yum!) and you will never once set off the smoke alarm. I haven't made meat in this machine for years. It's just a giant, perfect, grilled cheese maker.
ReplyDeleteI actually never bother with American cheese, but I do usually add apple slices or watercress. Come over, I'll make you one.
Ooh, gonna have to bust out the George Foreman! Thanks for the tip, Liz. I do love the American cheese version (especially with tomato soup), but sometimes I have a lighter sandwich with a little bit of brie (or blue cheese), sliced Granny Smith apples, and caramelized onions. Sweet!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely get into the mustard thing, though I'd probably use cranberry mustard (my favorite thing on earth).
ReplyDeleteWait a second: Cranberry mustard, brie, sliced apples... This sounds like it could become A Thing™.
Cheddar all the way. Nothing too fancy, but flavor is important!
ReplyDelete@Elizabeth Casaus And how do you feel about the bread? Standard white sandwich loaf, nutty multigrain, sourdough? I feel like a whole new world is opening up before me!
ReplyDeleteI'm crazy about grilled cheese sandwiches but I really have to limit myself or I'll literally eat three or four in one go! :P
ReplyDeleteI grate a nice sharp cheddar cheese. (I like it better grated than sliced as it melts nicer.) Sometimes I mix it with shredded gouda. And for a triple threat, I grate some parmesean and put that on the buttered sides that touch the grill pan.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try some of these other suggestions here next time, too!
SO glad you have been introduced to the grilled cheese world! Such perfect, delicious comfort food!
ReplyDeleteI could never get my kids to eat grilled cheese sandwiches when they were little. For some reason they just preferred quesadillas which were kinda the same thing. Weird family we are!!
ReplyDeletecrispy, gooey, cheesy, starchy. hard to go wrong.
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