The BEST Grilled Cheese Recipe

I would have never believed you, if you had told me that I would love grilled cheese sandwiches as an adult and that they are capable of so many different flavors. I am sharing with you a great Grilled Cheese Recipe that we like to cook with.

My honey introduced me a couple of years ago to the love and creativity of food. We have taken cooking classes together and I now enjoy preparing meals. I am pretty sure that when I was a child I was the pickiest eater on this planet. If it was green I wouldn't eat it. I had no idea what a balanced meal was until I was in my twenties. I thought a balanced meal was ordering in or making reservations! :)

Honey is addicted to Alton Brown who is a chef on the Food Network. Addicted. Recently he bought a cast iron pan. When I asked him "Why did you buy this?" He told me that Alton Brown had recommended buying a cast iron pan to make THE best grilled cheese sandwiches. "Uh" I said "Like the grilled cheese sandwiches my mother use to make me on Wonder Bread and Kraft cheese when I was a child? I asked.

"Oh, no" he replied "Get ready to be rocked."

I so was. This recipe makes the stale bread crispy but not hard. Once you take a bite you can taste the butter, cheese, mayo (if you would like) and tomato all melting together. The warmth of the sandwich makes me think of my childhood and before you know it I've finished the entire sandwich.

Hint: Try making a cup of perfectly brewed earl gray tea with milk and two sugars to ease down the sandwich. You can also dunk this sandwich into Auntie C's Tomato Bisque Soup.

Grilled Cheese Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
8 (1/2-inch thick) slices country-style sourdough bread
12 ounces Monterey jack, farmhouse Cheddar, Gruyere, or imported Swiss cheese, thinly slices
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced, and drained on paper towels for 5 minutes.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Place 4 slices of bread on a cutting board and generously butter the top sides of each slice.
3. Melt another tablespoon of the butter in the skillet; swirl around to coat the pan.
4. Lay 2 slices of bread, buttered side down, in the skillet. Put a few slices of the cheese on the bread. Lay the tomato on top of the cheese. Cover with a few more slices of cheese.
5. Place 2 of the remaining slices of bread, placed buttered-side up. Cook, without pressing, until the bread browns and the cheese is slightly melted, about 5 minutes.
6. Turn the sandwiches with a spatula and add a small hazelnut-size piece of butter to the pan. Cook slowly, adjusting the heat as needed to melt the cheese completely before the sandwiches are brown, about 3 to 4 minutes more.
7. Repeat with the other 2 sandwiches. Serve.

Tip:
A great way to make grilled cheese is to use old/almost stale bread that you have lying around (e.g., "the bread you have leftover from the soup or french meal you cooked early in the week)

Have you ever tried making grilled cheese sandwiches with stale bread? Do you want to share and exchange recipes? I do. Email me at shhh.under.the.sheets@gmail.com.

Teaser:
Cuckoo asked in his comment "what was honey's feeling during all of this and how he felt." Stay tuned for Honey's Guest Post and answer on Wednesday 12/10/08.