Monday, December 8, 2008

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.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so happy that your honey has agreed to write a post. Thanks a lot, will wait now.

P.S.- No, I haven't tried with very stale bread but with 2 days old. There are many ways to make a grilled sandwich.

Anyway, bon apetit !

Fancy Schmancy said...

I'm now dying for a grilled cheese sandwich. On another note, have you ever tried a grilled PB&J? It's like a PB&J on toast, except the bread is all buttery and the peanut butter is all melty. Delish!

La Belette Rouge said...

As far as I am concerned tomato soup and grilled cheese is soul food and it seems as if you take soul food to the level of enlightenment. I could use some now. I am in need of a little comfort today. I will have to settle for Campbells and a grilled cheese made with cheddar.;-)

Cora said...

Hello Laura! I'm loving this name rhyming thing by the way. :-) When I was married, my mother-in-law's name was Dora and she was the groundskeeper for a woman named Lora. Seriously. Whenever we got together there was much (MUCH) ryhming - very Dr Suessish. Hee hee.

Anyway, delicious-sounding recipe. I'll definitely need to give it a try. I used to work in a resturant which served grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Ever had one of those? Mmmmm. The peanut butter melts beautifully. It's amazing!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. :-)

Holly said...

yum yum, im SO making this!! and the good thing is that i usually always have at least butter/bread/cheese in the fridge at all times!!

Le laquet said...

Yum - so not right for my hips! *walks away from the computer and tries hard not to think about melted cheese and thick sourdough*

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lovely recipe...will try it out some time! :)

pj said...

Grilled ham and cheese is my all time fav. A little pepperjack cheese and you have to make sure you butter the bread not the pan, people who butter the pan just don't know what the are doing. Make sure honey knows how addicting blogging is before he posts!

Laura said...

Ok so now I am so hungry and it's only 9:05 in the morning. Le laquet so I should have have mentioned that after eating this sandwich you will have to go for a run :)

Fancy Schmancy and Cora a grilled peanut butter and jam sandwich sounds sinful and amazing. I've never had one. I must change that right away!

holly welcome :)

pj blogging is so addicting especially when our community of bloggers seems to like what your saying.

Thank you all for commenting.

Natalia said...

I have been loving Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches made with whole wheat bread and veggie cheese. I love the idea of kicking it up a notch and think I will soon. Yum.

Debbie said...

Oh yeah! I love the grilled cheese too. I also add a little slice of sweet onion sometimes and basil when it is in season. Gotta run dab the drool off my chin.

Simplicity said...

I love grilled cheese sandwiches! I will try this!

So...tell a girl who can usually figure these things out how the heck to link back to stuff and fluff with things! :)

And I LOVE the snowflakes falling throughout your blog!

I live smack dab in the middle of the Annex. Do you miss it?

Laura said...

Simplicity: How funny my brother lives in the Annex now. I was actually in Toronto last week.

Email me at shhh.under.the.sheets@gmail.com and I can help a girl out with your questions.

Mrs Anne said...

i LOVE me some grilled cheese.

more or less the perfect food.

xo

Mady's Mom said...

It's just nice to see your hand. :) Miss you.

Mady's Mom said...

DAMN. Maybe that's NOT your hand. Maybe it's some graphic from google images - and I"m lov'n on some random stranger's hand. I"m not sure I like this medium. Always the critic. :)

Linda S. Socha said...

These are wonderful. I have the greatest childhood memories of cheese sandwiches and tomatoe soup.THANKS
Linda