The grilled cheese sandwich, a favorite of kids and currently maligned by the new Carl's Jr. ad. Apparently, the ad people for Carl's Jr. think that grilled cheese sandwiches are just for kids and adults will be made fun of if they order it, unless they order the new Grilled Cheese Bacon Six Dollar Burger...with 990 calories, 610 of which are fat calories (69 fat, 28 saturated fat!!!). Seriously! If you don't believe me, here is the link: http://www.carlsjr.com/menu, you can check it out for yourself. No thank you Carl's Jr. people. I will stick with my old fashioned grilled cheese. Maybe it's just me, but when I see the ad, I don't start craving the burger, I actually start craving a grilled cheese. Maybe it's just because this is one of my favorite sandwiches (right up there with PB&B - peanut butter and banana). If I want to add something, it will be tomato, ketchup (yes! don't knock it til you try it) or egg (as I did this morning).
And while the grilled cheese seems easy (which, relatively, it is) and something to be made fun of, it really does take some work to get it right. It's not a cold cut sandwich. You can't just slap some cheese on bread and throw it in the pan. It takes some work if you want a really good grilled cheese. One that looks like this one:
Hint #1: Whatever you do, do not, and I mean DO NOT, use fat free cheese. it does NOT melt well - trust me on this. All you will get is a big old mess in the pan and very little cheese on your bread.
Hint #2: Someone taught me one time that the key to a good grilled cheese is to get the butter on every bit of the bread before you put it in the pan. And this is true. I made a whole lot of mediocre grilled cheese sandwiches before I learned this.
Hint #3: Temperature matters too. You don't want it too high so that you burn the outside of the bread while the cheese doesn't even melt. You can't rush good food and a grilled cheese is no different. I cook on a gas stove, which REALLY takes a lot of getting used to. But you want to get the pan heated up before you put the food in it. I cook on medium or just a little lower. And, since I had egg on the sandwich, the pan was nice and warm. Have all your supplies ready before you put the 1st thing in the pan. This will ensure you don't have any delays that cause your sandwich to overcook.
A little spray of Pam spray and you are ready. The rest is pretty easy - layer it in the pan like so: bread, butter side down, cheese, egg or whatever else you are putting on there (cook the egg 1st), more cheese, bread, butter side up. LEAVE THE SANDWICH ALONE TO COOK! let the bread toast for about a minute or so. then very gingerly lift up the corner to see if the color is what you want. if not, let it go a little longer. then flip and repeat the toasty/melty part. i have found that the best guide of when the bread is ready to my liking is when the cheese is just melted. But this is something that is personal preference, so you will have to find your guide. Who knows, maybe you really like a blackened grilled cheese and the sign it is done is smoke and, perhaps, flames coming out of the pan. But since I have probably never made you a grilled cheese, or seen how you like them, I don't know. It's up to you.
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