Grilled Cheese anyone?

[She Eats Cheese]

I make grilled cheese two ways
3-cheese: Filled with Provolone and Sharp Cheddar, and bacon strips/tomatoes are optional. Butter outside of bread like normal and grate P. Reggiano all over the outside letting it stick to the butter. The trick to this is the right heat setting that won't burn the Parm before the butter and inside cheeses melt. I like to use a second hot pan as a lid to give it an oven-like effect.
OR
I make it like normal grilled cheese but I add jelly inside. Classic is apple jelly with cheddar, but I like to explore. Just don't go overboard and put black raspberry on rye with pepperjack cheese. But don't keep it lame, try tomato jelly or bacon jam. If you haven't tried jelly on a grilled cheese sammich, you're really missing something divine.

When I was in grade school my mom used to pack jelly and cheese sammich in my lunch!! Btw I'm a no mayo girl - mustard only!

 

[ella/TO]

I like to use rye bread,with caraway seeds.....old cheddar cheese....some sliced green onions. Butter outside of bread, as well as a bit inside, put some butter into a non stick pan....let your pan get hot....put the sandwich in and use a spatula or press to thin down the sandwich...turn over after it's browned nicely, then do other side. Must have sweet gherkins to eat with the sandwich, and sometimes have a blob of ketchup to dip sandwich in. Yum Yum

 

[spork]

In general, the softer cheeses that don't firm up halfway into the sandwich. I like munster with cored tomato slices inbetween. Butter for my oil. I don't have a good, discriminating palate for breads.

 

[taxlady]

We like whole grain bread with a good cheese (usually Jarlsberg, but that's because it's a real cheese we can buy pre-sliced), rings of onion, and salsa. Put cheese next to the bread and then on top of the other stuff, so it will "glue" the sandwich together as it melts.

 

[Caslon]

I have trouble getting a real crisp to the other side of my grill cheese sandwiches. I just use regular white bread.

The way I do it now is...
I put a slice of bread on the skillet (lightly buttered) without adding the cheese slices which traps in moisture which hinders the bread from getting nice and crispy. I start off with not too hot a pan as to let it crisp up slowly to a nice crispiness. I then add the cheese slices, the other half of bread and flip it. However, the other side when cooking doesn't get as crispy as the first side, again probably due to the moisture content of common store bread.

Don't gourmet grilled cheeze places use a bread with a less moisture content?

 

[TATTRAT]

I have trouble getting a real crisp to the other side of my grill cheese sandwiches. I just use regular white bread.

The way I do it now is...
I put a slice of bread on the skillet (lightly buttered) without adding the cheese slices which traps in moisture which hinders the bread from getting nice and crispy. I start off with not too hot a pan as to let it crisp up slowly to a nice crispiness. I then add the cheese slices, the other half of bread and flip it. However, the other side when cooking doesn't get as crispy as the first side, again probably due to the moisture content of common store bread.

Don't gourmet grilled cheeze places use a bread with a less moisture content?

Nah, you can get perfectly crisp bread with even the most humble $1 loaf from 7-11.

If your pan is too low, you won't evaporate the water out of the butter. There should be a little sizzle involved. The cheese on the bread won't trap the moisture, it will help soften the cheese for more even melty-ness when you decide to join the two halves into one sandwich.

You could try day old, or older bread, and sure it will get crisp too, but the bread won't be as supple/gummy.

 

[CharlieD]

pretty much regular grill cheese but I like to add lightly roasted slices of tomato and red bell pepper with seasoning inside.

 

[GB]

My favorite grilled cheese is the one I buy in the lot of a Grateful Dead or Phish show. Nothing like seeing a great show then topping off the night with a grilled cheese made on a Coleman grill with an ice cold beer to wash it down.

 

[CharlieD]

oooh, cold beer, that is an idea i did not think about. I usually ahve it with tomatoe soup. But will have to check the beer soon. Tham you GB.

 

[GB]

Tomato soup when it is cold out (my lunch today is tomato soup and grilled cheese) and beer when it is warm out.

 

[TATTRAT]

My favorite grilled cheese is the one I buy in the lot of a Grateful Dead or Phish show. Nothing like seeing a great show then topping off the night with a grilled cheese made on a Coleman grill with an ice cold beer to wash it down.

Good lord, those were he days!

 

[Timothy]

Tomato soup when it is cold out (my lunch today is tomato soup and grilled cheese) and beer when it is warm out.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup... what a perfect pairing.

 

[She Eats Cheese]

Can't do tomato soup! When I was little I used to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup and I would almost always get a headache. I remember one time I had that at school and remember getting sick and being sent home. My mom said that she didn't want me to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup ever again. I remember being upset because grilled cheese was my favorite! Next time they had grilled cheese and tomato soup at school I just had the sandwich and didnt order the soup and lo and behold I didn't get sick To this day even as an adult I don't eat tomato soup. I don't even have it in the house but I still enjoy my grilled cheese!

 

[Al Pine]

I have trouble getting a real crisp to the other side of my grill cheese sandwiches. I just use regular white bread.

The way I do it now is...
I put a slice of bread on the skillet (lightly buttered) without adding the cheese slices which traps in moisture which hinders the bread from getting nice and crispy. I start off with not too hot a pan as to let it crisp up slowly to a nice crispiness. I then add the cheese slices, the other half of bread and flip it. However, the other side when cooking doesn't get as crispy as the first side, again probably due to the moisture content of common store bread.

Don't gourmet grilled cheeze places use a bread with a less moisture content?

I think you will get much better results if you use a different
bread...unless White Bread is your favorite. In order to get the
bread to "brown-up" and get crispy, it's very important to cook
them on Medium-High heat (about 350°) butter the bread
normally and put the Cheese on it right away and then put the
other slice of buttered bread on top, right away.

By doing it this way the Cheese will melt better...or you can try
the "Double Grilled" Grilled Cheese Sandwich; as seen in the
pics below.

I mixed some Olive Oil into the Butter to make it a tiny bit more
healthy. Click on each picture to see it FULL size.



Next I buttered two slices of Sourdough Bread like normal..
this is the sandwich on the left..the slices of bread on the right
have been buttered on both sides...to make the "Double Grilled"
Grilled Cheese Sandwich.


As you can see, the regular Grilled Cheese is on the left, and I
have placed the Cheese on it as soon as the bread was put in the
skillet and put the top slice of bread on as well.
...the sandwich on the right has both sides of the bread
buttered


Next...I have flipped the two slices of bread on the right side
and will put the Cheese on the Grilled side of the bread now.


Next...I have placed the Cheese and the top on the "Double
Grilled" Grilled Cheese sandwich.


Next...I have flipped over the regular Grilled Cheese sandwich
on the left...look at how crispy the bread is.


Next...Here I have flipped over the "Double Grilled" Grilled
Cheese sandwich on the right.


see the next post for the final pics.

 

[Al Pine]

Lastly .....
...Below you can see the finished results of both
sandwiches, including the inside. Notice how crispy the bread
is on the inside and outside of the sandwich on the right, that's
why I call it the "Double Grilled" Grilled Cheese sandwich.
....

Click on each picture to see it full size.

.

 

[taxlady]

Can't do tomato soup! When I was little I used to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup and I would almost always get a headache. I remember one time I had that at school and remember getting sick and being sent home. My mom said that she didn't want me to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup ever again. I remember being upset because grilled cheese was my favorite! Next time they had grilled cheese and tomato soup at school I just had the sandwich and didnt order the soup and lo and behold I didn't get sick To this day even as an adult I don't eat tomato soup. I don't even have it in the house but I still enjoy my grilled cheese!

Are you sensitive to MSG? Lots of soup has MSG and it causes a weird sort of headache.

 

[She Eats Cheese]

Are you sensitive to MSG? Lots of soup has MSG and it causes a weird sort of headache.

Not that I know of. I can eat most things and it doesn't bother me. I haven't had tomato soup since about 3rd grade. Its probably a traumatic food experience I've just not been able together past. But even the smell of tomato soup bothers me!

 

[Dawgluver]

Very nice tutorial, Al Pine!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Fantastic job Al, give my regards to your brother Matt Erhorn

 

[CharlieD]

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Cl

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Are you Russian?