Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Part 1 of 2

This is the first of a two part series about the grilled cheese sandwich.

This series is actually inspired as an accompaniment to my recent tomato bisque. What else goes better on a cold, brisk November morning (unless you are in the Bay Area in 2010, I mean really, 85 degrees in mid-November?) than a steaming bowl of tomato soup paired with a fresh grilled cheese sandwich.

Part 1 will just go over the classic ol' American comfort food, while Part 2 will broaden your horizons of what can be considered a "grilled cheese sandwich." In addition, this will be a great lead-in to the upcoming round table by the Men of Real Men Bake and their recent Foodie Adventure at the Street Fixe: The "Wiches."

Background

I know you are probably thinking, classic grilled cheese, really? Everyone knows how to do that. Well, that may be so, but I do it my way and it's a good tie to the recipe in Part 2 (a version that I doubt you've thought of) and a good warm-up for the round table.

Deal with it.

Plus, I actually have changed my recipe over time based on experimentation with the few variables you do have to work with. And lastly, I'd love to hear your comments on what you do to make a grilled cheese, I think you'd be surprised at how diverse this rather simple food can be.

Process

While the basic concept of the grilled cheese sandwich is simple: bread and cheese, it is amazing at how much variation you can have. White, wheat, whole-grain are just a few of the bread choices and there are infinitely more cheeses. This recipe calls for the grilled cheese in it's most basic form (at least from my perspective).

Pick your bread, I use sourdough. In the past, I always used wheat as I wanted to feel like I was eating healthier food. I have found in my many iterations, that sourdough just tastes better.

Pick your cheese. For the longest time I used extra sharp cheddar and though it was the best thing, well, since sliced bread. I was wrong. If you desire that oh so gooey cheese dripping out of the hot sandwich that you get from those wonderful Mom & Pop Diners, then you need to use American cheese. Nothing beats the ability of American cheese to melt just perfectly in the way you want it.

Now onto the easy part, making the darn thing. Begin by heating up a skillet on the stove. Take the bread, place the cheese onto it and top off with the second slice. Butter the top piece of the sandwich and then place the whole thing buttered-side down into the skillet.

Let it toast for three to four minutes, it really depends on how you like your grilled cheese, very light or extra carbon ash. While it is toasting, butter the bottom-side of the sandwich. Flip it and let the other side have a go. Remove from the heat and enjoy!

Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients

2 slices Sourdough Bread
2 slice American cheese
butter

Directions

1. Heat up a skillet on the stove to a good temperature.
2. Take a slice of bread and place two slices of American cheese onto it (2 if you like cheesy). Cover with the second slice of bread.
3. Using the butter, spread onto the top piece of bread. Transfer the sandwich to the skillet and place butter side down for 3 to 4 minutes (to desired toastiness). While the buttered side is cooking spread more butter onto the top piece of bread.
4. Flip the sandwich and toast the other side for another few minutes. Remove from skillet, cut in half and enjoy.