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Grilled Cheese


NeroW

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Gruyere cheese and lots of black pepper on rye or white bread. (+/- ham)

Melts up nice and tastes great.

or Swiss cheese, black pepper and slice tomatoes

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Holly...perhaps a stupid question...do you close the griddle? And about how long..I saw this in Gourmet, I think.

Yes I close the waffle iron. It makes the grid on both sides of the sandwich. Great guidelines for neat and orderly eaters.

Also great is the chess that oozes out of the sandwich and grills rigid between the crevices.

Not sure about Gourmet, but I have written of it elsewhere. It is also published in the companion book to "Sandwiches That You Will Like" as "My Father's Grilled Cheese Sandwich."

Hopefully a pic will follow soon.

Holly Moore

"I eat, therefore I am."

HollyEats.Com

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Potato bread. Medium cheddar. BACON.

Cook the bacon to not quite done. Shred the cheese (more even meltability). Melted butter on both outsides only of bread. Bread, cheese, bacon, cheese, bread.

Low and slow. No smashing please.

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Lea and Perrins Worcestshire Sauce

I'm with you Jack.

Wheat or sourdough, good sharp cheddar, butter on the outside only. Slice of tomato if in season. Cook in a cast iron skillet until crunchy on both sides. Dip in worcestershire sauce, or for a softer texture sprinkle it on the sandwich.

Scott likes his with Melinda's green jalapeno sauce on the side.

Heather Johnson

In Good Thyme

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I'm sure this is egullet heresy, but as a kid my mom would mix "Thousand Island" dressing 1:1 with ketchup for dunking our grilled cheese in. Back then I loved it- now I wonder if there's a better adult equivalent. I'll have to try the worcestershire.

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I'm sure this is egullet heresy, but as a kid my mom would mix "Thousand Island" dressing 1:1 with ketchup for dunking our grilled cheese in. Back then I loved it- now I wonder if there's a better adult equivalent. I'll have to try the worcestershire.

Like I stated above, I use a quick and dirty remoulade. It's also used in Louisiana for dipping boiled crawfish and shrimp.

1/2 cup mayo

1/3 cup ketchup

Tabasco, Worchershire, creole mustard, rice wine vinegar to taste (for me). You could also add chopped onion, roasted garlic, pickle relish, capers, or anything else you may have around that you think would taste good in it.

Good stuff.

Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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I used to be a white bread/American cheese kinda person until a friend made the most astonishingly good grilled ham & cheese I've ever eaten. I had to change my ways immediately! Now it's the best bread I can find- whole wheat, French boule, doesn't matter as long as it's superior quality. Thinnly sliced sharp Cheddar. Lots of softened butter on the bread and a non-stick or cast iron skillet on low heat. patience is a virtue here- waiting a good while will result in completely melted cheese and a good golden crunch in the bread.

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I'm sure this is egullet heresy, but as a kid my mom would mix "Thousand Island" dressing 1:1 with ketchup for dunking our grilled cheese in.  Back then I loved it-  now I wonder if there's a better adult equivalent.  I'll have to try the worcestershire.

Like I stated above, I use a quick and dirty remoulade. It's also used in Louisiana for dipping boiled crawfish and shrimp.

Oh, duh.... thanks! I use a remoulade all the time for hamburgers, but it never occured to me to try it for grilled cheese! But I do also like a honey-dijon-mayo-sour cream dip for dunking grilled swiss, tomato and red onion (esp when the bread is a dark rye).

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I'm a believer that there are not many cheeses that can't used for a good grilled sandwich. I ocassionally will even use limburger withfreshly grated horseradish (pungent but tasty). My standard is dark rye + very old cheddar + a sprinkle if grated parmesan + dijon mustard + carmelized onions + a sprinkle of worchestershire. Brush outside only with melted butter or olive oil. Cook in a small skillet over a very, very low flame about 10 minutes per side. Cover during last half. For additions (if desired), a couple of thick slices of cooked bacon or, my favorite, finely diced and sauteed chicken liver. Serve with dill pickles.

Also, though I'm not very fond of Campbell's standard tomato soup, it seems incomplete if I don't have some with grilled cheese. I just add a dash of curry for flavor.

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Grilled cheese sandwiches are perfect with truffle cheese! Now that's heaven...:rolleyes:

The way I normally do it is butter both sides of the bread, then toast one side on the griddle until lightly toasted. Flip it over on the griddle, then add one slice of aged cheddar and one slice of American cheese to the warm side. Add freshly ground pepper. Close the sandwich, then toast both sides until lightly browned and the cheese is melted.

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I never have the patience to cook a 'grilled' cheese entirely on the stove top.

Just get it golden brown on each side and pop the pan in the oven at 300° for 5 to 6 minutes. Never burns, always melts and I only have to pay attention for the 3-4 minutes it takes to brown both sides.

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I am so looking forward to my new stove in the new house that will have a griddle. I will then come back to this thread and make all manner of grilled cheese sandwhiches for the rest of the millenium. The address of this thread is now in my favorites file.

Do quesidillas apply? Maybe not. Maybe a separate thread.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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I think today I will have one with wheat bread, Velveeta ( :shock: ) and homemade butternut squash soup. I always dip it in the soup, but a remoulade is a great idea.

Does anybody use PAM in the pan?

Noise is music. All else is food.

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Wow. These all sound so good. But none of you do the "parmesan crust on the outside" thing...? (Warning: butter-intensive)

Take two slices of sourdough bread. Butter both on one side. Sprinkle buttered sides with parmesan cheese. Toast both slices, buttered side up, in the pan. Flip, place one slice of cheese on each of the now-toasted sides. Remove to a plate when parmesan crust is golden brown.

I like to have spicy mustard for dipping on the side.

"He who distinguishes the true savour of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise."

Thoreau

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Wow. These all sound so good. But none of you do the "parmesan crust on the outside" thing...? (Warning: butter-intensive)

Take two slices of sourdough bread. Butter both on one side. Sprinkle buttered sides with parmesan cheese. Toast both slices, buttered side up, in the pan. Flip, place one slice of cheese on each of the now-toasted sides. Remove to a plate when parmesan crust is golden brown.

I like to have spicy mustard for dipping on the side.

That is an excellent idea. Intense butter doesn't scare me.

Noise is music. All else is food.

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  • 7 months later...

My new kick is melted brie with whole grain dijon on rye.

I make it in the toaster oven for breakfast and midmorning snack.

True Heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.

It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost,

but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. -Arthur Ashe

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If I am tired or in a bad mood and just want some comfort food ai will revert to my childhood grilled cheese:

White bread toasted lightly with butter, with three slices of Kradt Deluxe American cheese heated up under the broiler or in a toaster oven.

If I'm in a good mood and want to treat myself:

Havarti, swiss, ham, and turkey on sourdough, grilled in a panini maker, quartered and dipped in hot salsa.

"Homer, he's out of control. He gave me a bad review. So my friend put a horse head on the bed. He ate the head and gave it a bad review! True Story." Luigi, The Simpsons

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Love grilled cheese.

I use a cast iron pan and butter both sides using white bread.

Cheese is american or swiss or cheddar.

Added ingredients; just love it with thinlysliced tomato, salted and heated before

placing in the sandwich.

Or lettuce placed in the sandwich and iceberg is the one that works for me.

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I must have the most boring grilled cheese on the list, but I like it, and I think I minimize the calories. I toast the bread in a toaster overn and then place the cheese on the bread and finish toasting it open faced until the cheese is bubbly. I have been known, in a pinch, to just toast the bread in a toaster, add the cheese and put the whole thing in the microwave to melt the cheese. Not gourmet, but quick, and avoids using fat for the pan.

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