Grilled Cheese Time!

Considering that my last Cooking Time post was all out of season, I thought that this one should be a little more weather-appropriate. Grilled cheese is one of the ultimates in comfort food, and it's dead easy to make. Butter two slices of bread, put one butter side down in a fry pan on medium heat, put a couple of Kraft singles and top with the other slice of bread, butter side out. Press into pan and flip once; fry till golden brown, and open up a can of Campbells tomato soup. You're done and fed. But if that was all this post was, you'd be disappointed, and Ellen would kill me for promoting Kraft and Campbells (they're the tools of the devil).

Given this basic framework, still there's a lot of variation; the kind of bread, cheese and even the spread (can you believe that the French/Swiss use mayo instead of butter?) will make a considerable difference to the result of your sandwich. And there are optional fillings also! You can spring for a sandwich press, but consider the implications of that, and I'm not just talking about counter/cabinet space. Eat too many of these, and you'll need a bigger couch. Just use a frying pan.

Bread: White bread is classic, if boring. If you want plain bread, go for a sourdough, or at least something-not-loaf-or-baguette-shaped. If you want to play with the big boys, go hard with a good multigrain. We're really into Dave's Good Seed bread right now, but there's a lot of different kinds of breads out there. Find something with a good texture or something interesting about it. Olive loaf. Marble rye. Texas pumpernickel (just kidding!).

Cheese: Obviously, this is the heart of the sandwich. Despite Ellen's protestations, Kraft singles are actually ideal because processed cheese is designed to melt evenly, without oilyness. (fun fact: Kraft Singles are called "American Cheese" because it is the type of cheese native to the US. Many restaurants in Canada will call it "Canadian Cheese" but that is straight up wrong. Canadian Cheese, the variety, not simply "cheese made in Canada," is the kind of mozzarella curd that is used in traditional poutine, although in Quebec, it is also eaten straight). However, this is kind of cheating... you're cheating in making the food, and you're cheating yourself of a better eating experience.

Hard cheeses like cheddar are nice, most of them have strong, sharp flavours that come out nicely when warmed, but tend to oil up a bit much, especially since you're spreading the outside of the bread with fat anyway. Soft cheeses melt nicer and have tend to have milder flavours, so if you use them, you're fancy. Also, you're probably wasting the nuances of yada yada yada. Personally, I like sharp cheeses with this much bread. If you have to go soft, go with something bold like a roquefort, gorgonzola or even a goat. Cheeses like Brie or Camembert are best served on a plate with some crackers, grapes and wine. And a beret. Spread: Salted butter is pretty much the only choice here. You CAN use garlic butter, and as I stated above, some madmen use mayo. The important things here are high fat, low moisture. If you're using margarine, stop reading now and delete the bookmark. I never want to see you here again. Go play Farmville or something.

Fillings: Okay, so you've melted cheese between bread. Now it's time to kick it up a notch (credit: Emeril Lagase). Thin slices of onion can really make a difference, it adds a bit of crunch, and that kind of pungent sweetness just pairs so well with a sharp cheddar. Tomato is another great, easy addition, but you have to be careful, as cooking tomato will change it's texture, and release moisture that can make the bread soggy, so if texture is a trigger, you should probably stay away.   Mustard isn't really a filling, but it can enhance the flavour of the cheese as well, even if you don't like mustard. Just like it brings out the flavour of the meat in a burger, mustard is one of cheese's best friends. Thin sliced deli meat is kind of a dicey proposition. Ham, chicken, and turkey are good, generally everything else isn't so great. Roast beef can be kind of heavy, and cured and uncured sausages like salami, pepperoni and mortadella will add too much fat to an already fatty sandwich. Whatever you add, slice it thin, and don't stack too high! Cheese is the star.

Whew! That's a lot, but I'm going to end on a couple of variations that you might like!

The Wattersley: What I make for Ellen and myself, it's a nice fresh grainy bread, with 2 year Baldersons cheddar (Costco FTW) and salted butter. Sliced red or white raw onion. So good.

The Yarrow: White bread, kraft singles and ham. The inspiration for this article. Serve with Campbells Tomato, and salted top Premium Plus crackers.

The Blondie:  Baldersons or pepperjack with bacon and thin sliced red onion on sourdough.  Straightforward and amazing-uh just like Lindsey. Uh. 

The Yoga Mom: Artisinal bread you got at the Yaletown Farmers market. Locally sourced gorgonzola. Free run, organic butter. Thin slices of free trade Anjou Pear. If you're too tired from grooming your ironic moustashe to make this, I'm sure you can find it at your local speakeasy or underground food truck. Seriously though, blue cheese and pear all melted together on a good sourdough...

The Pantry: Sourdough, process cheese, with tomato and onion. The trick here is to butter the bread, then press sprinkle grated parmesan cheese into the butter. Layer as normal, serve with way too many shitty fries.

 The Cory Jong: Cupcakes instead of bread, cheese whiz instead of butter. Fry in a grill pan you got as a reward from Club Nintendo.

Ol'Smokey: 12 grain bread, smoked cheddar, soft cooked bacon, a sprinkle of ground dry mustard.

The Balki Bartokomous:  Goat Cheese on Pita with olives and sundried tomatos.   Roll up and pin together with a toothpick, brush with garlic infused EVOO or some of the tomato oil, and baking at 275 for 40 mins, turning every ten.

Extra special thanks to Lindsay Fowler and Brett Yarrow for contributing their recipes this week.  Please leave your recipes for grilled cheese in the comments!