How Do You Define a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
No, I'm not talking about that kind of "[grilled cheese sandwich]" (though I did enjoy this thread, thank you very much, shoneyjoe, et al.).
I'm talking about honest-to-goodness grilled cheese sandwiches. Specifically, how you define them.
A topic posted last week in Talk ("Your Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich") became a bit ... well, contentious would be too strong a word—but it's evident that there is plenty of room for interpretation when it comes to this classic comfort-food dish.
A grilled Pawlet cheese and Benton's bacon sandwich from NYC's City Bakery.
Some folks said they liked to add meat to theirs, like duncan1205 ("Rustic bread with pepperjack cheese and dill pickles; rye with black forest ham, swiss and mustard; or just plain old whole wheat with american and mayo") or shoneyjoe ("...For a cheese 'plus,' sometimes a very thin slice of prosciutto [does it come any other way?] and maybe some tomato...")
Duncan1205's comment prompted engmcmuffin to pipe up: "Aren't you talking about a ham and cheese sandwich that's been grilled? Grilled cheese should have cheese. That's all."
And youraudacity seemed to second that sentiment, stating:
I hate when people add meat to their grilled cheese. That makes it a hot sandwich, and it is not a grilled cheese! You're ruining our classic institution with your bacon obsession. I HATE when people who "just LOVE bacon" indiscriminately put it on anything they can put their paws on.
But might have gone opened up a whole nother can of worms in the same response:
LETTUCE TOMATO ONION KETCHUP MUSTARD MAYONNAISE TABASCO otherwise, just dipped into ranch. KEEP IT AMERICAN!
There also seemed to be a third way, which was less controversial. Let's call it the "protein-free" variety, as articulated by Bunnyman:
Well on my planet a grilled cheese sandwich is a cheese sandwich and not a meat with cheese sandwich. So we don't put a protein on it and consider it a "grilled cheese" no matter how tasty the end result is. We also use a panini press for maximum toasty effect....
A grilled cheese(???) with tomato slices layered in. Photograph by Robyn Lee
It seems the simple and judicious addition of some sort of vegetable matter—tomato (dozertx) or pickles (mcanna and lammiepie), for instance—did not raise anyone's hackles. (Personally, I LOVE the pickle combo myself, for the same reason mcanna gives.)
Anyway, it seems that the issue never really got resolved, which is fine, because that thread was about "Your Favorite Grilled Cheese," not "What Defines a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?"
So here, in the form of a time-wasting pseudoscientific poll, let's put the issue to rest once and for all as far as serious eaters are concerned (at least until the next time the topic arises).
Does an official grilled cheese sandwich (OGCS) consist simply of bread and cheese? Or can you slip something in there and still get away with calling it a grilled cheese?
Take the poll, leave a comment, or both.
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66 Comments:
Grilled Cheese means...cheese and bread...nothing else. You can change the cheese and bread all you want IMHO...but ...dare I say...it is what it is.
arm1970 at 8:51PM on 07/20/09
My grilled cheese must be buttered on the inside and then grilled with a slight pat O butter and some olive oil in the pan. If I am using my panini grill I do not butter but mist the outsides with olive oil. Crispy is the word people crispy.
JerzeeTomato at 8:57PM on 07/20/09
I was torn between voting for option 2 or option 4... It's a sandwich! How is this a big deal?
gingercookiewithlime at 8:58PM on 07/20/09
@gingercookiewithlime: Sounds like you voted for #4. ;)
Adam Kuban at 9:02PM on 07/20/09
I believe if you are calling it a grilled cheese sandwich that is what it should be- cheese on bread that has been grilled. Adding other things makes it a grilled sandwich that happens to include cheese.
CatBoy at 9:06PM on 07/20/09
White Bread, American Cheese, Butter...lots of butter.
edison at 9:23PM on 07/20/09
Wrong! A grilled cheese is whatever I say it is! ... Next question...
Pavlov at 9:39PM on 07/20/09
Grilled cheese is allowed to have bread, cheese, mustard, black pepper, butter (or mayonaise - its not as weird as it souds, try it) on the outside, and MAYBE some pickle slices. No meat, and no vegetables other than the aforementioned pickles. Otherwise it is no longer a grilled cheese, but a ham and cheese, or a tomato and cheese, or whatever.
Nicholas H at 9:54PM on 07/20/09
I have to agree with Jerzee crispy is the key. other than that anything goesfor me. although I do love a hot grilled cheese that SO pressed in the pan( no pannini maker cast iron with a sandwich weight)
huneybumper at 10:01PM on 07/20/09
white bread, american cheese (preferably the orange kind) griddled in butter or margarine, the only acceptable additions being bacon (three very crispy slices max) and/or tomato, sliced thin. that's it. anyone who proposes alternatives is dead wrong, no matter how well intentioned. case closed.
simon at 10:03PM on 07/20/09
As long as you take the pieces of plastic off of the little slices of Kraft American Cheese, you can call anything that you heat up on bread a "grilled cheese" If you forget and leave the plastic on the cheese, well then you just have to call it a mess and throw away the sandwich, pan and all...
banananne at 10:11PM on 07/20/09
Well, if you are a purist I imagine that it has to be american cheese on buttered bread 'grilled' in a cast iron skillet, BUT if we are being that pure then it has to be served with a bowl of Campbell's Tomato Soup. I am remembering elementary school.
janaatwg at 10:16PM on 07/20/09
Grilled Cheese Sandwich - so it must be:
Grilled - but basically any cooking method should do, so cooked somehow
Cheese - any kind
Sandwich - so it should have bread of some kind
Other than that, pretty much anything should go. I like deli mustard, sometimes tomatoes, sometimes bread and butter pickles, and american cheese on wheat or white, fried in butter. But, you eat yours your way, and I'll eat mine my way ;)
philmcneely at 10:37PM on 07/20/09
Like always, Jerzee got it right.
tinytim at 10:40PM on 07/20/09
I'm with Jerz on crispy. I still call it a grilled cheese even if and when I put a couple thin slices of pickle in it—in which case I use a nice sharp cheddar. Anything else, and I call it a grilled cheese and X.
Adam Kuban at 10:49PM on 07/20/09
Grilled cheese must first and foremost be about the cheese. Anything you add to it should only complement or heighten the cheese flavor. For example: grilled cheese made with brie and green apple slices. The apple makes the brie taste even creamier. Or cheddar cheese with tomato. That touch of tomato-acid only makes the cheese better. But no meats...they just take over. Fruit or veg only, and only ONE kind in nice thin slices. Again, complement the cheese, don't overpower it!
It must be about the CHEESE. And I agree, it must be crispy. It's just not right without that golden brown crisp. I grew up buttering the outside of the bread. :)
And my favorite will always be grilled cheese made with American cheese slices with creamy tomato soup for dipping. :) Makes me feel 5 years old again.
slmcdanold at 11:15PM on 07/20/09
@slmcdanold Agree about the creamy tomato soup. I never was much for the tomato soup made with water = warm tomato juice?
philmcneely at 11:25PM on 07/20/09
I know everyone is arguing about what constitutes a grilled cheese sandwich, but Adam, I just wanted to thank you for linking to "Allergic to [grilled cheese]." HI-larious!!
marchpane at 11:38PM on 07/20/09
Must have quality bread, maybe sourdough, with either butter or olive oil, done on my Foreman grill. And kosher salt liberally sprinkled on the outside. All cheese choices are left to the cook. Meat it up at your convenience, but then it magically becomes a panini.
bruisedbuddha at 11:42PM on 07/20/09
Oh, balls. I missed the earlier thread. Everyone knew about grilled cheese but meeeeee!
marchpane at 11:47PM on 07/20/09
@marchpane: Don't thank me—thank orchidgirl. She linked to that originally last week! Hilarious find.
Adam Kuban at 11:57PM on 07/20/09
@ Adam Kuban: No she didn't. I did. :P
But I have a question about the "protein-free" grilled cheese. Doesn't cheese contain protein? One cup of cooked spinach contains 5 grams of protein - can I put spinach on a "protein-free" grilled cheese? How about tofu? That's not a meat. Whole wheat bread appears to have some protein in it - do I have to make it with white bread?
shoneyjoe at 12:37AM on 07/21/09
IMHO, meat and tomatoes cause slippage and the dreaded "scoots" where the contents of the sandwich all scoot out the side opposite of the bite. If you can keep your contents between the bread, good luck. I'm a sharp cheddar and deli mustard kinda gal, but I've yet to meet a grilled cheese I won't nosh on.
TattooedCheese at 12:42AM on 07/21/09
@shoneyjoe: D'oh! You're absolutely right! I had too many grilled-cheese-topic tabs open and totally boinked that. Just corrected it. Muy apologies.
@marchpane: Don't thank me—thank shoneyjoe!
Adam Kuban at 1:38AM on 07/21/09
Bread. Cheese. Butter. Grilled. (But if you wanna get techincal about it, griddled.)
That's it.
Everything else: additions, variations, etc., qualifes as grilled (x) and cheese. Or grilled cheese with (x).
"Well I like to use some thin sliced hierloom tomato and my gradmother's mustard and blahblahblahblah"
That's great. Maybe you're the next Thomas Keller. But don't call it a "grilled cheese sandwich". Because a grilled cheese sandwich it ain't.
Restistance is futile.
sailordave at 1:58AM on 07/21/09
Grilled cheese is just cheese, plain and simple!!! Anything else on it disqualifies it from grilled cheese status!
The grilled cheese in the 1st pic looks soooo scrumptious! I wanna break out the frying pan right now!
jlew911 at 2:37AM on 07/21/09
@Adam are you sure you wanted to use the word "boinked" in refering to that OTHER grilled cheese topic? ;-)
huneybumper at 8:00AM on 07/21/09
nobody even said anything about adding avocado to your GC?I don't care what you call it, it's delicious!
lenbob at 8:53AM on 07/21/09
i don't think anything is better than that cheap ass grilled cheese from high school. buttery, crispy, and filled with gooey government cheese. gah, soooo good!
_greenbean at 9:35AM on 07/21/09
Re duncan1205's comment: "rye with black forest ham, swiss and mustard"
That's not a grilled cheese....it's a HOT HAM AND CHEESE.
Once you add meat, it ceases to be a grilled cheese.
I lean towards the purist end of the spectrum, but I do love adding a bit of pepperocini or onion to my sandwich (and thus voted "veg ok")...but only a smidgen. The showcase is - and should ALWAYS be - the cheese.
blogkitten at 10:02AM on 07/21/09
I've been an avowed wheat bread eater for years. But my friend introduced me to white bread grilled cheese and now I can't have it any other way! I wish the store would sell me like 4 slices of white bread. Though, white bread toast is also really yummy....dilemma.
inothernews at 10:07AM on 07/21/09
I have to agree with bruisedbuddha, once you put meat on it, it becomes a panini. Which is fine, because it's still delicious, but I like grilled cheese better.
dnk668 at 10:08AM on 07/21/09
I've reflected on this and I'd like to change my vote. Grilled cheese is what it is - cheese and bread. If you want to put a bunch of other crap in there, call it something else.
If not then what's stopping us from calling a tuna melt or a Reuben a grilled cheese sandwich?
SqueezeBottle at 10:09AM on 07/21/09
My husband and I almost never have white bread or American cheese in the house, but after about fifteen tries with wheat, rye, soft wheat, multigrain, and four different "good" cheeses, we went to the store, picked up white bread and American cheese and had REAL grilled cheese. It's just not the same, and has to have tomato soup - Campbell's condensed with milk, not water, and basil leaves torn and put in while it's cooking - to dip it in. Pickles on the side only.
... We're so weird.
BrieCS at 10:12AM on 07/21/09
Great. Now I have to have the following for dinner:
Grilled cheese made with white bread, margarine and kraft singles - smooshed
Campbell's tomato soup made with milk and with about 10 saltines crushed and then added to the soup
Mmm mmm good.
Hopester7 at 10:20AM on 07/21/09
Since everything you read on the internets is true, I defer to Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grilled_cheese_sandwich#Grilled_cheese_sandwich
The definition allows for extra veg-edibles like peppers, tomatoes, or onion. Anything branching out with a slice of meat, seems to fall into more of the area of a Croque Monsieur (which my French Canadian mother made for us as kids, with ham, swiss, and dijon... it remains my favourite variation on the Grilled Cheese... but it's just that, a variation! :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croque-monsieur
conky at 10:52AM on 07/21/09
If you were to order a "cheese sandwich" at a restaurant, they would not likely ask you "do you want ham or roast beef on that?". It's a cheese sandwich. Thus a grilled cheese sandwich fits the same criteria: it's about the cheese. Mayo or mustard would be the sauce for the sandwich - no problem. A thin tomato slice or pickled red onion adds counterpoint to the cheese. But adding a protein, be it bacon to brisket, takes away from the focus on the cheese. Those are good sandwiches but they are not cheese sandwiches.
Bunnyman at 11:28AM on 07/21/09
Amount of Cheese > Amount of Additional Ingredients = Grilled Cheese
Amount of Cheese
bearsarefree at 11:28AM on 07/21/09
For me, a grilled cheese sandwich is just that: Kraft singles, white bread,
butter/margarine/olive oil that are grilled in a pan (or fried in a skillet). When I added mustard the other night, I was going for a new taste. I didn't have any creamy tomato soup!
When I order them, I will say grilled cheese with (bacon/tomato), so I know that the cheese is the main ingredient and not an afterthought like it is on a Reuben, patty melt or tuna melt.
queenbleu at 11:36AM on 07/21/09
I have to admit that I don't understand the ire of most of the people posting about the purity of their grilled cheese sandwiches. I would certainly agree that melted cheese between two pieces of toast (pressed, griddled, or whatever) counts as a grilled cheese sandwich. But I don't see how adding butter (uncontroversial) or mustard (more controversial, apparently) to the bread changes the essential character of the sandwich.
I feel the same way about tomato or pickles or onion or garlic. On a restaurant menu, I'd want those ingredients disclosed, just like I'd want the type of cheese disclosed, but I wouldn't be angry if they called the sandwich a grilled cheese sandwich in the first place.
Meat might change the character of the sandwich a bit too much for the grilled cheese description to be fair, in my opinion. But what really bugs me isn't using vegetables or a bit of meat -- it's using American "cheese." Many of the people here seem to think that it's a necessary ingredient in a grilled cheese sandwich. That is the only thing indisputably wrong on this board.
"American cheese" has a legal definition, and the definition is not cheese. It is a kind of "pasteurized process cheese" product that usually happens to include cheddar or colby in a mix of ingredients heated and emulsified "into a homogenous plastic mass." 21 C.F.R. § 133.169 (available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=21&PART=133&SECTION=169&YEAR=1999&TYPE=PDF). Maybe you all have a more expansive definition of cheese than I do, but a sandwich made with American cheese isn't a grilled cheese sandwich at all in my book. Remember all those Kraft commercials bragging about how their Singles contained no oil? I don't want to eat "cheese" that has to tell me they didn't make it with vegetable oil.
I know that people ate the stuff growing up (I did too), but it's not cheese, and self-proclaimed purists insisting on American cheese aren't doing the grilled cheese sandwich any favors.
Lp101 at 11:48AM on 07/21/09
I agree that a grilled cheese sandwich does not include meat. The addition of meat makes some other sandwich with cheese. But it does not become a "panini." That's saying it becomes "sandwiches." You can call it a panino however.
edritch at 12:40PM on 07/21/09
Well spoken, Sir! Thanks for the grammar lesson.
bruisedbuddha at 12:56PM on 07/21/09
I've had this argument before. I personally call any grilled sandwich with cheese a "grilled cheese with..." because I eat them all the same way, dipped in tomato soup. UNTIL NOW. Now to avoid rolling my eyes and raising my voice saying "I made it, I'll call it whatever I darn well please" I'll just call them "grillers" Happy?
Xylda at 1:43PM on 07/21/09
I'll go with the diner rules: add a little tomato or bacon (actually, a LITTLE of anything) and it can still be a grilled cheese. Any more than that and it's its own thing.
btw, I'm gonna be a stickler here and point out that the third choice makes no sense as written since cheese by itself isn't protein-free.
sloppy at 3:30PM on 07/21/09
I grew up in Connecticut, lived in Scotland for 2½ years, South Carolina for 16½ years, and finally in Arizona for 11½ years. I've had grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, ham, tomato, sausage, sliced lamb, beef, and pork. I could easily see very thinly sliced cucumber, squash, or some other hardy vegetable.
Davjohn at 3:37PM on 07/21/09
Wonder Bread (no substitutes)
Velveeta (no substitutes)
Butter (no substitutes)
Flat griddle (no panini grills, please!)
mbhebert at 3:41PM on 07/21/09
As long as cheese is the defining feature of the sandwich, and it's warm, anything goes. To me, that means there's a ton of leeway--the defining feature for me is that gooey cheese texture, and there has to be a lot of other junk in the sandwich before I get distracted from that and it starts seeming like a "cheese and..." sandwich. It only bothers me when it goes as far as the kind of recipes Kraft distributes; they'll list three ways to "add some variety" to a grilled cheese sandwich, and they each add a big pile of meat and vegetables; the accompanying pictures look like club sandwiches.
skizziks at 4:38PM on 07/21/09
i always grew up with cheddar cheese, some english mustard, and a slice of tomato between two slices of toast then griddled/pressed...
but i dont understand how people can say a slice of pickle doesnt impinge on the purity of the grilled cheese but a slice of tomato does. it seems like a terrible double standard...
i think id go w/ sauces (ie mustard) being acceptable as long as theyre not overpowering but otherwise, just cheese and bread (maybe buttered bread to get it to toast nicely)- but DEFINITELY not those american single slices!!!
englishelf at 4:46PM on 07/21/09
I think the one in the photo on top is the best definition of grilled cheese. Pain aux Lait Bread, Fontina and gruyere. Mmmmm.
angrywayne at 5:56PM on 07/21/09
I used to think that grilled cheese had to just be the cheese and bread, but then I went to grilled cheese night at Campanile in L.A. Totally changed my views on grilled cheese -- especially the cheddar with dijon mustard and marinated grilled onions. It was like grilled cheese on a totally different level.
cfurey at 8:25PM on 07/21/09
Lp101- I really wanted to say that about the American cheese, but I was afraid it would lead to bloodshed. You're right, American cheese is not cheese.
And as far as I know, I only had grilled cheese sandwiches made with it (or Wonder bread for that matter) when I ate lunch at a friend's house as a kid.
CatBoy at 2:02AM on 07/22/09
just to be a pain I made grilled cheese last night on homemade tortillas with oxaca and manchago cheese with a little bacon and thin sliced tomato. they wernt quesadillas they were grilled cheese! the cheese was the star of the show, everything else is just a "flavor enhancer" dont like it? IMHO there is no right way or wrong way, just the way you like it. as for me I like both kind of grilled cheese the same way, as long as no one gets hurt, anything goes ;-)
huneybumper at 8:11AM on 07/22/09
I looked at that question before:
http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/grilled_cheese_sandwich_toasted_cheese_sandwich/
http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/texas_grilled_cheese_sandwich/
barrypopik at 7:45PM on 07/22/09
I say it all depends on the ratio of cheese and other fillings. To be a grilled cheese there has to be more cheese than any other filling
rumanddiet at 8:22PM on 07/22/09
White bread,butter,cheddar cheese and a smear of red pepper jelly or a few drops of worcestershire sauce..the only way to go...
trufflelover at 1:36PM on 07/23/09
I may be alone here... but grilled cheese sandwich is in the method for me. You can put whatever you want as long as it's got bread & cheese... but it has to be made in a pan. Panini press? Then it's a panini, that's a pretty simple conclusion. One of those strange (to me) contraptions that also slices the bread diagonally and seals it? Pressed sandwich or um, what do you call it... I don't know.
I realize my grilled cheese isn't made on a grill, but that's how I grew up making it - in a pan, super toasty delicious awesome - and that's how I see it. You can put tomatoes, ham, bacon, prosciutto... whatever you want in it! Just make it in the pan. :)
feistyfoodie at 1:43PM on 07/23/09
Just to echo: the focus of the sandwich should be the melty cheese goodness. Other ingredients are totally acceptable, as long as the enhance the main.
OldestMarshall at 9:35AM on 07/27/09
I happen to like a grilled cheese sandwich with a very good bread from a real bakery and the shredded cheese of your choice. You don't need any butter, etc., if you use a foil-covered, old-style griddle like we used to have from my ex's dad's drugstore lunch counter. It weighed about 50 pounds and was about 12x12 square and the bottom part was about 8" tall. I don't think they make these any more, but it made the BEST flat grilled cheese sandwiches. The hinged top alone must have weighed 8 pounds!
I also love a VARIATION on the grilled cheese, but I call it a "grilled cheese with bacon and tomato sandwich," not a "grilled cheese sandwich" so that people know that it is different. I also use butter on all versions today as, alas, the ex made off with the griddle! Oh, well, as the song says, "...some fine things have been laid upon your table..." and I guess I wasn't very smart back then!
richopp at 10:11AM on 07/27/09
I found options #2 and #3 amusing, because after all, cheese IS a protein..........
morgancain at 10:43AM on 07/27/09
In South Africa, where I live, a grilled cheese sandwich contains a minimum of bread, butter and cheese, and is done on a barbecue grid. (Usually onions, tomato and salt and black pepper are added when cooked this way. Whether it still remains a grilled cheese sandwich I'm not sure.) A similar sandwich done under an oven grill would be a toasted cheese, onion and tomato (and whatever else is added) sandwich. Done in a sandwich maker, it becomes a snackwich. The cheese used is usually Cheddar or a similar cheese, NEVER, EVER processed cheese!
mynah at 10:44AM on 07/27/09
Growing up in a military household that traveled to a new location every 3-4 years, the best old staple regardless of where we were was grilled cheese sandwiches and Campbells tomato soup. More often than not it was Wonder bread, (builds strong bodies 12 ways), Kraft American (before they were individually wrapped) and Campbells soup made with milk (MMMMM Good). The sandwich was made with butter and squished til toasty in a skillet; cast iron or othewise, which ever one was handiest and a big pot of soup; at least 2-3 cans of it. When we were is Spain we discovered the wonderful spanish cheeses and being daring made sandwiches with them but you know. nothing compares to the good old classic While I may deviate from the comfort path of white bread and american cheese, I do occassionaly grab a loaf of artisian bread, some fontina and gruyere, butter it and toast it all up then sit back and wax poetically in the decadence of it all, smiling the entire time with the memory of it all. (But between you and me, my daughter still prefers white bread and american, you know how kids are.)
myrajane at 10:59AM on 07/27/09
CHEESE, BREAD, MAYO INSIDE AND BUTTER OUTSIDE TO BROWN THE BREAD !
shipwreck at 1:29PM on 07/27/09
No Wonder Bread or Velveeta for me. A nice rye, extra sharp Canadian cheddar, butter. Toasty on the outside, weeping on the inside. Yum.
I'm a cooking school grad and hubby can't cook a thing. One day, years ago before we married, I was making grilled cheese for lunch and he walked in and said "so that's how you do it!" I've a photo from his mom of him making toast at age 4. Nearly 33 years later he hasn't progressed to a grilled cheese sandwich.
I remember the Campbells Tomato Soup as well, but it would go so much better with a mid-summer pappa al pomodoro.
tdl1501 at 5:30PM on 07/27/09
The proper name is a Grilled Cheese Sammich as defined by GCI (Grilled Cheese Invitational). GCI has also defined Grilled Cheese Sammich in three categories, Missionary, Kama Sutra, and Honey Pot.
The Missionary Position: Standard bread, standard cheese (or cheeses), standard butter and NO ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS.
The Kama Sutra: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese PLUS additional ingredients (the interior ingredients must be at least 60% cheese).
The Honey Pot: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese (the interior ingredients of the sammich must be at least 60% cheese), and with an overall flavor that is sweet and would best be served as dessert.
kah9932 at 11:33PM on 07/27/09
OOOOOH, I love the "Honey Pot" idea! I love anything that combines savoury & sweet. So with that I suggest...
Good bread is important, something like sourdough...
REAL cheese is a must, it makes a world of difference.
Mozzarella with mango chutney
Gouda with marmalade
Cream cheese with cherry jam
Havarti on raisin bread
Goat cheese with red pepper jelly
Old white cheddar with apricot jam
Old cheddar with Granny Smith
Cheddar with grape jelly
Cheddar with apple butter
Cheddar, dipped in maple syrup...
mbhebert SERIOUSLY... Wonder Bread & Velveeta? That' s not lunch, that's revolting.
I also recommend everyone try cooking a grilled cheese Benny & Joon style...
Sugar at 1:06AM on 07/28/09
I think good bread is important - not just white bread OR Wonder Bread (which to me isn't bread but something too soft) - 2 slices of cheese (either american cheese BUT NOT Cheddar - it gets greasy) - American, Monterey Jack, Pepper jack, Muenster, all good. With or without bacon fine with me! Also I've also been known to put pesto sauce and a slice of good heirloom tomato. One important point - all cheeses should be American in some way - made in the U.S.A. - nothing Italian. If you are putting Mozzarella, fontina, provolone or any of them, then it is a panini, not a Grilled Cheese. Even Havarti is good (I know that isn't American - that is my one exception).
It must be made in a cast iron pan with something on top to press it down a bit. I use either my tea kettle OR a heavy pot lid. If made in a panini grill or a George Foreman Grill, it is a panini, not a grilled cheese.
Also no weird combos like Sugar said - cheddar with maple or apple butter or grape jelly. Ick. Nothing sweet. It is a savory sandwich, not a sweet sandwich. If you are putting cheese and sweet together then it is an appetizer bruschetta or something like that. Not Grilled Cheese.
Just my very long 2 cents...
RisaG at 10:44PM on 08/03/09