Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

My favorite tips are from my dad, I think I just remember the fun nights when he would spend hours cooking some amazing dinner.

The first is how to peel garlic by lighting crushing with a knife.

The second is clean as you go...

I somehow missed the class on knives and sharp instruments in general. I have been banned from my friend's kitchen for managing to cut myself with a mandolin, knife, then cheese grater in the course of a week.

Glass of wine, cooking some sort of thing that will be much better in an hour or so and includes everything stinky and wonderful - onions, garlic and cheese. Surrounded by friends and family, laughing while still keeping an eye on the pot.

Or... having some coronas and hanging out near the grill smelling steaks, giddeous in the sun.

My first cookbook that I went to was the Manilla, Iowa Centennial celebration cookbook. It was full of farm recipes from the small town that my dad grew up in. It had some of the best recipes for roasts, potatoes and pies. It also had the standard small-town, every-other-recipe-with cheesewhiz or campbells soup, but it was fun to look at and started my cookbook obsession.

Russell's BBQ sauce from Chicago, IL.

Hot dog with ketchup, warm peanuts and beer.

Sigh... why does no one get the true secret to a perfect grilled cheese sandwich? The trick is this. Butter ALL FOUR SIDES of two pieces of bread. Then put the two pieces of bread in the pan until the pan-sides are crisp.

Then, flip both slices of bread over and put the cheese on top of one of the slices THAT WAS JUST COOKED. Then put the OTHER cooked side on top of the cheese. Cook sandwich as you normally would.

By putting the cheese between two HOT sides of bread instead of between cold sides, the cheese is perfectly melted by the time the bread is crisp on the outside.

Two advantages -- you don't have to wait so long or constantly check to see if you are burning the bread AND you get even more of the delicious crispy crunch, which is the true joy of a grilled cheese sandwich.

I thought all of you grilled cheese connoisseurs would appreciate this:
http://www.grilledcheeseinvitational.com/

@BreweRepublic:

Are you talking about mayo inside or outside? I always make it with mayo smeared on the outside instead of butter. It gives the sandwich WAY more flavor.

The ultimate grilled cheese sandwich includes either dijon mustard smeared on the inside of the sandwich, or worstershire sauce sprinkled inside, or quite possibly including sauteed onions.

The recipe presented here just gives you a good ordinary grilled cheese, exactly as good as all the other ordinary grilled cheeses.

The sound of the dishwasher, followed by the pop of a wine bottle opening. That means the kitchen is clean and we're ready to go outside and relax on the deck by the lake.