I love grilled cheese…love to make ‘em …love to eat ‘em! Friday, April 12 is National Grilled Cheese Day, YAY! I always think of grilled cheese as “toasted cheese sandwiches” because that is what my mother called them. She put a bit of French’s classic yellow mustard on the bread before toasting them in butter and I thought they were heavenly. These lovely sandwiches have several names across the globe: The French serve “Croque Monsieur” – melted Gruyère cheese and ham, in England they are known as “Toasties” and in Australia they are called “Jaffles” and they have a special “jaffle iron” (metal skillet) to make them. The “iron” seals the edges of the sandwich to keep the yummy melted cheese inside.
There are a few tricks to making an ordinary grilled cheese into ooey, gooey melted cheesy golden goodness…or GC’s as I like to call them:
1. Make your GC crispy by spreading the outside of the bread slices with mayonnaise before frying.
2. Use good quality bread. Avoid bread that has too many holes in it because the cheese will ooze through the holes as it melts.
3. Choose cheese that melts easily. Cheddar, havarti, Gouda, gruyere are good choices. Add bacon, a thin layer or jam or hot pepper jelly, thin slices of tomato and other fun ingredients to dress up your GC.
4. Keep the heat at low to medium-low to allow the cheese to melt without burning the bread.
Here’s a recipe for one of my favorite GC’s – just the right amount of melted cheese, crunchy apple and hot honey heat:
Hot Honey Honey Crisp Havarti GC
Makes 2 sandwiches
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Mayonnaise
- 4 slices Sara Lee Artesano Bread
- 6 slices havarti cheese
- 12 very thin slices honey crisp apple
- Mike’s hot honey (available locally at Kroger)
Melt butter in a frying pan large enough to hold two sandwiches. Add olive oil and swirl around in pan to mix the melted butter and oil, keeping warm over medium-low heat. Spread mayonnaise lightly on each Artesano bread slice. Place two bread slices, mayonnaise side down, in the pan.
Place three havarti cheese slices and 6 honey crisp apple slices on top of each slice of bread. Drizzle the apple slices with Mike’s hot honey. Place the second slice of bread on top of the honey, mayonnaise side facing up. Once the sandwich is browned on one side, turn it over and brown the other side. Continue heating over medium-low heat, covered, until the cheese is melted and starts oozing out of the sandwich. Cut sandwiches in half and serve warm.
About the Writer:
Following her career in healthcare dining and nutrition management, Becky Ellis followed her passion to create Bubblybee, a champagne and food blog. Her motto is “Don’t wait to celebrate! Pop the cork now!” She loves to share tips for entertaining with bubbly. Find her creative recipes and champagne tasting notes at bubblybee.net and Instagram @bubblybeeboop.
