When I was a kid, I had a very strict and immobile belief on the idea of grilled cheese -- it was always cheddar melted between slices of white bread with a can of Campbell's tomato soup. It had to be Campbell's, the can was not to be diluted with water (blasphemy!), and it would only be consumed with the sandwich. No tomato soup without the sandwich, and no grilled cheese without the soup.
These days, I'm a smidge more open-minded. I kill for grilled cheese with tomato, and sometime I even sass up my old mainstay with something like the tuscan bean soup above. But some of the old sentiment lingers. I can't imagine the thought of tomato soup without the sandwich, unless we're talking tuscan bean, minestrone, or something similar. Likewise, unless I add other ingredients to the cheese and bread, it seems lonely without the soup.
But what about you? Do you have strict grilled cheese beliefs or habits? Share below!
Quick tip: To cut cooking time for grilled cheese without a panini press, heat a large and small cast iron skillet. Put the sandwich in the larger pan, and then pick up the smaller skillet and press it down on top of the sandwich.
