"grilledcheese" news and stories

Oh, how I wish I had taken a picture of my meal tonight. Unfortunately, the three of us were ravenous fiends who had no time to sit for a second and appreciate the food on our plates. What did we eat? A mystery soup (my friend refuses to tell me what was in it), a salad, and the rich, fatty, and delicious croque monsieur -- otherwise known as French ham and grilled cheese topped with bechamel and more cheese.

I have made a lot of things for these guys over the years -- bisques, fajitas, fish and chips, sauteed tofu, stuffed mushroom caps... -- but nothing has ever gotten the praise that a couple plates of croque monsieur have. I'm talking moans of surprise with almost every bite, as if it was an ongoing, neverending shock of quiver-inducing flavor. The vegetarian got the sandwich sans meat, while the rest of us had prosciutto slipped inside, instead of ham.

I think it's my new holiday favorite. We always get set on big productions of food for the holiday, but why go to all that effort when you can get the same, or an even better, response from a simple, saucy ham and cheese?

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.

I love grilled cheese, whether the cheese is lumped between two pieces of bread with other goodies, or done my dad's way, open-faced and broiled until the center is gooey and the perimeter is crisp. Along with a cheese omelet, it's my favorite late-night snack -- especially if you add tomatoes.

And today, I'm in a whirlwind of grilled cheese fantasies because the Kitchn just referred back to a really great AOL Food list of awesome, gourmet cheese sandwiches (that Bob blogged about last year). After thoughts of homemade cheese delicacies, I started thinking back to grilled cheese outside the house.

Some places have recognized the wonder of grilled cheese. If you research the W Hotel, you'll find that many guests have noted their great grilled cheese, whether it has crab added to it in New Orleans, or tomatoes in San Francisco. I had the latter, practically drooling at the thought after a long night out with friends. My friend and I both ordered the gc and fries, and when it arrived, alcohol-fueled, 2-AM chatter was replaced with heavenly groans. It's that good. It wasn't too fancy. In fact, it was pretty simple, but tasted perfectly wonderful.

Do you ever bother to order grilled cheese out of the house? And, if so, have you had any worth mentioning?

• Grilled cheese - without the bread.
• How to make corn salad (video).
• Behind the scenes of the American Cheese Society conference.
• Should Sheryl buy a vacuum sealer for her fruits and fish?
• Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1959.
• This week's recipes: Mediterranean Chicken and Orzo Salad, Spicy Gazpacho, New Potatoes with Capers and Basil, Crab and Avocado Verrine, and Buttery Almond Crisps.

Ah, the grilled cheese sandwich. Everyone takes it for granted. Get a couple of slices of bread and a few slices of cheese and you have yourself a meal. Maybe throw in a bowl of soup with it. But the grilled cheese is actually one of the more versatile sandwiches you can make. I often add tomato to mine, or mix up the type of cheese I use. I often toast the bread too (healthier).

AOL Food has a gallery of various grilled cheese recipes for you to try, including a Buttery Fig and Blue Cheese Melt, a Dutch Grilled Cheese (which includes onions, cumin, Gouda, and caraway), a Smoky Southwestern Grill (which includes mozzarella, goat cheese, and tomato on Italian Bread, and The Best Grilled Cheese, with cheddar cheese on sourdough bread. There are eight sandwiches in all.