grilled cheese sandwich

cheese. a six letter word that makes me salivate. soft. semi-soft. hard. whether the originating milk is cow, sheep, goat or even buffalo, the end result is tasty. it can be buttery to nutty in flavor. it’s porous to smooth in texture and comes in many different shapes and sizes.

some of my favorites are port salut, maytag blue, and any goat cheese I can get my hands on—especially if it’s relatively local and fresh. but my biggest forays with cheese, unfortunately, are determined by what my kids want to eat. so i am doomed to revisit the same menu which usually consists of either macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese. these are not exactly the dishes i would consider the pinnacle of culinary excitement. but both dishes provide sustenance for little mouths that, as i’ve described in my earlier blog, are pretty discerning.

when it comes to grilled cheese sandwiches, you’ve got to have the right cheese with the right texture. the cheese has to ooze from crisp, buttery toast when you cut into it. the melting capacity of the cheese along with evenly dispersed heat is very key. otherwise, you end up with coagulated glop between two pieces of bread. some choose cheddar. others swiss or gouda. even, dare i say, velveeta. i’m always fond of american cheese as the main ingredient. the bread can’t be too thick or too slight and it should be white bread. if you’re trying to get healthy with your kids and sneak in some fiber, try it on a different dish. some things are just not meant to be messed with.

there are some classic additions to the standard grilled cheese that can't be beat on an empty stomach: add some tomato and some bacon and you've got a little party going on in your mouth. ham is always another great choice. that was actually a staple sandwich i made for myself in college. it got me through a number of all-nighters and a couple of times when the meal choice at the cafeteria was less than inspirational.

for a blog on food, this doesn’t seem like the ideal topic. although, i found the entry of "grilled cheese sandwich" on wikipedia. it was pictured with a nice bowl of tomato soup. so if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

but shouldn’t I discuss the finer points of shitake mushrooms or something involving demi-glace or shaved parmesan? maybe so. but in the end, tasty food is tasty food. my own childhood memories include a steady diet of grilled cheese sandwiches. so perhaps that makes me a connoisseur of sorts. or maybe it just means i like cheese and bread. together. and hot.