Perhaps it’s the weather. Perhaps it’s that the holidays incite our nostalgia and fuel a return old-fashioned cooking and familial memories—think grandma in the kitchen, apron-ed and smiling. It may be cliché, but that doesn’t make it trite or even untrue.

There are certain meals that remind us of childhood. Grilled cheese is one in particular. It’s gooey goodness and perfectly toasted and crisp exterior—it’s no wonder it’s still a craved commodity.

Sometimes the cheese stands alone.

The Perfect Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

Tilamook Cheddar

Sourdough Bread

Butter

Directions

1. Warm your pan (or cast iron works great) on medium low.

2. Paint one side of a slice of bread with melted butter and place it on the pan, butter side down.

3. Assemble your sliced cheese onto the bread. Don’t make your slices too thick, or they take too long to melt, and you wind up with burnt bread.

4. Top with other piece of bread and paint it with melted butter.

5. If you want, cover the pan to generate more heat.

6. Cook for about 2 minutes until golden brown and cheese is melted. A medium low heat should prevent burning

7. Flip and cook on the other side for no more than a minute until bread is golden brown

8. Remove from pan and serve

Sometimes you want to dress it up.

 

Stilton and Apple Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

Stilton Cheese

Sourdough Bread

Granny Smith Apples

Yellow onion

Butter

Olive Oil

Directions

1. In a sauté pan, caramelize the onion, by slowly cooking them in a little olive oil until they are richly browned. This should take about

2. Repeat steps 1-3.

3. After you add your cheese, add your fillings.

4. Repeat steps 4-8.

Now. Couple of items to note. This technique will produce a softer (not crisp) sandwich, but the bread will still have some crunch to it. If you want a crunchier texture, don’t cover the pan.

 

-Arianna Schioldager