The Art of the Grilled Cheese

It could be the ultimate in comfort food, right along with macaroni and cheese that is.

The grilled cheese sandwich has long been one of my favorites, a standby when you can't figure out what else to eat or the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of soup, especially of the tomato variety. Today was just the day to make one and it was yum!

A few months back, I decided to concoct my own grilled cheese, a little different from my American singles days.

I tend to have a bent for Italian food and my "new" grilled cheese showcases that quite openly.

It started out with two slices of fresh Italian bread, but don't worry, it has since been bookended by Sourdough, white and wheat, depending on what's on hand. I'm kind of a stickler for having the edges match up and all so I make sure my two pieces are right next to one another. I open them up and butter the insides, yes the insides first. Then I sprinkle the insides with my favorite Italian spices (this is where the originality can begin) and those vary depending on what's in the pantry.

Those inside, spiced up sides end up in a preheated and lightly buttered skillet first (WARNING, there is quite a bit of butter in this recipe). As those begin to brown wonderfully, I butter the top sides staring back at me, which will eventually be my outsides. Once the insides are browned and the aroma of the spices is drifting nicely through the kitchen, I turn them over and place my selected cheese on one of the insides before placing the other spiced side on top of the cheese to create what now looks more like a regular grilled cheese.

The cheese is not a mere afterthought here. I'm definitively into white cheeses on my grilled cheese these days, having started out with mozzarella and sometimes moving into pepper jack. There are others I'm going to try out soon, but these are my main staples for now.

Of course, then you just brown both sides as you would any grilled cheese.

I serve mine with a nice marinara sauce for dipping to "finish off" my Italian meal but soup is always a great side.

Throughout my ongoing experiment I have added sliced tomatoes, turkey and even baby spinach to the mix for variety.

Many variations still await my tastebuds but I'm enjoying my taste-testing in search of the perfect, grown-up grilled cheese. There are so many possibilities beyond that yellow cheese in the wrapper.

I've had a few "samplers" who love it, too, although of course they have their own preferences on how it should be made. As long as I'm the chef, they'll get it my way and just be excited. Of course, it's not as if they are complaining as they clean their plates!