An Ode to Faux Fancy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
I love cheese. For my birthday, I begged my mom to take me to the local known-for-their-delicious-cheeses restaurant as her gift to me. The cheese was glorious. (I think she might have been a bit surprised that I didn't ask for more makeup.) In fact, I'm eating a cheese sandwich right now as I ponder how to appropriately convey my love for cheese. Mmm. Cheese.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that I enjoy a nice grilled cheese sandwich, especially since they're also easy to make. Confession: I'm really lazy so I don't even "grill" them anymore, I just stick 'em in the toaster oven until the cheese is just melted.
But sometimes, guests show up unexpectedly or something to that effect, the fridge is kind of empty, and you want to make something a little nicer than just a grilled cheese sandwich. Or more people showed up to the tea party than you expected, almost everyone brought dessert pastries, and it turns out someone's allergic to the cucumber in the cucumber finger sandwiches. Uh, that was rather specific. Whatever. Maybe you want more than just bread, butter and cheese. For me, it's usually the last reason but I've actually gone to gatherings at friends' houses and whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches with just a little something extra when the snacks ran low.
Those little something extras can change everything.
My favourite things to add to "fancy" up a grilled cheese sandwich are ingredients most people generally have on hand: tomatoes or apples. It's a rare day indeed when my fridge lacks both at the same time.
Anyway, here are some ideas to fake a fancy grilled/baked cheese sandwich. I suppose some of them are super obvious but I'm writing this for me and this is my blog, so.
Don't just add tomatoes, throw in some basil too! Bonus if it's fresh! Add some fresh ground pepper to the tomatoes! Soak the tomato slices in balsamic vinegar, which is an automatic fancifier. True fact. Using a lighter cheese, like mozzarella? Don't forget to sprinkle a bit of sea salt on those tomatoes. Oh, and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Oh hey, we just made a caprese sandwich.
Bacon. Bacon on everything. Thick slices of bacon with apples. Crisp bacon with tomatoes. Swiss cheese with bacon and mushroom. Bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Just bacon with the cheese. Bacon. Bacon, bacon, bacon. Good lord, I've typed bacon so much that the word doesn't even look real anymore.
Sharp cheddar paired with apple slices. Brie or camembert with apple or pear, maybe with cinnamon and a bit of maple syrup. Dessert is served.
You know what else is good with apples? Ham. I mean, you could just do a classic ham and cheese, but adding cinnamon-spiced (optional) apple slices just brings it to a whole new level. If you haven't already noticed, I love pork and apple pairings.
Got turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving? Throw it in a cheddar sandwich with the leftover cranberry sauce! How 'bout leftover mac 'n cheese? Throw that between two slices of heavily buttered bread and grill that sucker. Comfort food times comfort food equals ultimate comfort, amirite?
Pretty sure I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff. If any of you [nonexistent] readers have suggestions, throw 'em out there! Let's all eat faux fancy grilled cheese sandwiches together! Er, unless you don't eat cheese. That's okay too. You can take all the cucumber sandwiches. I don't eat cucumbers.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that I enjoy a nice grilled cheese sandwich, especially since they're also easy to make. Confession: I'm really lazy so I don't even "grill" them anymore, I just stick 'em in the toaster oven until the cheese is just melted.
But sometimes, guests show up unexpectedly or something to that effect, the fridge is kind of empty, and you want to make something a little nicer than just a grilled cheese sandwich. Or more people showed up to the tea party than you expected, almost everyone brought dessert pastries, and it turns out someone's allergic to the cucumber in the cucumber finger sandwiches. Uh, that was rather specific. Whatever. Maybe you want more than just bread, butter and cheese. For me, it's usually the last reason but I've actually gone to gatherings at friends' houses and whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches with just a little something extra when the snacks ran low.
Those little something extras can change everything.
My favourite things to add to "fancy" up a grilled cheese sandwich are ingredients most people generally have on hand: tomatoes or apples. It's a rare day indeed when my fridge lacks both at the same time.
Anyway, here are some ideas to fake a fancy grilled/baked cheese sandwich. I suppose some of them are super obvious but I'm writing this for me and this is my blog, so.
Don't just add tomatoes, throw in some basil too! Bonus if it's fresh! Add some fresh ground pepper to the tomatoes! Soak the tomato slices in balsamic vinegar, which is an automatic fancifier. True fact. Using a lighter cheese, like mozzarella? Don't forget to sprinkle a bit of sea salt on those tomatoes. Oh, and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Oh hey, we just made a caprese sandwich.
Bacon. Bacon on everything. Thick slices of bacon with apples. Crisp bacon with tomatoes. Swiss cheese with bacon and mushroom. Bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Just bacon with the cheese. Bacon. Bacon, bacon, bacon. Good lord, I've typed bacon so much that the word doesn't even look real anymore.
Sharp cheddar paired with apple slices. Brie or camembert with apple or pear, maybe with cinnamon and a bit of maple syrup. Dessert is served.
You know what else is good with apples? Ham. I mean, you could just do a classic ham and cheese, but adding cinnamon-spiced (optional) apple slices just brings it to a whole new level. If you haven't already noticed, I love pork and apple pairings.
Got turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving? Throw it in a cheddar sandwich with the leftover cranberry sauce! How 'bout leftover mac 'n cheese? Throw that between two slices of heavily buttered bread and grill that sucker. Comfort food times comfort food equals ultimate comfort, amirite?
Pretty sure I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff. If any of you [nonexistent] readers have suggestions, throw 'em out there! Let's all eat faux fancy grilled cheese sandwiches together! Er, unless you don't eat cheese. That's okay too. You can take all the cucumber sandwiches. I don't eat cucumbers.