Katie Doyle, Girl About Town

Wednesday, May. 12, 2004 - 3:21 a.m.

So, like, TB went to make us grilled cheese sandwiches tonight, which I totally appreciated, because I am all about melted cheesy goodness, especially the kind of warmy melty cheese I am not the one responsible for making. So I said "yes, please" when asked if I wanted one, and then actually looked up when he asked me if it was brown enough for me, on accounta he knows I like my grilled cheeses nice and brown, not all barely toasted and all of that, and that this is a major culinary sticking point with me. So I look up to see what he's showing me, and he has the slice of bread all lifted out of the pan. Like, alone. On it's own. Sans cheese. Or, you know, the other half. This intrigued me, because I'm like, where's the rest of the sandwich, because I don't know about you, but when I make a grilled cheese sandwich, I make it the way Mom made it, which I assume is how every other mom on the planet makes a grilled cheese sandwich, which is thusly:

Step 1. Warm the pan. While said pan is warming, butter the bread*.
Step 2. When the pan is hot enough, which is right around the time the bread is nicely buttered, put the first slice in the nice hot pan, buttered side down.
Step 3. Place 2 slices of cheese on the unbuttered side (the side thence facing upwards) of the bread in the pan.
Step 4. Place the second slice of bread on top of the cheese, buttered side up and non-buttered side to the cheese.
Step 5. When the slice of bread lying buttered side down at the bottom of the sandwich pile is reasonably grilled (aka not soggy), turn the whole pile over with a spatula.
Step 6. Wait for the slice of bread which had been formerly at the top of the sandwich stack, but which is now at the bottom of the sandwich stack, to attain a certain level of grillage, which point is up to you, and then turn the whole thing over again, so that the first side to be grilled can get more heat and more grilling, and the cheese is assured a chance to evenly melt.
Step 7. Repeat step 6 until sandwich is just the way you like it, at which point, dinner is served.

*The subject of butter is a tender subject, probably best left for another day, but I strongly suggest letting it melt for a bit beforehand so it's nice and soft and spreadable, thus avoiding bread carnage. Just a tip from your Aunt Katie.

Now, I realize I may be considered a rebel in some cheese grilling circles, as I go for the gluttony and that second slice of cheese, but as far as I am concerned, if one is going to go to the trouble of grilling a sandwich, there should be enough cheese on it for the taste of cheese to be savored, and for that, you need 2 slices of good old-fashioned American cheese.

Yes, American. I am not so rebellious I go for that new-fangled swiss stuff. That is not a proper grilled cheese sandwich, I don't care who you are. I am a traditionalist, afterall, and what cheese Mom used is good enough for me. If you have one of them weird moms who used Swiss, more power to ya, but I am not one of you, and we would not have sat together at recess, as you were clearly some sort of Bohemian.

Bygones.

Anyway. The point is, I look over, and TB has the one slice of bread lifted out of the pan, and nothing - I repeat, NOTHING - else in the pan. Not the second, happily toasting slice of bread and a topping of cheese, not just the second slice, nothing. The second slice is over on the counter, all buttered and just sitting there, and the cheese is still in its packaging with all its cheese slice bretheren. Turns out, he browns the first slice all the way and removes it from the pan, puts in the second slice, and once it's near it's desired level of brownness, adds the rest back on top of it for the cheese to melt.

What is up with that, people?

I asked him why he was making it that way, and he refused to answer. He wanted to know why, did I have a problem with that? And yes, I kinda do, but then I thought maybe I should ask, maybe it's arrogant to assume that every normal person in the western world makes a grilled cheese sandwich the way my mom does. Maybe my mom is the weird one, and the rest of you people learned from your mom to toast the bread one slice at a time. That doesn't make much sense to me, frankly, since the toasting process is also what melts the cheese, but okay, I'm asking - seriously asking - who else makes a sandwich this way??? Are you out there? And why do you do it that way? Have you tried making it the other way? Is the separate grilling thing a security blanket? Is turning over a loosely "bonded" pile of bread and cheese somehow intimidating? I'm seriously asking, because I find this whole thing rather mystifying. And not very effective, because the first slice totally gets cold while the other one is grilling, and frankly, my way results in a much hotter sandwich, which I prefer, because if one is to eat a hot food, said food should actually be hot, and not just mostly so. But again, that might just be me. So come on, people, fess up. If you are one of the individually toasting, please drop me a line. I'm really curious how people make their grilled cheese sandwiches. For that matter, where do you stand on that whole tomato thing? Enquiring minds want to know, people!

Peace out,
Katie

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