Dreaded grilled cheese?!?!?

Over at HMS Blog, Matt Watkins is slamming the quintessential Friday Catholic lunch -- grilled cheese.

As a former Wisconsin resident, that got my hackles up. The only way grilled cheese could possibly be "dreaded" would be if it was made with lousy ingredients on a contact griddle that squashed it flat (my mom used to make it on the waffle iron with flat panels to compress the sandwiches beyond salvation). Try it the Wisconsin way, and you'll fall in love with grilled cheese.

Replace your Wonder bread with thick slices of a hearty whole-grain bread, tangy sourdough or rich rye. Replace the American cheese with two slices of Cojack, cheddar, Provelone or swiss. Whatever you do, make sure it's REAL cheese from a deli counter, preferably from Wisconsin (although Vermont cheese is also very good). If the label says "cheese food" instead of "cheese" under the variety name or if it says Kraft anywhere at all, it's not going to taste any better than the plastic it's wrapped in no matter what you do to it.

Be adventuresome and mix the cheeses if you like. A slice of fresh tomato is always a nice touch. Make sure the outside of the bread is well-buttered and your griddle or skillet is nice and warmm (preheat on medium high heat). Lay the sandwich on the pan and grill until it's golden brown on one side. Then carefully flip it over. Some folks cover the pan to ensure a good melt, but I find using room temperature cheese takes care of that problem. When the sandwich is pefectly done on the second side, remove it to a plate and eat it at once. It should be at least an inch and a half thick and not squashed at all. The outside should be crisp and buttery and the inside should be velvety and rich.

Yummmmm!

--Sparki