It's no wonder that grilled cheese sandwiches inspire such gooey love
By Kitty Crider
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FOOD EDITOR, Wednesday, January 23, 2008
"The only thing better than cheese is hot, melty cheese."
Such a simple statement -- you can almost see the cheese oozing, dripping, stringing -- is guaranteed to get a few amens here in Queso Country. But on this day, Michele Haram was not talking about warm cheese dips. Her object of adoration was the grilled cheese sandwich.
Depending on the country in which you live, grilled cheese could be a croque monsieur, a quesadilla or a panino, she said. Or, reflecting on her Wisconsin childhood, a Kraft Single on Wonder Bread. However, grilled cheese, once called toasted cheese, is not just kid food.
In today's sandwich society, the grilled cheese has risen to elegant grown-up versions, such as an English Cheddar with applewood smoked bacon and apple slices on artisan bread that Haram prepared in a one-hour lunch class at Central Market Cooking School last week.
Anytime you need something fast and easy, think grilled cheese, said Haram, the cheese/deli manager for Central Market North. She demonstrated five "fancy" grilled cheese sandwiches, including a dessert one of goat cheese, Nutella and caramelized pears. There are at least two restaurants in New York City whose menus are exclusively grilled cheese, she said as she prepared a yet another sandwich of Italian bread with soft taleggio, whisper-thin slices of prosciutto and fig jam. Figs spread on a grilled cheese? You bet!
A grilled cheese sandwich is not the place to use your $25-a-pound wedges, she said. That's overkill. Instead, fill the bread with good, meltable cheese, the stuff that's less than $10 a pound, such as gruyere, fontina, mozzarella, gouda or Cheddar.
In her fast-paced cheese grillarama, she cooked the sandwiches in a skillet and a grill pan and on a griddle and a panini press. She noted that cooks could even use a waffle iron or a George Foreman grill. But time and again she relied on the simplicity of a skillet.
To make the process even easier, Haram dropped a tablespoon of butter into the skillet. When it had melted, she swirled it around and then wiped the skillet with two slices of bread. That's a lazy cook's secret to spreading softened butter on sandwich bread, she confessed with a smile. And it eliminates keeping the butter out on the table to soften or to tempt the family dog (another story). After the sandwich was assembled, she returned it to the skillet to heat -- on medium -- long enough to melt the cheese but before anything burns.
Use good bread -- country-style will make for a crisper sandwich than sliced sandwich bread -- but keep it to 1/4-inch thick.
"For me," Haram said, "the cheese needs to be the thing, the star of the show."
Spoken like an award-winning cheese manager.
kcrider@statesman.com; 445-3656
4-Italian Cheese Sandwich
1 Tbsp. butter
2 slices Southern Burgundy Walnut bread, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 oz. shredded mozzarella
1 oz. shredded smoked provolone
1 oz. extra creamy gorgonzola
1 Tbsp. Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Melt the butter over medium heat in a skillet. Slide the bread around in the pan to get both pieces coated with butter on one side. Take one piece out of the pan. Place on cutting board, buttered side down, and assemble the sandwich by putting the cheese on the bread in an indiscriminate manner. Top with the other bread, buttered side out. Cook in skillet until the cheese starts to melt and bottom bread turns golden brown. Flip and cook another couple of minutes. (If any cheese falls out of the sandwich while cooking, let it cook until crispy and then eat it as a snack.) Makes 1 sandwich.
-- Michele Haram
English Cheddar, Applewood-Smoked Bacon and Apple Sandwich
2 slices applewood-smoked bacon, such as Nueske's
1 tbsp. butter
2 slices of pagnotta or good crusty, bread, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 oz. cheddar, such as ford farm mature coastal, shredded on the large side of a box grater
4 to 5 slices of jazz apple
Slice the bacon in half lengthwise to get pieces that will fit the bread. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain. Wipe out the pan with paper towels. Add the butter to the pan and melt. Slide the bread around in the pan to get both pieces coated with butter on one side. Take one piece out of the pan. Assemble the sandwich by layering on the bread slice, buttered side down, half the cheese, then the bacon, then the apple slices, and remaining cheese. Top with remaining bread, buttered side up. Press sandwich together with spatula. Cook on medium heat 3 to 4 minutes to give the cheese time to melt, pressing with spatula a couple of times. Turn sandwich over when the underside is golden brown and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. If cheese is not completely melted when you turn the sandwich, cover the pan with a lid for a couple of minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 1 sandwich.
-- Michele Haram
