Grilled Cheese Survey

Ok, its fall and getting cooler out, even here in Florida. I know Florida doesn’t really get that cold, but the northern part get much colder than say, Miami. So the topic of grilled cheese and soup is on my mind. What makes the best grilled cheese for you?

What kind of bread is the best?




Which is better, butter the bread and put it on a hot surface, or melt the butter first and put the bread on it.




Is it ok to use some kind of butter substitute, or only real butter?




Has anyone ever tried to use mayo instead of butter to grill the bread? (Apparently back in the ‘50’s, certain lunch counters used to do this, like Woolworths.)




What kind of cheese, or combination of cheeses, makes the best grilled cheese?




Is it ok to add stuff, or does that ruin the whole “Grilled Cheesiness” of the thing? (By stuff, it could be ham or turkey or tofu or tomato or a combination or whatever you think would be good)




Is it ok to use blue cheese in a grilled cheese?




What kind of soup goes best with a grilled cheese? (It’s ok to be boring and say tomato soup)
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"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science." - Albert Einstein

LOL

leave it to the Deadhead to post a poll about grilled cheese!

no time to answer now but will do so later.

my quick answer is grilled ham and gouda on rye bread, no soup = HEAVEN!!

Oh yeah Sparky~, a grilled cheese on the lot. Seems safer than the falafals I watched this one gut fry up in a hand made frying rig. The oil was kind of cloudy Those were the days
_________________
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science." - Albert Einstein

Finally, something other than politics I have a strong opinion about!

What kind of bread is the best?
Multigrain, preferably Milton's


Which is better, butter the bread and put it on a hot surface, or melt the butter first and put the bread on it.
Butter first! outside only.... then hot griddle or frying pan with a press


Is it ok to use some kind of butter substitute, or only real butter?
Actually, "Smart Balance" works better than butter -- less likely to scorch.

Has anyone ever tried to use mayo instead of butter to grill the bread? (Apparently back in the ‘50’s, certain lunch counters used to do this, like Woolworths.)
Uh... yuck.

What kind of cheese, or combination of cheeses, makes the best grilled cheese?
I like a thick slab of cheddar... or possibly edam or smoked gouda or Munster, Gruyere, or a Havarti / Cheddar mix -- something strongly flavored.

Is it ok to add stuff, or does that ruin the whole “Grilled Cheesiness” of the thing? (By stuff, it could be ham or turkey or tofu or tomato or a combination or whatever you think would be good)
Personally... I like tomato (sometimes with some tarragon) or a bacon/tomato grilled cheese, I also love grilling apples into a cheddar sandwich.

Is it ok to use blue cheese in a grilled cheese?
Not by itself... too intense. A limited amount of blue cheese crumbles with chopped walnut and watercress grilled ... is awesome.

What kind of soup goes best with a grilled cheese? (It’s ok to be boring and say tomato soup)
Cheddar : Tomato Soup. Boring, but true.
Blue Cheese and Walnut : Beef Barley Soup (or veggie barley for that matter)
Smoked Gouda and Apple: Chicken soup.
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Quote:

There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. - W. Somerset Maugham

I'm partial to a swiss with sauteed mushroom and onion on rye combo. Butter on the bread first, eat with a french onion soup, minus the cheese and crouton on top. For pure comfort, though, grilled yellow American on sourdough, with a cup of tomato sure hits the spot.

As to other add ins... tuna is a fave at our house, on the sourdough/American sammy.

PS Ken - do you put fresh apple slices in? Do they cook, or stay crunchy?
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"No, I'm not a pessimist. At some point the world shits on everybody. Pretending it ain't shit makes you an idiot, not an optimist."

I use wheat bread & American cheese. I melt butter in the pan, but the top slice of bread has butter on it. I've put ham on the grilled cheese, but usually I just go for cheese. Tomato soup made with milk instead of water.

My former stepmother used rye bread and Velveeta for her grilled cheese sammiches. That was also pretty tasty.
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Mark it 8, Dude.

What kind of bread is the best?

Sourdough


Which is better, butter the bread and put it on a hot surface, or melt the butter first and put the bread on it.

Butter, then fry


Is it ok to use some kind of butter substitute, or only real butter?

nope, gotta be real


Has anyone ever tried to use mayo instead of butter to grill the bread? (Apparently back in the ‘50’s, certain lunch counters used to do this, like Woolworths.)

Ewwww. What?


What kind of cheese, or combination of cheeses, makes the best grilled cheese?

Jack


Is it ok to add stuff, or does that ruin the whole “Grilled Cheesiness” of the thing? (By stuff, it could be ham or turkey or tofu or tomato or a combination or whatever you think would be good)

I've added ham, tyrkey, etc. But for a grilled cheese, I like just the plain ol cheese...


Is it ok to use blue cheese in a grilled cheese?

I don't know, I've never tried it...


What kind of soup goes best with a grilled cheese? (It’s ok to be boring and say tomato soup)

I'm a chowda man myself, any kind of chowda (excpet MAN chowda)
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And God said: 'Let there be Satan, so people don't blame everything on me. And let there be lawyers, so people don't blame everything on Satan.'

I'm hungry.

Cream cheese and mayo on white bread with the crust cut off, dipped in egg and fried in butter.

(I'm kidding. I think. )
_________________
"Smacking yourself with a thawed meat-hammer never has a desired effect." - Jinxted

"Life's too short to get wrapped around the axle about the little things." - SK

-The First Law of Geography: Everything is Connected to Everything Else.

What kind of bread is the best?
I love potato bread or rye.



Which is better, butter the bread and put it on a hot surface, or melt the butter first and put the bread on it. Is it ok to use some kind of butter substitute, or only real butter?
I prefer to use low-fat sprays. Grilled cheeses suck if they soak up too much butter. The soggy ones in elementary school used to make me ill: "Excuse me, could I get some cheese and bread to go with this butter? No? kay."



Has anyone ever tried to use mayo instead of butter to grill the bread? (Apparently back in the ‘50’s, certain lunch counters used to do this, like Woolworths.)
Oh, god no. That sounds all sorts of gross.



What kind of cheese, or combination of cheeses, makes the best grilled cheese?
I like american (deli only, none of that individually wrapped crap), cheddar, and/or muenster.



Is it ok to add stuff, or does that ruin the whole “Grilled Cheesiness” of the thing? (By stuff, it could be ham or turkey or tofu or tomato or a combination or whatever you think would be good)
Yes. Thinly sliced tomatoes and crispy, crispy bacon.



Is it ok to use blue cheese in a grilled cheese?
I guess. I love bleu cheese, but it sounds kinda weird to me.



What kind of soup goes best with a grilled cheese? (It’s ok to be boring and say tomato soup)
New England Clam Chowder or a seafoody bisque.
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Homeless people need more seasoning, use bath salts.

Lavandula Girl wrote:

I'm partial to a swiss with sauteed mushroom and onion on rye combo. Butter on the bread first, eat with a french onion soup, minus the cheese and crouton on top. For pure comfort, though, grilled yellow American on sourdough, with a cup of tomato sure hits the spot. As to other add ins... tuna is a fave at our house, on the sourdough/American sammy. PS Ken - do you put fresh apple slices in? Do they cook, or stay crunchy?

Peeled maybe 1/4" chunks... they soften a bit but stay mostly crunchy.
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Quote:

There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. - W. Somerset Maugham

OK, I'm a lazy old stoner so I'll just tell you what works for me...

I make toasted cheese sandwiches, so bread must be thin enough to fit in toaster-
since it's toasted on both sides, it holds up for soup-dipping-
use whatever kind you like but I find that sourdough just tastes wrong for cheese...

No butter (though I've used butter sprinkles in the past), put cheese on bread & nuke it-
if you like, you can use a handful of shredded cheese & mix different kinds together-
Sharp Cheddar's the best for me, CoJack's good, American is an insult to my taste buds...

Mayo shouldn't be allowed- if you have it in your kitchen, THROW IT AWAY!

You might try adding a little seasoning before nuking-
cayenne, habanero or other spice...


They're good with veggie soup or my special ABC secret recipe but I gotta agree, tomato soup rocks!

We're working on tweaking some good old Campbell's in such a way that's anything but boring-
I'll probably post the results when we get it sorted out
but let's just say we're trying to duplicate the dipping sauce we had at the Greek/Italian place in Gatlinburg
& I think I've figured out their secret ingredient...

zendao42 wrote:

OK, I'm [...] old [...]

Couldn't resist.


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"If you allow yourself to be offended, then you're a bit of [a] nitwit."
(Christopher Moore)

mllefifi wrote:

zendao42 wrote: OK, I'm [...] old [...] Couldn't resist.

It's ok, I'm sure you're older...

Feef, it's a cheese thread- you gotta have an opinion on that...

Well, last time I made a grilled cheese sandwich, it was on 100% whole-wheat bread (or another brown bread, like multigrain), with two slices of fat-free American cheese.

(I spread butter or Olivio on the bread before putting the whole thing on the skillet.)
_________________
"If you allow yourself to be offended, then you're a bit of [a] nitwit."
(Christopher Moore)

zendao42 wrote:

Mayo shouldn't be allowed- if you have it in your kitchen, THROW IT AWAY!

But...but...then what do I put on my hamburgers and hotdogs?
_________________
"Smacking yourself with a thawed meat-hammer never has a desired effect." - Jinxted

"Life's too short to get wrapped around the axle about the little things." - SK

-The First Law of Geography: Everything is Connected to Everything Else.