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Try some raisin or even pineapple tidbits to your sandwich. Great flavor and texture. Never had that till I was in Vietnam and tring to find American food. i was pleasantly surprised.
I do it in the toaster oven, sometimes...very similar to above...buuuuuuuut...that ain't a grilled cheese.
Another way to cheat when making a quick, no clean up meal is to toast the bread. Butter the outsides add preferred / available filling and microwave to heat/melt. Not as good but another idea............quick and easy done on one small plate.
I've never covered anything in the skillet and it cooks fine. Butter your first piece of bread and go ahead and put it in the heated skillet, with the slices of cheese, and let it be toasting while you're buttering the second piece of bread.
I'm with CFoulke on putting bacon in with the cheese. I love my bacon and cheese sandwiches!!
I use a panini press and instead of butter I mash some avocado with lime and spread that on both slices of bread, then use proper West Country chedder cheese and chopped chives. Mmmm best grilled cheese sandwich ever...if it wasn't almost dinner time I'd go make one now!
Another vote for "toasted" cheese not grilled. I put 2 pieces of bread, each with a slice of muenster, in my toaster oven, set the level to "dark" then let the bread brown & the cheese bubble. When I take it out, it's gooey and stringy and delicious! Oh, and it tastes even better with some good tomato soup.
I have a butter crock that keeps butter at room temperature and fresh for days, even weeks. Le Creuset makes one for about $35 and it's worth every penny. I'm sure there are others.
The secret is there is a water seal on the bottom that keeps air out, other than whatever fits inside the bell. The butter doesn't oxygenize. Check on it once in a while, depending on how much butter you use and change the water once in a while. I don't use so much.
Occasionally I have had to wipe a little mold off the edge if I go a couple weeks without using it. But the rest of the butter is fine. I'm not exaggerating.
Mine just sits out in a covered butter dish, for all but the hottest part of the year (I live in a fairly northern climate). I put out a small amount at a time and go through it fast enough that I've never had an issue with it going rancid. Really, even in summer, I go through it quickly enough that it wouldn't spoil on the counter, but in a summer heat wave, I still play it safe. Most of the year, though, it's fine to sit out if it's being used regularly.
Another way to cheat when making a quick, no clean up meal is to toast the bread. Butter the outsides add preferred / available filling and microwave to heat/melt. Not as good but another idea............quick and easy done on one small plate.
And it's fine in a pinch, but nowhere near as tasty or satisfying as an actual griddle-grilled sandwich with a crispy, golden crust, IMO. I'm not opposed to a poor man's cheese sandwich from time to time if I'm busy and/or if I just don't feel like any cleanup.
Thanks Sweet Tea, I'm going to make those for my cheese loving grands.
Now for a twist:
Open face bread on a cookie sheet, cheese on one slice and bologna on the other. Put in oven. When cheese is melted and bologna is "cooked", put together and toast. When done to your liking, remove, open and add mayo and sliced onion. Not grilled, but crunchy and yummy.
No one mentioned the no-grease, un-grilled cheese sandwich: toast the bread then nuke it with the cheese and other fillings in the microwave.
That's 'cuz it doesn't taste ANYWHERE near as good!!
Butter one slice of bread, put it butter side down in a pan on low-med. low heat. Put plenty of good quality cheese on it, butter another slice of bread and put it on top. By the time you slice your cheese and butter your second piece of bread, it should be ready to flip. Flip, and cover, turn heat WAY down. If the bottom piece wasn't toasted to your liking, flip it back over for awhile once it's done on the other side.
Add ins? Dijon mustard on the cheese while assembling. And, my personal favorite, tuna salad and cheddar cheese. YUM!!!
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