If you ever ask me what my ultimate comfort food is, the answer will always be, 100% of the time: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich.

It stems from childhood. When I was in elementary school, I lived just blocks from home, and I’d walk home for lunch. On rainy Vancouver days, my lunch would be a can of Campbells soup (made with milk) and a grilled cheese, made with Kraft singles.

Well, I’m grown up now, so my tastes and palate have changed, but I still love the grilled cheese/tomato soup combo.

I recently got a delivery of Happy Planet soups, and I was pretty excited about it. This miserable time of the year is, after all, very much soup season. You just want something that will warm you from the inside out.

The first one I tried? Tomato and Grilled Cheese. That’s right. They put the grilled cheese right inside the soup, and let me tell you: this is the best tomato soup I have ever had. It’s creamy and rich and so delicious.

It got me thinking: if I swapped out my childhood favorite for a more upscale, adult version of my soup, I should also swap out my childhood grilled cheese for a more adult version.

So, I did a ton of research, and made a bunch of sandwiches, and I learned some valuable tips about how to make the ultimate grilled cheese.

Bread: you may have used wonderbread as a kid, but the way to go for the ultimate grownup grilled cheese is an artisan bread. It needs to be heavy enough to stand up to the cheese, but you also want it to make a nice crust on the outside. French bread will do. But the ultimate grilled cheese bread is sourdough. Get it cut nice and thick, about the width of your thumb.

Cheese: just one won’t do! You want a combo of cheeses that compliment each other, and contribute different flavors and properties. Gruyere is one of the best choices you can make. It has both a nutty flavor, and it melts well. Additionally, it has nice stretch, so when you cut your sandwich, you get those great stretchy ribbons of cheese. I also love to throw some aged cheddar in there for flavor, and possibly something smoked, because I love that hickory flavor. Maybe a smoked gouda?

Buy your cheeses in a block and grate them at home. The stuff sold pre-grated in bags is just not as good.

Grate your cheese–don’t slice it. Grating allows for all the cheese to be similar sizes, and melt better, and more evenly.

Spread: mix together half mayo and half butter to spread on the outside of your bread. It’s an effective mix that creates a nice crust and flavor.

The pan: I’m a fan of cast iron. Put the pan on the heat and allow it to pre heat before you put your first piece of bread on, buttered side down. Then mound on the cheese. Finally, top with the second piece of bread. Now, you want to weight your sandwich. I have a cast iron press that I use, but you could use a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Weighting allows for distribution of the cheese, and also makes a better crust. Once your sandwich is nicely toasted on one side, flip and toast on the other.

Condiments: you can kick your grilled cheese up another notch with additions to your sandwich. Some good ones include:

Once your sandwich is done, cut it into halves or into strips. Serve with the Happy Planet Tomato and Grilled Cheese soup so that you can dip your sandwich into the soup. Be happy. 🙂

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