Grilled Cheese
All right, this is a grilled cheese sandwich, not a gourmet meal. Still, there is an art to making a perfect sandwich. Originally served as part of: Grilled Cheese and Black Bean Soup.
- Prosciutto Grilled Cheese (October 16, 2005)
- Veggie Grilled Cheese (June 8, 2004)
Ingredients
- 4 slices rye bread
- 5 slices american cheese
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Before putting together the sandwich, we heat a frying pan over medium heat. This should not be a non-stick pan, which should never be heated without oil or butter (the surface may emit some unwanted fumes).
The most important thing to remember when cooking grilled cheese is to keep the cheese off the frying pan. We place two and a half slices of cheese on a slice of bread. We break off any cheese that extends over the edges of the bread and place them in the center of the sandwich, distributing the cheese as evenly as possible.
We place the other slice of bread on top of the cheese. On top of the bread, we place two pats of butter. We make the butter thin slivers for lighter fare, a little thicker for a superb sandwich. We cook for about a minute per side, a little longer if not golden brown.
After removing from the frying pan, we let it sit for a half a minute prior to eating (it's hot!).
Ingredients
- 4 slices rye bread
- 5 slices American cheese
- ½ tbsp butter
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Don’t use a nonstick pan, which shouldn’t be heated dry.
Kid job
Lay 2½ slices of cheese on a slice of bread, breaking off any that hangs over the edge and tucking it into the middle; cheese on the pan burns. Top with bread and two thin pats of butter (thicker for a superb sandwich). Make the second sandwich.
Grown-up
Cook about 1 minute per side, buttered side down first and buttering the top before flipping, until golden. Let sit 30 seconds before eating (it’s hot!).