Fall has officially begun and that means that all things comfort food. I have ALWAYS loved grilled cheeses and it seems like it was a staple part of my food group as a child. I remember perfecting the buttery golden crust (yes, I loved the crust) and watching the melty cheese ooze out the sides. Our when you take that first bite and it's perfectly crunchy, salty and cheesy. Excuse me a moment - I need to go wipe my mouth...the drool is serious. As a lot of things I have kept in rotation in my adult life, maybe it's nostalgia or probably the simplicity but either way I plan to keep this tradition going for my kids.
We all know the standard American cheese grilled cheese - it's classic, simple and delicious. I wanted to do a big of upgrading and all a little "zhoosh" to a classic so I went for two alternative sandwiches - brie & jam grilled cheese and spinach beef grilled cheese. Oh, I did do some extra testing on the classic cheese too.
Let's get started shall we...
Brie & Jam grilled cheese includes a classic brie cheese (I am not a cheese snob so I went with the grocer brand). I didn't want to stick with a traditional berry jam (strawberry) so I opted for a guava marmalade by The Casa Market.
My suggestion when using brie, it is extremely melty and creamy and spreads fast. So rather than spreading it on the inside of your bread and pre-making a sandwich. Toast your bread first on one side with the marmalade already spread on the other. Halfway through place your brie cuts/slices on top of the marmalade followed by the top bread slice. I didn't press down (such a habit when grilling sandwiches) until I flipped the sandwich over 2 minutes into the grilling session. Make sure your burner is on low to medium setting as this can burn and escalate quickly. Nobody wants a burnt cheese.
*Pro tip - I fell for it and am a sucker for one of those infomercials that promote having a non stick skillet. Y'all...it works. I use it ALL THE TIME. Normally these ads get you for the okie doke and only work a few times but it's safe to say, this was one of the best kitchen purchases I have made. Check out the Red Copper Skillet here.
This type of sandwich is perfect for the cheese and charcuterie board snobs...they'll love the play on a standard cheese & jam mixture.
Next we have one of my favorites and the classic American grilled cheese. I opted to include a mix of cheddar, monterrey and colby jack cheese.
*Pro Tip - butter one side of the bread and layer your cheddar slices followed by shredded monterrey and colby jack cheeses followed by another slice of cheddar.
Allow your cheese to start melting with it being an open face sandwich and when you're ready to flip (after approx. 2 minutes) place the other slice (buttered side out) on top and flip.
I forgot to mention, the bread - if you aren't able to snag some Texas toast use the fresh bakery sandwich bread. It holds up well and absorbs the flavor of the butter and cheese. It's so good...see how happy I am?
Okay final sandwich is the much anticipated spinach beef grilled cheese. At first glance it looks like too much gooey cheese deliciousness...it's not. Click here to recreate your own.
This tastes like a warm soothing hug...except it's food - too much? It won't be after you indulge in this deliciousness.
Save this post for later...more like bookmark this recipe. You can also find me on Pinterest and pin the image below.
