Gourmet grilled cheese sandwich

Been craving a gourmet grilled sandwich every since I saw the Barefoot Contessa talk about her favorite New York restaurant's grilled cheese and tomato soup.  She mentioned some exotic cheeses they used on sourdough that I didn't recognize nor remember.  Does anyone have suggestions on what cheeses to try besides Kraft American?  Looking for a combination of two or three cheeses, nothing else (no bacon, veggies, etc.).  just cheese, bread and butter. 

I found some tasty ideas at Chedd's website.
 
http://www.chedds.com/
 
 

Gouda or edam works very well...also great as a pizza topping!

Costco has the big hunks of smoked Gouda that is so good it might not make it to the sammich...

I like a combination of extra-sharp cheddar and caraway Tilsiter. Here's a description of Tilsiter if you're not familiar: http://www.murrayscheese....asp?number=20439400000

I like to use provolone and blue cheese on the inside.

The kicker is to put parmesan on the outside after the bread is buttered.  Then use a little bit of olive oil in the pan as well.

Foodosaurus


I like to use provolone and blue cheese on the inside.

The kicker is to put parmesan on the outside after the bread is buttered.  Then use a little bit of olive oil in the pan as well.

 
I make a grilled cheese sandwich  like this but I mix the grated  Parmesan cheese into the butter that I spread on the bread.............less messy!

I love Smoked Gouda for my grilled cheese.

Sprinkle some granulated garlic on the outside of the buttered bread

I like Swiss with tomato, very sharp cheddar, Rotel cheese dip, provolone or Gruyere. I will at any time add crisp bacon to any of these. Always good!

layered in this order: extra sharp cheddar, smoked gouda and sharp provolone or imported swiss. 

in between the layers of cheese, mix in some crisp bacon (and some honey-mustard or plain yellow mustard) in or maybe some really good quality ham slices (and some guilden's mustard). 

on sourdough or rye.

dang, makin' me hungry just talkin' 'bout it!  the local pub makes it as a special a few times a week.  gonna go see if they have it today...

All of the above sounds reallly good!

Why didn't I think of the parm and garlic, along w/ the butter, on the outside?

Some nacho sliced pickled jalapenos can kick things up a notch or two. Just put them on the inside as things are grillin. Cheese and pickled jalapenos are just a magical thing.
Jor

I learned somewhere, maybe Good Eats, to add a little hot mustard inside of it.

I got a 11 year old hooked on this. 

I soften some butter.  Spread it heavily over 2x texas toasts.  Put one toast down into a low pan with thick cuts of pepper jack on it.  And I mean LOW.  10 min later place the other toast on top and flip.  10 min more.  Adjust to heat. 

Your goal is well browned and crusted outsides, still soft interior, and just oozy melted cheese.

It's so good I can get him to mow the yard with 2-3 of these as a reward. (He's a growing teen. Cut him some slack. He's got the metabolisim of a humming bird and 5%  BMI.  I'm letting him enjoy it while he can.)

 The possibilities are endless- pairing favorite breads and cheeses together.  The latest ones we fixed were sourdough with Pepperjack and sharp Cheddar.  We've stopped using butter and now spray the bread with Organic Olive Oil Pam  - and grill them slow until they're crispy out and gooey in.

I made up this peppery grilled cheese sandwich during Hatch chile season last fall when trying to come up with as many Hatch-incorporated meals as possible: Jalapeno/Cheese Bread, Hatch Chile Monterrey Jack & butter. YUM! I also added fresh roasted Hatch chile strips & 2 thin slices of smoked ham to a couple of my renditions. I enjoyed every version & can't wait till the end of summer when the Hatch chiles will be back!
CiaoMeOwww!

Great suggestions, especially the parmesan cheese on the outside! 

Here's my first attempt:  sliced sourdough I got from Whole Foods; put slices of Harvati and a mild swiss also from Whole Foods; added some shredded cheddar and provolone mix from Costco.  I ran out of granulated garlic, so I sliced a fresh garlic clove, sauteed it in some macadamia nut oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.  Placed the bread with butter and parmesan cheese on the outside, and grilled it. 

Conclusion:  the cheese could have been a little more salty; I liked the Harvati, but might have to change the swiss to a saltier cheese.  OR, maybe add slices of fried bacon for the salt.  MMmmmm...

I love pepper so I might try pepper jack next time.  My daughter doesn't like anything spicy so didn't do it on this try.  Will try adding mustard too...

  I just got some chipotle flavored cheese curds from our local dairy. I am going to make a grilled bacon and cheese sammie at work later.

David O.

I would suggest some good melting cheeses: brick (which is hard to find in my area now), Muenster, Gruyere, Colby Jack, cheddar and Monterrey Jack. A little Dijon mustard spread between the layers of cheese would add that piquant touch.

Don't know about anyone else but I love an asiago grilled cheese.

plb


I learned somewhere, maybe Good Eats, to add a little hot mustard inside of it.

That's what I do. Extra sharp cheddar (Cabot's Seriously Sharp is my favorite), a slice of tomato, and a good squirt of Woeber's jalapeno mustard, on potato bread.

Kraft American slice on white bread and into the toaster oven.  Zap.

Served with a bowl of Campbell's Vegetable soup.

the ancient mariner


Kraft American slice on white bread and into the toaster oven.  Zap.

Served with a bowl of Campbell's Vegetable soup.

So would you call that an Open Faced Toasted Cheese Sandwich?

My current favorite is cheddar and muenster on homemade italian. Sometimes a couple of slices of bacon and/or tomato will find there way in.

Served with a bowl of Campbell's Vegetable soup.

 
Is it the Vegetarian Vegetable or the Vegetable with beef stock?

In answer to your very personal question----You know something Mr Bailey it has been about 100 years since I had a Campbell's soup set down in front of me, so I have no idea.  The dumb post I sent was what I had for lunch once in a while when I was in grammar school. 
Harken back to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

Now, my honest opinion is there is no such thing as a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich as described in the posts that have gone before. 

A little brie on a cracker or something like that may be acceptable by the Gourmet group.. 

Grilled cheese is for real men (and a few ladies) and Roadfooders of all ages. 

Muenster on seedless rye bread, with brown mustard spread on the inside of one of the pieces of bread. Strawberry preserves to dip it in optional.

"Strawberry preserves to dip it in."  How quaint !
But a charming idea, I must try that soon.  Cheers.

Not exactly a gourmet grilled cheese, but what we made this time
American cheese
Mexican cheese blend
bacon
and ketchup for dipping
 

Since when did people start to "dip" their grilled cheeses?