I love the many faces of the grilled cheese sandwich. It is such a versatile food that can be prepared in so many ways. Above, you see it on Italian bread made with Muenster cheese and freshly sliced avocado. It was the most delightful thing I had tasted in a long time. And it was only a lowly grilled cheese. But it had been elevated to new heights.

The first consideration in making one of these sandwiches is the bread. Which one to pick? Oh, so many choices. I tend to prefer the “white” breads for this use. Not just your squishy store brand white bread though. I prefer something like a crusty Italian, French, sourdough, olive oil, ciabatta, or some other bread with a nice texture. Wheat bread is not my favorite for grilled cheese but it will do. The texture of the wheat interferes with the overall sandwich for me.

The next decision is what cheese to use. There is always good old American cheese. This is my last choice. One of my favorites is Muenster. It is mild but with good flavor and oh, so creamy. The various cheddars are also good bets. New York White, extra sharp, medium, or mild, excellent choices all. Brick, farmer’s cheese, provolone, mozzarella, these are all good to use. Although I like the taste of smoked cheeses, in my experience, they don’t melt well. If you want to use a smoked cheese, I would add a little of it with another type of cheese. You get the smoked flavor but still have the “meltiness” of the other cheese.

At this point you may have everything that you want in your sandwich. Not me. I like to put in extras. Thinly sliced onion is the most basic choice. Other add-ins that I might use are the afore mentioned avocado, alfalfa sprouts, sliced tomato, or fresh spinach. I also enjoy grilled cheese with jam, a nice raspberry or strawberry is good. I thought this sounded odd the first time I heard of it but it is delicious.

When getting ready to grill the sandwich, melt some butter in a non-stick pan and coat one side of each slice of bread with it. I like to then sprinkle the buttered bread with some garlic powder (except for the jam version) and grill on a medium heat until it turns that beautiful golden brown color.

Plate it up, and then enjoy!