Today is National Grilled Cheese Day, and with the weather being a lot cooler today, the conditions for it were perfect! Not all grilled cheese is created equal.  In honor of this timeless tasty sandwich, I made mine with 5 simple ingredients, but let it be known, while there may be multiple ways to get it right, there are a plethora of ways to screw this classic up!

Use bread too thick, and your cheese will never melt properly.  Add too much butter, and it's a greasy mess.  Also, please use quality cheese, unless your a broke college student there's really no need to use anything individually wrapped in plastic wrap.  Add too much bacon...wait, there is no such thing.  How dare you!

I chose simple white bread, real butter, Vermont sharp cheddar cheese, a touch of mayonnaise and crispy maple bacon crumbles.  The key here is slow and low (low heat, cook it slowly) and build up the sandwich as it cooks.  No need to slap everything together and throw it the pan.  Add the butter to the pan, then a slice of bread (coated gently with the mayo), add a generous amount of your thinly sliced cheese, evenly distribute the bacon, close the sandwich with the second piece of bread. Flip a few times to make sure its golden brown on both sides. When the cheese wants to ooze out of the sides, you know it's done.

I paired mine with a creamy New England Clam Chowder.  But that's a debate for another day. If you've already eaten dinner tonight and feel like you've missed out, have no fear. Tomorrow is a whole new day!

Feel free to share your tips to making the Perfect Grilled Cheese.

 

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