WIL WHEATON dot NET: 1.5

The best way to cook a grilled cheese is to put one piece of bread in the pan, with the cheese on it, then put the lid on the pan while it cooks--helps the cheese melt good. Then put the other piece of bread on it and flip.

I dunno about the whole mustard thing, but I will agree on grilled cheese. And we've been buying this new Brownberry Country White bread that just makes it that much better.

Num.

Actually Wil, I think all the Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese has been routed to all the Johnny Rocket's along the California coast.

Hey, gotta blame somebody.

Oh, and after the hockey puck incident with the burgers and your black bread incident with the grilled ham and cheese perhaps Uncle Willie should just steer clear of the open flame altogether?

What I have to do is stop walking away from the area where I'm cooking, because I see a red balloon or a butterfly, or get bored or whatever.

That, i must admit, was a spectacular post to read.

I thought my daughter and I were the only people who must have grilled cheese with a side of mustard! Personally, I prefer an extra-sharp cheddar and baby swiss mix on multigrain bread and then a nice side of yellow mustard to dip the sandwich in, bite per bite.
I've received some nasty looks from waitresses over the years whenever I've ordered my grilled cheese with a small bowl of mustard on the side. Glad to hear someone else does it too.

Funny, knowing that my husband craves tomato soup and grilled cheese when it gets rainy, tonight I stopped at TJ's to stock up on supplies and then had my husband teach me how to make grilled cheese sammiches as I have never done so before. And they came out just a little too brown, but still good! Especially with TJ's Tomato and red pepper soup.

Costco sells extra sharp Tillamook cheddar.

This post brought to you by the fine people from Tillamoock Sharp Cheddar, Sheepherder's Bread, and Splunge Cooking Spray.

Remember, when you want your food to be great, but possibly not, and I'm not being indecisive here, use Splunge Cooking Spray!

We get Tillamook Extra Sharp at Costco. Great price, too.

(Wil, I'm going to have to trust your instincts on this Type Key thing...)

For a real treat, try making grilled cheese on Gluten Free bread (found at WholeFoods). It is more porous (but still, somehow sturdier than white bread) and so the cheese melts all through it. Pair with a bowl of Annie's Tomato Soup (Found at TJs) and no sppon is needed.

YUM!

Any kinda cheese is amazing!!

"That's some good cheese, Gromit!"

hihihihi

Anyways, I used to love grill-cheese machine grill cheeses. But now, my boyfriend makes them in the pan. Too bad our range sucks. But it's still just soooo delicious... and greasy... and cheesy...

mmmmmmmmmmm... cheeeeese

psst: Try honey-dijon mustard. AMAZING!!!

You can also get special high-heat cooking spray at Whole Foods.

My grandma used to make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. That was about all my siblings and I lived off of when we'd visit her. Until I die, I'll probably always associate her with grilled cheese sandwiches, which I'm not sure if that's amusing or just pathetic. But since I'm now a vegan, my sister's now raw, and we give my brother shit if he eats cheese around either one of us, we pretty much stick to peanut butter and bread when we visit.

Cheddar cheese?

That's not a grilled cheese sandwich! Grilled cheese sandwiches are made with AMERICAN cheese!

Cooking spray too. Wow, Wil. You're going for a serious Franken-sandwich here or you're showing your LA white trash roots. :P

On a completely different note, I didn't know you were called Dennis!

Awesome stuff, Wil. Keep it up!

Dude, just a tip, before you get ready to make your grilled cheese, take the butter and put it in a bowl and microwave it and melt it. Then just spread it over the bread, dont put any in the pan....browns up abs perfect and tastes wonderfull. Try it sometime i guarantee you will like it.

Foreman grills make the bestest grilled cheese (and monte cristos) in Western civilization.
(I was taken to a casino this weekend for a monte cristo served with port wine sauce, and I'm still thinking about it.)
Jake Johannsen used to have a line about having trouble making toast because he'd get distracted by toast-time tasks. Good to see we're not the only ones.

You blog about burning a grilled cheese sandwich, and it's fascinating.

I hate you.

It's nice to see another fan of Tillamook cheese (I live in Corvallis, not far from Brownsville). I didn't even know that Tillamook cheese ever made it farther south than Ashland. But for my money, the extra sharp is far too sharp. If there were a level of sharpness between sharp and extra sharp, that would be perfect.

Hey Wil, I have had similar bad grilled cheese experiences myself. I'm usually too lazy to grill, fortunately.

Going on runs is a good way to catch a cold...it's happened to me a couple times. If you're in the early stages, I recommend giving Airborne or a generic equivalent a try. I know there's no science behind why it should help, but it really did seem to stave off a cold for me twice this winter. I live in Wisconsin so COLD is something I get to experience a lot here.

TJ's has some extra sharp cheddar that's pretty good. I used to like Tillamook, but my skin would get itchy with plugged up pores after eating it (gross, I know). The TJ's organic sharp cheddar (no extra sharp organic available unfortunately :-( ) is my current favorite -- melts evenly and has none of that slightly bitter aftertaste most sharp's leave. Cheese omelets made with it are just too delicious.

Great, now I've made myself really hungry! Thanks for nothing Wil.

i have never dipped a grilled cheese sandwich, but my friend swears by worcestershire sauce for his.

and i hate you now. i am in japan where bread is an inch thick. and the ham is paper thin and not really very yummy. so a grilled cheese sandwich is out of the question for me!

My solution to the hard-butter-on-soft-bread problem is to melt the butter in the pan first and then basically mop it up with the two slices of bread. Then place the cheese on the bread until melty and then put the slices together.

I'm also a fan of the dijon mustard, although I put it in the sandwich. In fact, if you're ever up in New England, my personal vote for the best sandwich ever is at this diner in Portsmouth, NH called the Friendly Toast. They have a sandwich called the "Mr. Haegar" which is a grilled cheese made with dijon mustard, horseradish sauce, cheddar cheese, pickles and tomatoes on two thick slices of homemade bread.

Yum.

Hi, Will. I'm new to posting comments in your blog, and I felt this was the perfect entry to put my first comment in. It's not everyday I can read something totally random and feel all happy and smiley inside. Thanks. :-D

My mom can't cooked. Even your afterschool special ham grilled cheese turned out better than what she served. No mom, don't use the cheez whiz.

Tonight I was craving rice pudding...and it turned out FABULOUS. Made it on the stovetop with whole milk, egg yolks, brown sugar, the vanilla with the extra alcohol content and cream cheese. I am NOT sharing.

OMG...Will!!! RYE BREAD! Butter!
I really think its the best on a GC sammy. Try it next time OK? and let us know what you think.

I am so glad I am not the only one who felt that way about the Simpsons last night.

I miss bread.

Mmm...mustard. I tend to put it directly on the sammich. Dangit now I want a grilled cheese. The Cheese Producers union put you up to this, didn't they?!?

I am in complete agreement with you about The Simpsons. I thought something horrible must have happened when a new episode of The Simpsons actually had a plot that had already been used on The Family Guy! (I've seen My Fair Lady, of course, but I don't mind them borrowing from theater. I DO mind them borrowing from the lesser Family Guy.)

I also have to recommend touring the Tillamook Cheese Factory if you are ever on the northern Oregon coast. For as hokey as it is, it also is fun... and it gives you an excuse to buy lots of different cheeses right at the source! I recommend the cheddar cheese curds myself.

http://www.pbs.org/montypython/

Hey, I live in the land of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar. If the Costco connection doesn't work out and you are dying to get some, drop me a line. I will forward some down to you Fedex coldpack!!

-gil

"Tillamook?"

"Er, no."

"Ah, how about Cheddar?"

"Well, we don't get much call for it around here, sir."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to shoot you."

"Righto, sir."

(gunshot)

"What a senseless waste of human life."

"

Mmmmm, grilled cheese.

I prefer mine with sourdough bread and without the mustard please. Oh and leave the cooking spray in the cabinet.

Wil, I'll chalk that one up to being sort of sick. Poor baby. Feel better soon. Maybe Anne will make you some comfort food for dinner to make you feel better.

Oh and I add ham to mine sometimes too. And tomato. Very tasty. :)

What I don't understand Wil, is why you want to blocked by SmartFilter. All those middle-eastern nations that will no longer be able to read you! The libraries! The kindergarteners! Think about the children Wil!

For those wondering what I'm talking about. Here's a couple hints - the photo of David... and boingboing.

For burn-reistant* grilled cheese, toast the bread in a toaster & butter it, then put the sandwich together and nuke it in the microwave just long enough to melt the cheese.

*Burn-resistance depends on a working toaster, of course.

Rye bread, cheddar cheese and bacon.

With either tomato soup or a side of fries.

Mmmmmm. Damnit. Stupid diet.

I live for Tillamook cheese and I live in NJ so it is not very often I get to have it. Freaking Cabot seems to have a monopoly on the East coast! Have you ever had their special reserve aged cheddar? It is the best cheese I have ever eaten. I do have a connection in Oregon if you want me to get you some before the warm weather makes shipping impossible.

I miss Tillamook extra sharp (as well as their vanilla bean yogurt). Yet another reason to move back to Portland from Philadelphia.

trader joe's! oh, how i miss my trader joe's...

Not grilled cheese related, but more related to the illness: take C and Zinc. May just be coincidence to me, maybe it's a placebo effect, but with a 3 and 6 year-old at home, both going to school, I've found that taking C and ZInc at the first sign of symptoms at the very least keeps the cold reduced to manageable levels. I "believe" more in the Zinc than the C, but take both, in the morning and evening...(which is likely overkill for the C, as IIRC the body will just pass it through if you take too much...).

I'm sure there will be folks here calling bullshit, "old wive's tale," "snopes.com doesn't agree," "real men don't take Zinc," but that's been my experience...and outside of the small $$ cost it doesn't hurt to try...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8794,00.html

Alton Brown's grilled cheese was the best I ever managed to make. Seriously, it works!

I haven't heard of any one eating a grilled cheese like that. I suppose it's worth a try.

Personally I use just Kraft slices of cheese, and dip it in tomato soup. If I don't have soup, I dip it into ketchup.

Ah how lucky I am to live in Oregon. I'm spoiled rotten.

I liek to use Mayo instead of butter it cooks well and gives the outside a little tang. also the george forman helps make the best grilled sandwiches. The cheese is always melted and the outside grilled well.

CoyoteBlue beat me by an hour. I was going to recommend the Alton Brown "Big Cheese Squeeze" as well, except I made mine with yellow mustard instead of dijon. Yummy!

The big difference: a spritzing of olive oil instead of butter or cooking spray.

Tillamook cheese is plentiful up here in Tacoma. If only they'd sent up some Tillamook Club Cheese. My vague recollection is that club cheese is an amalgam of the scraps of all their other cheeses. :-q

Whenever we visit L.A. we make a Trader Joe's pilgrimage. I'm a medium sharp Tillamook fan myself, and grilled cheese sandwiches made with it are the bestest. You do have to watch the temp when grilling, though, or the bread gets done before the cheese melts, and cold cheese in the middle is just plain wrong. Doing it under the broiler is a good option if you don't place it too close to the element, resulting in the blackened-outside-room-temp-inside error. A little garlic sprinkled on the butter on the outside adds a tasty touch, too. Now I'm hungry...

I, too, live in the land of Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar. Love it too. Sometimes the husband will do the shopping and bring home "Western Family" Medium Cheddar. Ick. I mean, ICK!!! Some people just don't understand what good cheese is all about.

Here is a place to order Tillamook cheese online:
http://www.countrycupboardgifts.com/tillamookcheese.htm

The baby loaf has vintage white extra sharp - it's the best!

Shy of that... there are plenty of Northwesterners who could probably help you out.

Cooking spray? COOKING SPRAY?! Such blasphemy! a good grilled cheese sandwich needs about half an inch of butter on both pieces of breath. And then a bit of garlic salt sprinkled on both sides too. Mmm, mmm!

Wil,
Just when I woke up on and felt kinda crappy, I read your blog and smiled. How can that be? How can a simple but excellent story about grilled cheese make me smile. I don't know how you do it but I don't start my day at work until I have checked your blog. Thank you for that. You make my day!
By the way, I'm a firm believer that cheese is the nectar of the gods!

If you want to mix things up a little, try grilled cheese with chopped up dill-pickels inside.

Trust me here.

Wow; you people and your fancy. 99cent white bread, american cheese, and fried bologna. And a beer. Yum.

Tillamook is awesome! Have you ever had the Aged Chedder or the Smoked Chedder?

The smoked is my favorite for grilled cheese. Dip it in some tomato soup. YUM.

sounds like a good sandwich. Also! I picked up your book (Just A Geek) and am looking foreward very much to reading it! (It was a St. Valentine's Day gift from my girlfriend that showed up late in the mail)

Eugggghhhhhh! hahaha, cheese and ham is icky! :)
EAT CROSSIANTS, they are the best.

Oh, come on now! The ONLY way to gourmet a grilled cheese is to burn the hell out of both sides and scrape with a butter knife into the sink. Any After-School-Special-Latch-Key vet of the 70s worth his salt will tell you that. Sheesh. It's perfection.

Brand of cheese is of no consequence whatsoever.

Who would ever think that a blog about a sandwich would be so damn entertaining!! But ya know, food brings people together.... it is companionable and inspires warm, fuzzy memories - so it's all good. Of course it has nothing to do with the phenomenal talent of the writer who is so DAMN FUNNY!!! I could actually picture you standing at the sink, scraping the burned bread....

I hope you feel better real soon, Wil. Thanks for such a great post.... (plus I got a whole bunch of new recipe variations to try with an old favorite... thanks again.)

You're utterly insane, Wil. *hugs* Yay! Loved the Monty python-ness, loved the Simpson's reference, LOVED!!! the cooking spray and cheese tirades. That's why you're my Geek King! Hilarious blog, really made my day all happy and gleeful-like. I no longer feel like a cat being beat against a wall by an old crone. (aaaaaand also stopping the Holy Grail love fest)

I think it's awesome that so many people have opinions on grilled cheese sandwiches. I personally think the way to go is Velveeta or American on white bread - ham is good but optional. Ketchup is a necessity. And, Wil, I too hope the coughing/sickness passes quickly.

This, dear boy, is why I do not cook grilled cheese. I would, in all likelyhood, kill someone/somthing in the process.

Plus, my mum makes the BEST sandwiches. ever.

Like a few of the comments before mine, I'd like to offer my services as your cheese pimp :)

Mustard? Strange. Very strange.

Nothing but H.P.Sauce in this manor, Squire.

H.P.Sauce

The H.P. stands for "House of Parliament" (it's English).

Wil:
Honestly, a grilled cheese sandwhich is very easy to screw up. I have found that cooking sprays are good for only one thing...eggs. Go with buttering the outside of the sandwhich in addition to the pan, low heat and tinfoil coverage. 2 minutes on medium heat, and patience,will solve the problem. Love the site...keep up the good work!

The glory of the grilled wasn't just on your brain, my good man. I was moved to discuss my grilled cheese sandwich (my g.c.s.!) the day before:

http://chris-walsh.livejournal.com/83145.html

I was using two kinds of Tillamook myself. (And by the way, when I replied to my friend's comment, I was picturing the pie-eating contest in "Stand By Me," heh heh...)

A query off topic:

Can anyone tell me where the phrase "leaped the shark" (I've also read, "jumped the shark") comes from? And what exactly does it mean?

I figured here was the safest place to display my ignornace. :-)

Comfort food is a simple mozzarella grilled cheese sammich with a bowl of tomato soup. But now I'm ready to expand my horizons and move into the unknown territory of grilled cheese sandwiches made with something other than mozzarella. Yum!

To Magdala - please don't feel ignorant... or at least don't feel alone. There are several references on this site that are over my head - but I attribute it to my age and lack of coolness.... or nerdness. Anyway.... if I'm not mistaken, leaping or jumping the shark is derived from the episode of Happy Days when Fonzie was water skiing and jumped a shark. It was a desperate attempt by the show to elevate their ratings and resurect the once popular sitcom. The effort failed and Happy Days continued to go downhill. Now when a show is running out of material and produces something really lame, they have reduced themselved to "jumping the shark". At least thats what I've heard it means..... maybe there is another reference that I don't know.

Its good to know I'm not alone in being a cheese populist. I 'm currnetly shredding cheese to make burritos, but for the life of me I don't know what kind of cheese it is. Of course I don't think cheese has brands in Japan.

As for jumping the shark I don't know where it came from but it definitely means something that has worn itself and is no longer cool. I've never heard leap the shark. The place where I first saw it used was ESPN's the sports guy.

Thank you for helping me waste a little more time I didn't have ;)

Anyway, if you're shopping the Trader Joe's on Lake, I would highly, highly recommend making a 2 block journey northward and getting your bread at Wheatberry. It may not have that thickness that is so critical of the grilled cheese sandwich bread varieties, however.

I've had good luck shopping for cheese at the LA farmer's market, but it is a bit far unless you're in the area and want to stock up.

Keep up the monkeyshining...

I have loved just a plain old grill cheese sandwich for years! There is no comfort food any better than that. Everybody has their own version.

Not sure about the mustard, Wil!

Hey Wil,

Solidarity, brother.

You may not know this, but just 13 days ago, us sammie-loving food bloggers from around the globe celebrated our first annual Cheese Sandwich Day with a http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/02/cheese-sandwich-chronicles-3cheese.html" rel="nofollow">multitude of posts, all rejoicing in the glory of the mighty cheese sandwich. We embraced this not just as an excuse for an old-fashioned and gooey lunch, but as a movement; bringing together three grand traditions: cheese, blogging, and the slapping of something squishy between two slices of bread. (And yes, ham variations were allowed, as were sandwiches of the open-faced variety.)

And now here you are, with your own brilliant contribution to this joyous occasion! The cheese blogging citizens of http://www.belly-timber.com/mt/archives/2006/02/_damn_time_mach.html" rel="nofollow">Gastroblogia salute you!

Gotta love the Tillamook cheese! If you and Ann need an Oregon care package, drop a line. We'll hook you up!

Great, thanks Wil. I got home last night and my whole being was saying "grilled cheese, grilled cheese". All I had in the house was muenster cheese and Wonder bread. And for 51 years, I've been cooking on an electric stove and now I have gas... which I'm so not used to. So, yes, it was kinda burned on one side. It was ok, but I think I need to go to Norm's for a three cheese grilled cheese.

And I'm not sure about the mustard.

Wil, if you were a Sim, you'd have burned the house down by now. ;)

To alicein1derland--Thanks for the etymology for "jumping the shark." Ironically, I remember seeing the _Happy Days_ episode that gave us the phrase; now I'll always have a clear visual when I hear that phrase. :-)

My husband is from the UK and goes on and ON about grilled cheese with HP sauce (or worchestire). I haven't had the nerve (or the avialable points on my diet) to try it, but your post brought back fond memories of my dad's cooking...if mom wasn't around to cook dinner, he did. And if it wasn't Campbells soup laced with cut-up hot dogs, Green Slime (hamburger, cream of mushroom soup, and green-beans served open-faced on toast), it was grilled cheese...and it was the one thing my brother and I always hoped for. I still can't eat hot-dogs to this day other than maybe once a year. Thanks for the laughs! Now I'm off to watch Holy Grail. Thanks for that too. :D

Close... Fonzi actually "jumped the shark"... a shark fountain, if memory serves, on his motorbike.

It refers to when a good T.V. show turns the corner to become "aired beyond its useful lifetime".

Take a look at http://jumptheshark.com

Cheese freezes really well, btw. I wrap mine in another layer of plastic and freeze several blocks at a time since I have a hungry five year old who seems to eat more and more every week!

If you haven't seen it, I believe Alton Brown's Scene 8 of the show "For Whom the Cheese Melts" has a delectable way to make Grilled Cheese!

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season2/Cheese/CheeseTranscript.htm

Wil, kiddo, ALL the best grilled cheese fixin's come from Trader Joe's. ;) Try McCadam's extra sharp cheddar with a light schmear of TJ's dijon mustard on one slice of bread. I like a little tomato myself, but not everyone does...

Dude...I mean Hey guy. Okay, fine...Dennis, cooking spray???? That is bad ass. What's wrong the butter??? I am really craving one of those now (sans spray).

Look at what we have here: the motherlode of Tillamook Extra Sharp at the Vons on Virgil and Sunset! Go get some!

Say Cheese!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildbell/107400725