Grilled Cheese v 2.0

Yes, back to the drawing board, I haven't won anything yet. But if you remember, I'm planning on it. While my last attempt was enterprising, I decided to take a few steps back to the basics.

As a kid, grilled cheese often meant real cheddar cheese and wheat bread. What's a kid gotta do to get some Wonder bread and a processed cheese slice? Little did I know I would one day look to that lesser-appreciated sandwich for guidance. (Though I gotta say, a girl still loves her grilled white bread, bright-yellow-cheese sandwich with the soggy pickle slice, uh-huh.)

But, nothing toasts up like wheat bread. That crispy sheet on the outside that yields to toothsome bread on the inside, oozing with gooey melty cheese. Mmmm. My ultimate goal would be to find a white-flour bread that could replicate this feature, but until then, I'll stick with a nutty wheat slice. This time I chose a sprouted wheat bread for that extra crispy crunch.

Now for the cheese. They say shred it. I say, "Why?" Don't get me wrong, I understand the concept, but I'm not sure that it really has any true benefit. I think I've gotta chalk this one up to personal preference. And, being low maintenance (lazy), myself, I think I'd go with sliced in the future. Maybe.

I did have two types of cheese going this time, and since they were of different color, I think shredding was beneficial to the aesthetic. Another plus, you can play with the ratios of different cheeses, especially when they are difficult to slice. Case in point: I used sharp cheddar (not hard to slice) and Raclette (pretty hard to slice), so shredding worked beautifully.

As you may recall, I've used sharp cheddar before. Yeah, definitely hung up on sharp (or extra sharp!) cheddar. It is precisely the "sharp" that is the cornerstone of a killer (traditional) grilled cheese sandwich. The only problem with this kind of cheese is its gooey-ness or lack thereof. It melts, sure, but in a stringy (which is good), greasy (not so good) kind of way. I need a gooey melting cheese (i.e. little to no fat separation) to make this a great sammie. Enter Raclette. I chose Raclette for its melting qualities, and while I do love the flavor, unfortunately, it took away from the cheddary goodness of this sandwich.

But, getting closer...

So, yes, back to the drawing board. Can't complain, though, I do love the research.