Tonight I made a variation on the classic that is the grilled cheese. The other day I made one using some boxing cheddar my dad gave me. It's a white cheddar that's stronger and dryer than normal; with a mildly sweet undertone. Being so dry, it doesn't melt too easy. So the first time I made it I had trouble finding the darkened sandwich in the pan. Upon finding and eating it I was disappointed in the lack of melt in the cheese but as I predicted the flavors were a good match.
So tonight was take two. I started by using less cheese. It's strong enough that I don't need much and I wanted to make sure it melted. I also only have wheat bread, which is fine, but sourdough would have been optimum. I began melting butter in the pan at a low temperature and just before I dropped in the sandwich I decided I needed a little heat to balance the cheese. So I pulled out my trusty bottle of Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce. I poured in just enough to make the flavor noticeable and the melted butter a bright orange color. With the temperature still low I let the sandwich sit in the pan a little on each side so as to absorb the hot sauce and butter. As soon as the tops of the slices had become slightly soggy and very orange, I turned the heat up to medium-high until the cheese was melted. As soon as the cheese was as I wanted, I upped the temperature to almost as high as it goes so as to dry out the slices and give the bread that porous, crunchy texture that makes grilled cheese so delicious.
The end result was satisfying but I think it needs some veggie in it. So next time, along with the use of sourdough rather than wheat, I'm thinking of throwing in either onion, carrot, or maybe even celery.
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