Grilled cheese sandwiches. Who doesn’t love them? Well, it’s your month–April, specifically, is Grilled Cheese Month. I have a few ideas of sandwiches I’d like to create, but the first one I tried yesterday was killer–maybe literally if you eat too many of them, but I digress….and digest. I give to you, the Wisconsin cheddar/bratwurst grilled cheese.

First of all, as I may have mentioned before, it’s best to use real butter for these. Set a stick out and let it get to room temperature to soften. And get some good sturdy bread, preferably as I did that I cut from a loaf, but not too thick that the cheese won’t melt. This particular sandwich is best with white, rye or pumpernickel bread.

For this sandwich, I found some mini-brats at Trader Joe’s, and cooked those in a skillet over medium heat. I added water after they started to brown, just like cooking sausage, although these are fully cooked and probably didn’t need to be cooked through too much more. If you can’t find these mini-brats, you can use sliced regular brats. After cooked, slice two of the links in half lengthwise, and set them aside (or slice into 1/4 inch rounds for larger links). Shred some good cheddar and set that aside. Butter the outside of two bread slices, and spread some thousand island dressing on the inside of one or both bread halves (you can buy it or make your own mixing mayo, ketchup/chili sauce, and sweet pickle relish). Put a pat of butter in a small nonstick skillet and warm over medium heat until just melted. Lay the brat pieces on the inside of the bread, and then put about 1/3 of a cup of shredded cheese on top. Close the sandwich, and cook in the pan for about 2 minutes or until browned, and then flip it over and cook for another 1 minute or until browned. The second side takes a much shorter amount of time.

Slice and serve with pickles, chips and a cold beer (or a frosty root beer or cola is even good with grilled cheese). Oh, and tomato soup, but it’s getting too warm for soup already. Oh wait, I had mine with these kickass sweet/hot peppers from Trader Joe’s…..you’d think I was on their payroll, right?

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

A gray day in December just screams for a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup, so thankfully we had everything on hand to have the combo for lunch. Here is my take on the most authentic version…..

The sandwich: You can use any kind of bread, but for authenticity sake I used Italian bread–the packaged kind that is essentially glorified white bread. For the best results, also use real butter, thawed to room temperature (seriously, the sandwich will come out perfectly crispy, and you will not have ingested any of that plastic tasting fake stuff). Slice about a quarter inch slab of butter and place in a quality nonstick skillet. Then butter the outsides of two bread slices. Meanwhile, grab either two thin slices of American cheese or cut a few thin slices off a log of Velveeta. Put the cheese on the bread so that the buttered sides are facing out. Warm the skillet over medium heat and once the butter is melted, put the sandwich down. Cook for about 60-90 seconds or until brown and crispy, then flip the sandwich. Cook for about 30-45 more seconds (the second side cooks in about half the time, but I’m not sure why that is). Slide onto a plate and slice in half if you like.

The soup: With all due respect to chefs who make killer tomato soup, or to soup companies that create nice versions of tomato soup, I have to say that nothing quite compares to Campbell’s. And make it with a can of milk instead of water for a nice creamy soup. I’m not sure if it’s because this is the tomato soup my mom made growing up, but regardless, it always tastes perfect and awesome.

I’ll work on more versions of the combo in the next week or so. Meanwhile, do yourself a favor and make this one–I guarantee it will be the best lunch you have all week. Okay, maybe, but you get the point.

Here’s a great lunch for a cold weekend day, and even better if you live in a cheese haven like Wisconsin! It was originally posted on Bullz-Eye.com’s Grub for Guys.

Ham, Olive and 3 Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

On the comfort food charts, it’s pretty hard to top a good grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup. My friend Matty once told me he eats three grilled cheese sandwiches every Saturday. I can’t imagine that being the kind of lunch a cardiologist would recommend, but there shouldn’t be any harm in having one at a sitting. With that, I didn’t want to present you with the same old, same old here. I also didn’t want to do anything too girlie. The end result? A classic sandwich with three cheeses, ham and chopped green olives. If I was selling you this sandwich, it would come with a money back guarantee, because I just tried it and it’s that good. I hope you agree!

Ingredients
4 slices bakery sourdough bread (most supermarkets have bakeries, so splurge on some fresh stuff)
2 Tbsp. whipped cream cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped green olives
2 slices Swiss cheese
2 slices American cheese
2 slices ham
1-2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

Directions:
Spray a nonstick skillet with bit of cooking spray over medium-high heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread, and then lay them, buttered side down, on a plate. Combine the cream cheese and olives in a small bowl, and spread that evenly over the unbuttered side of two of the bread slices.

Then on the remaining two bread slices, layer the Swiss cheese, American cheese and ham. Assemble the sandwiches by matching a cream cheese slice with a ham/cheese slice, giving you two full sandwiches. Grill in the skillet for about 3-4 minutes per side or until the bread is lightly browned and the cheeses have melted. Serves two, or one, if you’re a hungry dude like Matty.

Note: Campbell’s Tomato Soup is always good with grilled cheese sandwiches, but it’s even better if you mix the condensed soup with milk instead of water.