Grilled Cheese

Have you ever heard the African proverb, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’? Well, it is absolutely true and while we do not have an entire village physically here, in our home, with us, we are thankful to our parents, friends and relatives for checking up on us. It does get overwhelming sometimes and talking with our near and dear ones help. So, thanks mom and dad for your kind words and motivation, thanks sis for giving that sweet smile and telling me that today is Sunday and we talked last week. Thank you to our friends who have been delivering food to us without any expectation to see baby Prisha in this time of social distancing. Believe me we are also counting days when she will be cuddled and loved by everyone we know. She is now six weeks old. Can you believe it? Six whole weeks have gone by since we went to the hospital and had her. Six whole weeks gone from Debarshi’s parental leave, six weeks since I actually wrote, read or cooked something. It has been a roller coaster ride and yes it has its ups and downs. We knew we wont be able to party or have a movie marathon or sleep till late once we had her. But these things seem so small when we pick her up and see her sweet face. Life is so simple at this age. Entertaining her is so easy (no need for HBO or Netflix), all she needs is a lullaby. I wish we (at our age) could have let ourselves be this simple. When we were in Alabama, our apartment had a fireplace and although it almost never snowed there, every cold evening, we used to light a fire and spend our time siting by it. This seems like a simple thing but believe me we really miss doing it. Especially because Kansas City has such a beautiful winter with snow and right now we don’t have a fireplace in our townhome. So, some day, I wish to have a house with a fireplace so that we can recreate those memories with baby Prisha. And speaking of simple things, growing up there are so many things we take for granted. You see a baby and you start living through these small precious moments of joy. Believe me, everyday is something new with her and this may sound cheesy or silly but I am thankful that these days our phones have such good cameras. We can capture anything anytime and never miss a moment because when babies are this young you can’t really ask them to repeat themselves. Their first smile, first yawn, the first time they look at you and you feel that they have started to know you, now it is all so easy to capture and re-live again and again. 

So, today I decided to write about Grilled Cheese because I have been making these a lot these days and also because this is one of the easiest, quickest and filling things to learn. If you have kids, you will know how quickly the time passes. It only seems that, ‘Oh we will be feeding her every three hours, that’s not difficult.’ As first time parents, we thought that we will be able to plan so many things in between. We thought, we can sleep, cook, watch TV, read. It’s only when you start following the schedule that you realize, oh! I didn’t add the feeding time which can range from half an hour to an hour. Even the diaper change is tricky at this time because newborns like to wait till you change the diaper so that they can soil the fresh one. Then finally when everything is done, you have to put them to bed and unlike us, they don’t go to sleep themselves. So, by the time they are all soothed and sleeping, you have hardly an hour left in your hand and now you are thinking, should I sleep or take a shower and hey! Did I brush my teeth today? As I told my doctor, when couples become parents they should immediately magically grow an extra pair of hands so that they can hold the bottle with one, wipe with the other and take photos and videos with the extra hand because at the end of the day when you are all tired, have spit in your hair and trying to remember when was this food cooked, those sweet moments make you cheerful and forget all your tiredness. 

Ah! yes, the recipe. Today we are discussing Grilled Cheese (no more detours from this topic I promise you). Now you can of course prepare it on a skillet but I like doing it in my Panini press. It yields amazing grill marks and it is so much quicker. Pair it with a hot cup of homemade Tomato Soup and you are all set for breakfast/ lunch. You can cut the grilled cheese in half or diagonal or just bite right into them. Grilled cheese is the best!

I think grilled cheese is a great option for my vegetarian friends as well because who doesn’t like a crisp, hot grilled cheese prepared with fresh bread and loads of cheese! The secret to creating the crisp crust is, butter. And although you can use any type of bread, my favorite is, Sourdough. There is something about grilling a sourdough bread with cheese, it makes it so much more flavorful. So yes, I recommend these three tips while making grilled cheese:

1. Use a great Bread (like Sourdough)
2. Use a good cheese like Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack or my favorite: Dutch Gouda
3. Do not skimp on the Butter

I love adding things in my grilled cheese since sometimes all I have is Swiss cheese and it is not very tasty like cheddar. A sprinkle of Chaat masala does the trick. Also, I love adding a few slices of red onion between the cheese and bread.

Why use Panini Press?

I have a Cuisinart Griddle, Compact Grill & Panini Press at home.

I find flipping the sandwich on a skillet too much work. For me, grilled cheese is a comfort food, full of gooey cheesy goodness and should not involve any labor. My Panini press grills the sandwich quickly and easily. There is no flipping involved and since the heat is evenly distributed from both sides, the sandwich is ready in no time. Also the weight from the top of the grill presses the sandwich perfectly while creating beautiful grill marks on it.

Ingredients:

• Bread - 2 slices (I prefer Sourdough)
• Cheese - 2 slices (Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Dutch Gouda)
• Butter – 1-2 tablespoons

Directions:

• Turn on the Panini Press. Turn the knobs to select ‘Grill/ Panini’ in the Selector and ‘High’ in the Grill/ Panini.
• Generously spread butter on one side of the two bread slices (these two sides will face the grill of the Panini press once you place it in). With butter side down, top one of the slices with the cheese and top with the 2nd slice (butter side up) and gently place it in your Panini Press. Tip: You can get creative here if you want (I love adding some onion slices and sprinkle some Chaat masala if the cheese is too bland for my taste).
• Press the lid down, gently so that it doesn't completely smash your sandwich but also enough that both sides are touching the heated grates.
• Allow the sandwich to cook for a few minutes on each side until the cheese has melted and the bread has crisped up, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove the sandwich from the Panini Press and allow it to sit for a minute before serving so that the cheese can thicken up a bit and won't ooze out when you cut it. Also, this prevents the kids from burning their mouths.

Tips:

• There is no right or wrong when it comes to grilled cheese. If you want more cheese go for it. Just be aware that the extra cheese may ooze out.
• Using a plastic spatula to remove the grilled cheese sandwich prevents the non-stick coating of the Panini Press from being scratched.

Now if you don’t have a Panini press at home or prefer the skillet, try these steps:

• Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. With butter side down, top one of the slices with the cheese and top with the 2nd slice (butter side up).
• In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Transfer the sandwich carefully and cook until the bread is golden and cheese is starting to melt, about 2 minutes.
• Carefully, flip the sandwich and continue to cook until cheese has totally melted, about 30 seconds more.
• When making more than one sandwich, wipe the skillet between sandwiches and serve the Grilled Cheese hot.

Need more Breakfast ideas? Try these recipes:

• Pancakes
• Sweet French Toast (American recipe)
• Savory Crispy French Toasts (Indian Recipe)
• Mamma’s Alu Sandwiches (Indian style Potato and Cheese Sandwiches)
• Masala Oatmeal (Oatmeal with Indian spices)
• Cheela (Savory Indian Crepes)
• Egg in a Hole – Add Fun to Your Breakfast
• Quick Egg Chow Mein
• Scrambled Eggs with Spinach
• Vegetarian Poha Style Chow Mein/ Pasta