Just Cook It! Celebrate Grilled Cheese Month with a gourmet version
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Chef Mario Perroca makes a Wild Mushroom and Fontina Grilled Cheese Sandwich on the set of Just Cook It! at 4th Street Barbecue in Charleroi.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Wild Mushroom and Fontina Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a perfect revision of an age-old favorite comfort food.
Food is powerful.
Humans have the unique ability to develop connections and even feelings toward their food.
Food becomes more than just a survival mechanism for us and we develop our specific food preferences accordingly.
Even with all of my experience and love for almost all foods, I still find myself connecting and even yearning for comfort foods. There’s nothing like the foods we grew up enjoying. Especially when it takes us back to happier and/or simpler times in our lives. That emotional bond is forged never to be bent, let alone broken.
April is National Grilled Cheese Month and a grilled cheese sandwich is one of the quintessential comfort foods of all time. I grew up eating them and I’m sure most, if not all, of you did, too.
I still find myself, at times, going into my kitchen to enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich when there are many other more sophisticated items in my refrigerator that I am more than capable of preparing.
Grilled cheese is pure, simple, and delicious. The buttery, crispy, and toasted outside is matched perfectly by the rich, melty, and gooey deliciousness on the inside.
I think I just invented the word “melty” but it’s fitting and necessary when describing something as perfect as a grilled cheese sandwich. You almost have to resort to inventing words to describe its goodness.
As traditional as grilled cheese is, I think you’ll be shocked to hear its history. It’s no surprise that cooked bread and cheese is considered an ancient food according to food historians. However, evidence indicates that in the United States the modern version of the sandwich originated in the 1920’s when inexpensive sliced bread and American cheese became readily available.
The grilled cheese was originally made as an open-faced sandwich with the top slice of bread becoming common in the 1960’s. The 1920’s and especially the 1960’s weren’t that long ago. In my opinion, the modern day grilled cheese sandwich as we enjoy it today is still relatively new.
We all enjoy our grilled cheese a little differently. We all have our favorite types of bread, cheese, garnishes, and condiments we prefer on our sandwich. I’m all for trying a classic in new ways and you’ll see that first hand when you try my Wild Mushroom and Fontina Grilled Cheese at the bottom of this column.
Even with all of the different ways that exist to enjoy a grilled cheese, there are still some basic techniques or guidelines that you should master if you want to make that perfect golden melty sandwich.
First, always use real butter. Real butter just tastes better than any of the fake butter like spreads out there. Also, butter will assist in giving you that wonderful looking and tasting golden brown color on your bread.
Also, try to use the freshest butter possible. Butter can pick up other flavors as it sits in your refrigerator so if it is fresh you minimize the possibility of this disastrous outcome.
Another rule is that you want to butter the outside of the bread, not the pan. This technique will ensure that the butter is evenly distributed on your bread and give you that proper crispy golden brown sandwich.
A very useful little known tip is to grate or shred your cheese before making your sandwich. This will help the cheese melt faster. It’s especially helpful if you are using denser high-end artisanal bread. You want to be sure your cheese is melted when the bread is golden brown and this method definitely helps.
Another key to making sure your cheese melts is to cut your slices of bread no more than one-half inch thick. I’m all for substantial slices of bread for my sandwiches, but when that bread can potentially create issues with my cheese melting, I make sure I follow this rule.
A trick I like to use is to griddle my grilled cheese open faced and then flip one piece of bread onto the other to create the sandwich at the end of the cooking process. This not only helps the sandwich to cook faster, but it also helps you to monitor your melting cheese since you can watch it closely the entire time without it being hidden.
Finally, be sure to use a non-stick pan when making your grilled cheese sandwich, if you are not using a griddle. I must admit that I do like to use cast iron as I feel it adds a certain flavor to the sandwich.
The issue with cast iron is that it holds heat very efficiently. If you heat your pan too much it becomes very easy to unintentionally burn the outside of your sandwich. Non-stick is an easier alternative for the less experienced grilled cheese maker.
As I mentioned above, I am a fan of having some fun with the classics by changing them up a bit. My favorite “adult” style grilled cheese is my Wild Mushroom and Fontina Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
The mushrooms and Fontina work perfectly with some fresh sage to bring the flavors together. The addition of thick cut bacon doesn’t hurt either. After all, bacon makes everything better, right?!?
I chose Fontina for this sandwich because it is one of my favorite cheeses and it goes incredibly well with mushrooms. Fontina is an Italian cows milk cheese with a fat content of around 45 percent.
The original Fontina that is actually made in Italy is fairly pungent and has a rather intense flavor. However, most of the Fontina you will buy from your local supermarket are the Swedish and Danish versions and are more mild then their original counterpart.
Fontina is a semi-soft cheese and melts extraordinarily well. Young Fontina has a softer texture and melts even better. In any case, the Fontina you will most likely find will be mild, soft, buttery, melt extremely well, and be delicious eaten both by itself or incorporated into other dishes.
As far as mushrooms go, you can use any mix/variety you like for this sandwich.
I used a mix of portabella, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms for the video at HeraldStandard.com, but any mix or type of mushroom that you like will work just fine.
One final note about my recipe: don’t fret over the mayonnaise in the filling. I use mayonnaise to bind the filling together, but there’s not enough of it in the recipe for you to actually taste mayonnaise. It holds the filling together nicely and adds a nice richness without contributing any mayo-like flavor.
My point is that even if you are not a mayonnaise fan, try it anyway and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
To see me make the Wild Mushroom and Fontina Grilled Cheese, watch the video at HeraldStandard.com under the Food tab.
Please enjoy the recipe, enjoy National Grilled Cheese Month, and – Just Cook It!
Mario J. Porreca of Belle Vernon is a food personality, author, and the host of Just Cook It on WMBS Radio 590 AM.
His website is www.JustCookIt.net. Twitter: @MarioPorreca.