How-to Grilled Cheese (& Toast)

The world of cookbooks is constantly evolving. Following the television hits Great British Bake-off and Heel Holland Bakt, a series of so-called baking books got underway, with Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi as the latest highlight for now. Is the sandwich book next?

After the anti-bread hype of recent years, bread has made the most striking comeback ever. So much so that a series of bread books, comparable to the baking books, has begun to emerge. Not only ‘how-to bread baking’. But also, and especially, about the art of topping bread. Let’s call them ‘sandwich books’. From World Sandwiches to Extreme Toppings.

Sandwich Books

Toppings are a subject an editor would not have seen much potential in roughly ten years ago. Because topping bread is just like walking: almost everyone can do it, right?

Making grilled cheese sandwiches is an art.

Yet these sandwich books proved that creating good toppings really is an art. Because, just as with an average dish, the big question here is: which ingredients go best together? But also: what goes best with which bread? And if there is a finishing treatment such as toasting, what are the pitfalls, tips & tricks?

Melts
Grilled Cheese & Toast was previously published in English under the more compact title Melts. And it arrived at food publisher GoodCook’s offices at exactly the right moment. Namely now that grilled cheese sandwiches (& toast, in other words: melts) are the hype du moment on Instagram, at food festivals and in grilled cheese bars.

And even if you may think: making a grilled cheese sandwich is the easiest thing in the world, it only seems that way. Just as cooking an egg perfectly requires quite a bit of experience and knowledge, so does making grilled cheese sandwiches. At least, if they really need to be delicious and not merely quick filling.

Grilled Cheese Maker or Frying Pan?

And that is why the book takes you – albeit in a rather girlish tone – by the hand through all the facts, trivia and useful information relating to making a good grilled cheese sandwich. From ‘which type of topping with which type of bread’ (brioche is perfect with a light, sweet filling, for example), how to toast (grilled cheese maker, panini press, grill, toaster, or author Fern Green’s own preference: the frying pan?), to the best grilled cheese temperature and melting cheeses (stringy like burrata; smooth like Gouda and non-melting like ‘squeaky cheese’ halloumi).

Classics

In short, after this book, the grilled cheese sandwich and its toppings hold no secrets for the reader. After that, it’s simply a matter of choosing from the 50+ recipes: will it be the classic tuna melt? The lavish brioche with duck liver pâté, caramelized onion and pepper? The potato waffle with pastrami and sauerkraut? Or perhaps a sweet grilled cheese sandwich? Because a melt goes beyond the mother of all grilled cheese sandwiches, ham and cheese, which of course also found a place in this rather complete handbook for grilled cheese & toast. With aged Gouda.

Feeling hungry? Here’s the recipe for a proper meatball grilled cheese sandwich.

Grilled Cheese & Toast
Fern Green
Good Cook Publishing