RecipesGrilled Cheese, New York Style
First of all, I cannot claim this to be my Grilled Cheese recipe, but if you like food, and can appreciate good taste, then read on. Like I said, this vegetarian sandwich is not one that I remember the way I had when growing up, but when viewed through the lens of logic, you will surely agree that it is indeed, a great way to "build" a sandwich.
So, you need the following:
*bread, 2 slices of white or whole wheat (i like 12 grain whole wheat)
*soy butter (non-dairy preferred) . . . make sure it has salt in its ingredients
*American cheese, 1 - 1/2 slices (white is ok, i prefer orange colored . . . make sure it is vegetarian with no enzymes [if it has enzymes, make sure they are veggie] )
*tomato (red, not orange, yellow, pink, or green)
*onion (sweet Vidalia style or red onion)
*cilantro (type of Parsley) 1 - 2 stalks
*1 Teaspoon of Balsamic Vinegar
*1 Teaspoon of sugar
*small mixing bowl
*stainless steel frying pan preferred, Teflon acceptable (10 - 12 Inches in diameter - the bigger the better)
*cover for frying pan enough to keep in the heat while cooking
*spatula, sharp knife, plate (i am getting into specifics in case you are really taking notes and want the same end result) Note before making your Grilled Cheese Sandwich: To accompany your sandwich, you might want to have a chocolate milkshake, potato chips, and a pickle on standby.
Now let us begin. Take a knife, and spread a very thin layer of soy butter on 1 side of each slice of bread. Try to include the crusts, and make sure that it is so thin that you are tempted to put more on but do not.
Prepare your cheese by cutting up the cheese into strips. Distribute the strips evenly on the bread, until you cover 70% of the surface (there should be enough cheese to do that . . . and less cheese in the middle of the sandwich and more around the middle).
Cut your 1 - 2 stalks of cilantro and put them in the mixing bowl with the vinegar and sugar. Stir for 30 seconds.Ҡ Cut thin slices of onion, and thicker slices of tomatoes. You decide how many to use, but I prefer double the amount of tomato to onion. Add them to your mixing bowl of cilantro.
Heat up your frying pan somewhere between low and medium (but closer to low). Place your 2 pieces of bread on the pan, butter side down, and move them around so as to melt some of the butter evenly and coat some of your pan. Cover the bread and cheese, so the heat will trap inside and melt evenly.
For the next 75-90 seconds, keep the cover closed. Then take a peek and see if the cheese has melted. Take your spatula, and slightly reposition the bread so as to move them from their original position. Cover again.
Take your mixing bowl, and empty the liquid into your sink. Take the remaining onion, tomato, and cilantro, and bring it to the sandwich. Open the cover, put the tomato, onion, and cilantro on one of the sandwich slices, and with the spatula, lift the other slice to cover the sandwich.
Gently push down with the spatula, and cover the pan for 20 seconds. Then flip the sandwich over for 15 seconds, remove, and serve.
This process may have been slightly modified, as the original recipe did not include cilantro, sugar, or vinegar. Yet I find those ingredients make the difference.