Ever since I was young, grilled cheese sandwiches have been one of my favorite foods. Whether by themselves for lunch, or added to a hearty soup for supper, grilled cheese sandwiches always satisfy. What makes these sandwiches great extends beyond their molten deliciousness. Grilled cheese sandwiches are so wonderful because the ways you can vary them. Whether by adding ham, tomatoes, or a bit of stone ground mustard, the possibilities are endless.

Today I’d like to share my love of grilled cheese sandwiches by offering some thoughts on how to make them. As with all meals, the key is to use quality ingredients. Also important, is picking ingredients whose flavors compliment each other. I know it seems strange insisting on quality goods when it comes to something as simple as grilled cheese, but when they’re done right grilled cheese can be amazing.

The first thing you need is the right bread. I like to use white, whole wheat, or multigrain bread. They have the right level of softness to give contrast to the crunch of the sandwich’s toasted exterior. I don’t like breads like rye or pumpernickel because they’re too dense and you have to upgrade to stronger, more expensive cheeses to overcome bread’s flavor. And try to avoid loaves of Texas toast. The slices are too thick, and you’ll never gett the cheese to melt before the bread is toasted up.

The next step in making your perfect grilled cheese is the cheese. Most importantly that you use real cheese. Cheese slices, or those super melty processed cheese products aren’t real cheese and they just can’t give you the flavor you need in a grilled cheese sandwich. When you go to pick up real cheese, get something that tastes good and melts well. Cheddar, goat, Shropshire, are delicious cheeses that will give you great melt. Feta and parmesan cheese won’t melt right and therefore won’t hold your sandwich together.

Finally, don’t be afraid to go beyond simple grilled cheese on occasion. Thin slices of tomato, dill pickle, or ham from the deli counter are great with grilled cheese. The tanginess of the dill or a really ripe tomato somehow marry up perfectly with the nuttiness and saltiness of an aged cheddar. If you’re going to add things to your grilled cheese make sure you slice them thin so your sandwich doesn’t get too big to bite into. Also, make sure you slice them into some kind of strip so the cheese can melt around them and hold both sides of the sandwich together.

To help bring everything home, here’s my favorite grilled cheese sandwich recipe. The recipe is for just one sandwich and accordingly can be doubled or tripled to serve more people.

2 slices whole wheat bread

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 thin slice beefsteak tomato, quartered

2 slices dill pickle, halved crossways.

Butter or margarine.

1) Heat a skillet over medium heat. As the skillet warms up lightly butter both slides of bread. Put one slice of bread on a plate, buttered side down.

2) Lay the grated cheddar over the bread. Top the cheddar with quartered tomato slice, allowing a bit of space between quarters. Top with pickle slices, followed by remaining slice of bread, buttered side up.

3) Place the sandwich in the heated skillet and cook until bottom slice of bread is golden brown and cheese has started to melt. Flip the sandwich with a spatula and grill until bottom slice is golden brown and cheese has melted past the tomato and pickle.

4) Remove sandwich to a plate, slice in half and enjoy.

If you want to vary the recipe, try adding some deli ham, pastrami, or corned beef. Alternatively, replace 25% of the cheddar with a combination of feta and parmesan. The feta and parmesan will add some extra flavor and richness and the cheddar will still melt the sandwich together. Alternatively, try some unripened goat cheese or a bit of your favorite blue cheese (I prefer Shropshire and Roquefort myself). Don’t be afraid to get creative and a little funky with your grilled cheese. After all, the whole point of grilled cheese is to enjoy some really great cheese.