says Melissa Clark in a recent NYTimes story exulting the grilled cheese. Who knows better how to mother you than yourself? Who knows better what you need and when? A coupla bucks? A kind word? A butter-crisped, cheese-oozing, lip-greasing grilled cheese? Yes! Yes! Yes!
Photo by Taran Z Foodstyling by Lisa Cherkasky
I ate a lot of grilled cheese at Spudnut’s in Madison, WI while I was a so-called student. Plain. Just bread, white and thin, flattened from the butter- soak and flat-top toasting, and cheese, orange and velvety. A thin, faintly reddish, winter Wisconsin tomato slice was good sometimes.
Now my son eats a lot of them and we use a designated grilled cheese maker that imprints an American flag on the bread. What’s the connection? I have no idea. Got it free from work. And it works. The sandwich goes inside this flat grilly thing that has a hinged lid and you can flip it, flip it often if you like, and vigilantly monitor the browning of the bread. Almost as much fun as toasting a marshmallow perfectly.
Photo by Taran Z Foodstyling by Lisa Cherkasky
Why do kids like grilled cheese so much? Who knows. I do know my kid would never eat the one above. Too much going on.
Melissa Clark likes a sophisticated grilled cheese and I do too. Stinky cheese, bread with big holes that you have to actually chew, condiments that have made their way to the far reaches of your fridge. Looking to expand your grilled cheese horizons? Look here and she can help you make sandwiches for grown-ups, sandwiches that need these words to describe them: brittle, lacy, smear, tangy, tantalizing, pungent and bracing.
Photo by Taran Z Foodstyling by Lisa Cherkasky
This is very fancy. Something you might make for your mother to show her you are an actual adult. Something for brunch, that non-meal.
And then, when you need a bit of mothering…regular white bread – okay, it can be decent, cheddar – okay, it can be white and sharp, and butter, lots of it. Use a mess ‘o paper napkins and eat it in the kitchen.
Happy Mother’s Day!
The Lunch Encounter 