Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is my simple take on an Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich. What makes it Italian you ask? I use garlic butter on the bread and mozzarella cheese.

Bread

Butter

Garlic

Mozerella Cheese

Marinera Sauce

Oregeno

Knife

Garlic Press

Cutting Board

Stove top

Griddle or Pan

I use French Bread from the local grocery store's Bakery. It's baked fresh daily and taste delicious. I cut two 3/4 inch slices of bread. It can be a thicker or thinner slice it doesn't really matter it will still be good.

I make some garlic butter using 2 cloves of garlic that I squeeze through my garlic press in to a small bowl. I then add 2 tablespoons of room temperature salted butter to the minced garlic and stir it together.

*I prefer salted butter but unsalted will also work.

This, in my opinion is the main take away from this Instructable. Butter all 4 sides of the bread I recommend this for regular grilled cheese as well it just adds a really nice crispy-ness to the bread.

I don't measure the cheese I just put aside what I think will fit in between the bread. You can always add more when it comes time to grill it. I also like to use a bit of marinara sauce (about 2 tablespoons) to add a little bit of tomato-ey tang to the sandwich. The sauce in the pic is just leftover from our pasta night.

In our house we have a dedicated pan for tortillas and grilled cheese, that's all that we make on that pan. I heat the pan to a medium low heat and place both slices down on the pan. You don't want it too hot because you will be leaving the bread on the pan for a while to make sure the cheese gets nice and melted. So its better to error on the lower temperature side than the higher.

I listen to the butter sizzling when it stops sizzling then I check the bread to make sure it is nice and toasted. We are only toasting one side at this time this will be the inside of the sandwich. Once the bread is nice and golden brown remove them from the pan and place on a plate. Next add a smear of marinara sauce to both pieces of bread then add the cheese to one piece only. This is optional but I like to add a dash of dried Oregano to the cheese, I really love the mozzarella and Oregano combination so add it but you can leave it out.

Next place the loaded bread slice back on the pan and top with the other slice. Let it grill for a little while and then use a spatula to press down on the bread. You don't want to make it completely flat you just want it to compress the bread and get even browning. The pressing also results in a nice crispy crust on the bread which gives you a really nice bite. Once the first side is nice and golden brown flip the sandwich and press the other side as well. Once both sides are cooked to your satisfaction remove from the pan and let it cool for a minute or two, the cheese will be very hot so your patience will be rewarded.

Once its cooled, enjoy it just like that or slice it and revel in the gooey-aucity of the mozerella cheese-ness. This is one of those sandwiches that can make a bad day just fade away. I hope you all will try making this sandwich I don't think you will be disappointed.