April Is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month

If America had a national sandwich , it would undoubtedly be the grilled cheese

Salty and sweet, crispy and gooey, what;s not to love about your favorite fromage crammed between two slices of bread, grilled into a puddle of pure culinary nostalgia

Beloved and reinvented by even the most celebrated chefs

the grilled cheese has long-since outgrown its white bread and processed cheese days.

As much as we adore, and often crave, the American cheese version of these beloved sandwiches

trying out different cheeses and add-ons is always a rewarding experience. We piled dill pickles, tomatoes and deli meats on our grilled cheese as kids, but we're ready to explore more, with new, interesting toppings.

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

Heidi Gibson was an engineer with degrees from MIT. Then she won the national Grilled Cheese Invitational and opened this shop in the city's multimedia gulch. Tech geeks come for well-constructed sandwiches like the Mousetrap, with cheddar, Havarti and Monterey Jack on artisanal sourdough

The $15 Grilled Cheese

This stacked creation was born out of Ontario-based chef Randy Feltis's adoration for exotic cheeses and thick-cut bread. Melted in between the garlic-, parsley- and butter-seasoned loaf lies a brilliant blend of brie, aged Cheddar, Italian Asiago and Havarti cheeses.

Croque Madame

A delectable grilled cheese sandwich coupled with cured meats and topped with a fried egg is one of the many appetizing creations on the menu at Campanile in Los Angeles as part of its weekly Grilled Cheese Night.

Honey-Basil Grilled Cheese

YumSugar, the savvy food column on the Sugar Network, made this delicious sandwich in honor of National Grilled Cheese Month. They crafted this stack of melted goodness with mozzarella, fontina, fresh basil, tomatoes and honey.

Grilled Caprese

This salad-turned-sandwich is inspired by Insalata Caprese, a dish consisting of mozzarella, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil from the Campania region in southwestern Italy. To this we say, "Buon appetito!"

Grilled Portobello and Cheese

The Oregon Grille in Cockeysville, Marylanda quaint eatery surrounded by horse countryis responsible for this rustic white bread explosion, topped with Boursin and provolone cheeses as well as roasted tomato and portobello mushrooms.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese

This Pike Place Market fixture just expanded to New York with a new boutique and production facility. Each location grills its signature Flagship cheesea slightly nutty blend of cheddar and GruyÃ¨re cultureswith fillings like tomato and basil. Each location also uses local bread: In Seattle, it's from Grand Central Bakery; Harlem nonprofit Hot Bread Kitchen provides excellent loaves in NYC.

Artisanal Fromagerie

Ever since Terrance Brennan met his first runny, robust ÃÂ‰poisses in the early 1980s, he has dedicated himself to cooking with cheeses. During lunch at Artisanal, the menu highlights several in sandwiches like The Big Cheese, featuring Fontina, Taleggio, GruyÃ¨re and Emmenthaler, and the chichi Frenchie with Brie, mushrooms and black truffles.

Grilled Cheese and Tomatoes

This twist on a Southern classic creates a grilled cheese out of a gourmet version of pimento cheesemade with GruyÃ¨re, provolone and piquillo peppersand is served with a shot of tomato soup at Max's Wine Dive in Houston.

Clementine

Chef-owner Annie Miler got so excited about her bakery-cafÃ©'s 10th Annual Celebration of Grilled Cheese Month this past April, she offered 10 variations each week. A year-round favorite: extra-sharp white Tillamook cheddar on country white with bacon or roasted cherry tomatoes.

Revamped Grilled Cheese

"The Inner Workings of a College Graduate" blogger, Meghann, decided to overhaul the tasteless grilled cheese sandwiches she ate as a kid. The result? Between two slices of Jenna's Oatmeal Bread she layers Swiss cheese, goat cheese, apples and spinachgrilled to perfection on a George Foreman Grill.

Tartine Bakery

At their destination bakery, husband-and-wife team Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt use organic flour to bake extraordinary bread. Generous slices of the homemade loaves upgrade luxe pressed sandwiches like melty GruyÃ¨re with ham, and Humboldt Fog goat cheese on walnut bread.

Mozzarella and Provolone with Roasted Tomatoes and Black Olives

Another delicious delight from the 'Wichcraft cookbook, this pizza-inspired creation combines mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, niÃ§oise olives, oregano and aged provolone on country bread. Though traditionally cooked in a sandwich press, it can also be grilled in a pan with olive oil or heated open-face in an oven.

Stuffed Grilled Cheese Pretzel

You can get six of these stuffed-to-perfection soft pretzels for $28, which sounds expensive, but we say go for it (after all, they're handmade). Oozing from the plump curves of this toasted treat is real Cheddar cheese, which is also sprinkled on top.

Grilled Cheese & Co.

This mini-chain now has three locations in Maryland. Regional flavor comes through in a signature Crabby Melt with Jack cheese on top of homemade "crabby dip." Among the current specials is the Hermanator, designed by NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace: provolone, turkey breast and pickles with honey-mustard sauce.

Roxy's Grilled Cheese

With respect to Boston baseball (and Fenway Park's famed left-field wall "The Green Monster"), Roxy's offers the Green Muenster, with guacamole and bacon. Here, too, mac and cheese is considered a sandwich filling for the Mac & Chorizo. In an ingenious twist, Roxy's brushes mayonnaise on the outside of sandwiches, rather than butter, before slapping them on the griddle.

Gruyère with Caramelized Onions

This simple creation is one of several hot-sandwich options in celebrity chef Tom Colicchio's book 'Wichcraft. It's inspired by french onion soup and contains GruyÃ¨re cheese with roasted onions on sliced rye bread

Categories

More