The grilled cheese is a wonderful way to exercise a crucial cooking skill: careful heat management. Your main tools as you balance the melting of the cheese with the browning of the exterior of the bread are: your flame (I set it on medium heat) and a small lid, which presses the sandwich into the pan and helps retain some of the pan’s heat, to melt the cheese a bit quicker. If you want to dive deeper, I recommend you read the Cooking newsletter on heat management!
As I was brainstorming a specific grilled cheese recipe, I tried to open my mind to flavor combinations I don’t usually see in a grilled cheese, drawing inspiration from fancy cheeses I’ve tasted, charcuterie boards and beyond: Alpine cheese with caramelized onion on sourdough (yum); triple crème with nectarine on brioche (yuck); then it hit me — what about a grilled cheese on rye bread? Rye made me think of East Coast delis, which made me think of pickles, which made me think of dill, which brought me to: dill Havarti on rye. As always, I encourage you to use this recipe as a jumping off point for your own ideas and desires. Yet … I do think this is a pretty good recipe, and it would also make an excellent base for a tuna or patty melt. Or a Reuben. Or to dip into a bowl of cold borscht. Or matzo ball soup. OK, I’m done.
This recipe makes a large, comforting sandwich for one, or a great snack for two. I like to eat mine with brown mustard and sliced pickles on the side, both of which help cut through the richness and add exciting bursts of heat and acid.
If you make it or have any questions, let me know what you think in the comments.
