18 Awesome Grilled Cheese Tweets

Updated 18 July 2022

A little more than a year ago, I started making a different grilled cheese sandwich every Sunday for lunch. Some of them were typical and ho-hum. Others were downright awful. But some ended being spectacular, so I tweeted pictures of them to inspire others and get feedback.

A Cookbook?

I considered trying to make a Geek’s Grilled Cheese cookbook with submissions from other folks in technology, but the idea never seemed to gain any traction, and I lost interest.

Before You Start

Before I get to the grilled cheeses themselves, I have a few tips and hints that have helped me make much better sandwiches.

Equipment

You don’t need any fancy equipment, such as a panini press, to make an awesome grilled cheese sandwich. You only need a hot surface. I use a 14” square griddle pan.

Bread

Most of my grilled cheese sandwiches are made with Italian Bread by Pepperidge Farm. You can, of course, use anything you like. I have had great luck with sourdough, which I try to buy fresh from the local bakery. Some have also suggested Texas Toast, but I’m all about what’s in the sandwich.

Cheese

The most important ingredient you can choose for your grilled cheese is, not surprisingly, the cheese! This decision ultimately comes down to your personal taste. My recommendation is to avoid mild cheeses. Go for the bite of flavor you get from a good sharp cheddar.

You may also wish to alter your cheese selection based on the other ingredients. As you will see in the tweets, I tend to select sharp cheddar with bacon and eggs, but a mild Swiss for my Cuban.

Sliced deli cheese is easiest to work with, and is the most common type of cheese to use when making a grilled cheese sandwich.

For the more adventurous, you can get excellent results slicing your own cheese from a block or even using shredded cheese. The latter, however, is more difficult to keep inside the sandwich while heating.

Avoid using dry or crumbly cheeses such as bleu cheese or parmesan. These cheeses do not melt well and tend to be unsuitable for a good grilled cheese sandwich.

Spread

The traditional grilled cheese sandwich is made by spreading butter liberally to the outside of the bread. This is what gives the sandwich its golden brown color and crunchy texture. As you will see in the recipes, butter is not the only possibility. I have used all these substitutes with great success:

• Mayonnaise
• Olive oil and butter mix
• Mayonnaise and mustard mix
• Chick-fil-A Sauce

If using butter, it should be at room temperature for best results. If the butter is too cold, it will be nearly impossible to spread on the bread without tearing it. If it is too warm, or even melted, you risk using too much and making the sandwich too greasy.

If you do not have time to let your butter warm up from the refrigerator, putting ¼ stick of butter in the microwave for 12–15 seconds is usually enough to soften it. I have also had decent luck heating the butter on the griddle until melted and then immediately dropping the prepared sandwich onto it. Again, however, you need to be careful not to use too much.

What about margarine or other butter substitutes? I don’t recommend them. They don’t have the same burn point as butter, so your results probably won’t be satisfactory. More importantly, this is a grilled cheese. It’s comfort food. This is not the time to reduce fats. That said, feel free to experiment should you so desire.

Heating

If you have an electric griddle that allows you to set the temperature, you should set it at 275°F (135°C).

If you cannot control the temperature directly, set your stovetop to a medium or low-medium heat. On my cooktop, I set it to 25%, or 9 o’clock.

The Grilled Cheeses

I know some of my readers don’t necessarily follow me on Twitter (though you should). So, here is a recap of my (mostly) successful grilled cheeses from the past year.

What’s Next?

I honestly don’t know if I want to put in the time to create the book, or if tweeting about them is enough. It’s not an overly-complicated food to cook.

Do you have any suggestions or unique versions of your own? Please share them in the comments or on Twitter.