Celebrating an American classic

The grilled cheese sandwich. Pretty simple. Pretty straightforward. Take a couple of slices of buttered bread and a slice or two of your favorite cheese and heat it up on a griddle. What could be easier? Served with tomato soup it's about as comfortable as comfort food can get.

But there can be so much more to this basic sandwich. To be honest, I've never been much of fan of basic grilled cheese. My mom always made them with a slice or two of ham in addition to the cheese and that's the way I still make them. I thought the whole world made them like that.

Until a friend mentioned on Facebook that she made hers with mayonnaise. Mayonnaise? Yuck. But I found out that is a "thing" in certain parts of the country.

That got me thinking about how many ways you can vary the basic grilled cheese. And some of them are designed just for grownups.

Here's one version that substitutes buttery Gouda - first made in Holland more than 800 years ago - for American singles. A layer of sautéed vegetables smothered in bechamel sauce takes it up a notch.

Grown-up Grilled Cheese

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, sliced about 1/8-inch thick

1 red onion, sliced about 1/8-inch thick

6 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced about 1/8-inch thick

Salt and pepper

8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, divided

8 ounces fresh spinach leaves

1 shallot or small yellow onion, minced

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup whole milk

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

8 slices rye bread or 4 seeded rye rolls, split

8 slices Wisconsin Gouda cheese

Roasted peppers, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat an oven-safe skillet over high heat. Add olive oil, red pepper and onions. Saute 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté additional 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Place skillet in oven and roast 15-20 minutes (can make and refrigerate the night before).

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter, a splash of water, spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook just until spinach is wilted. Reserve.

For bechamel sauce: Heat saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and minced shallot or onion. Season with salt and pepper; stir for about 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add flour and stir to coat. Stir in the milk, a little at a time to avoid lumping. Add nutmeg and cayenne and bring to a low simmer, stirring often to keep from sticking. Cook at least 10 minutes; stir in mustard and let stand off heat.

Heat skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Butter one side of each bread slice or roll and place 4 slices, butter-side down, in pan. Top with slice of Gouda, 2 tablespoons spinach and 1/2 cup of peppers-onions-mushrooms. Top with 2 tablespoons of the bechamel sauce, another slice of Gouda, and a slice of rye, butter-side up. Grill to melt the cheese and toast the bread to golden brown, flipping sandwiches once.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe from: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (www.grilledcheeseacademy.com)

And did you know you can have grilled cheese for breakfast? This open sandwich is gourmet play on the classic Monte Cristo, a variation of a French dish that dates back to the early 1900s.

If you don't have Dijon mustard on hand, honey mustard will work just as well. Same with the Gruyere. If you can't find it, Swiss cheese is a good substitute.

French Toast Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

3 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch each of salt and grated cinnamon

Butter for the pan

4 thick slices brioche

Dijon mustard

12 very thin ham slices

1 cup finely grated Gruyere cheese

Raspberry or strawberry jam for dipping

Make French toast: In a medium shallow bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, salt and cinnamon.

In nonstick skillet set over medium heat, melt enough butter just to coat the bottom of pan. Dip a slice of brioche into egg mixture and let it rest for about 15 seconds on each side before transferring it to hot pan. Cook for about two minutes per side until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat with remaining bread slices.

Preheat broiler.

Spread each slice of warm French toast with as much Dijon mustard as you'd like. Top each piece with three pieces of ham and sprinkle with Gruyere. Place on baking sheet.

Broil for about 2 minutes until ham is toasted and cheese is bubbling and melted. Keep an eye on the sandwiches as they can quickly burn.

Serve warm with jam on the side for dipping.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from: "Joy the Baker Over Easy" by Joy Wilson (Clarkson Potter, March 2017, $27.50)

Terri Hahn of Osceola has worked in food media for more than 30 years and has won numerous state and national awards for her writing.