Easy "Gourmet" Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I have a unique group of girls that I couldn't be any closer with. They are the most amazing friends I could ever ask for and I couldn't imagine college without them. For each one of our birthdays we always do a big surprise dinner and go out. However, after a long couple of weeks (I mean LONNNGG) my roommate and I decided to join our birthdays together and have a relaxing girls night in at our place instead. We wanted to make something super easy and super delicious, and also vegetarian friendly as my roommate does not eat meat! After looking at our options, we decided on the classic yet amazing grilled cheeses. Is there anything better than the combination of delicious bread and savory cheese?? I think not! I volunteered to do the cooking and decided that I wanted to step up a simple grilled cheese a bit. A little experimenting payed off and they were a huge hit; and the best part is, they were so easy to make! With a few simple ingredients you can make some pretty awesome grilled cheese sandwiches that will please everyone!

We headed up to our local Costco and gathered our ingredients. Here's what you'll need:

•  A couple loaves of bread (depending on how many people you plan on serving). We got fresh uncut Italian loaves. You can use any type you want; there are countless possibilities! We chose this package because, quite honestly, it was the least expensive for the amount of bread we needed. We're college students on a budget so we did our best to keep costs low so that we could splurge on other ingredients. Cutting the bread took a little extra work as opposed to precut bread, but the bread was delicious! I'd definitely buy this again with or without the budget. 

• A packgage of cheese. Again, the amount you need is dependent on how many people you plan on serving. We got an assorted pre-sliced package which had Swiss, Monterey Jack, Colby, and Cheddar. This seemed like a good mix of cheeses that most people tend to agree on. I'd definitely recommend getting an assorted package so that everyone can have exactly what they like! We did have a bit of extra cheese left over, but that was quite alright because we all love cheese in our apartment. 

• You're gonna want some shredded Parmegiano Reggiano. Now, I need to warn you, this is probably the most expensive part of the sandwich, but, in my opinion, is worth every penny. It adds amazing flavor to the sandwich that really distinguishes it from a plain ole grilled cheese. The container that we got (shown above) was around $18 but was way more than we actually needed. We probably used no more than about 1/4 of the container at the very most. This was the only size they had, but of course Costco sells in bulk. We probably should've have gotten this at a local grocery store but we were pressed for time.  If this is something that you're not willing to spend money on, some sort of shredded cheese would work fine as well (such as Jack, Cheddar, Colby, Mexican blend...). If you go this route, just be sure to check on your sandwiches frequently as they cook, as times and methods may vary than those listed below. 

• You're also going to want to get some sort of butter or margarine. Luckily we had this on hand and didn't need to buy it. We used Unsalted butter. 

Now Lets Get Started: 

1. If you bought unsliced bread you're going want a good knife. The one we used was the only one we had and was kind of dull. This made the bread cutting step much more difficult than it should've been, but definitely do able! If your loaf is a rounded shape or not sized consistently all the way through I'd cut off the ends until the loaf is more or less consistent. This step is somewhat important because one slice of bread will make one sandwich and you don't want to end up with some really tiny ones and some huge, unless you like that, in which case feel free to used the ends! Once this is done, cut the bread into slices. For these hearty sandwiches, you're going to want to make the slices a little bit on the thicker side so that they can withstand all the deliciousness that they will soon encounter!  If you went with pre-sliced bread, you can skip this step! (:
2. Once you've gotten all of your bread sliced, cut each slice in half as evenly as you can. If you're a little bit off, it's alright. These sandwiches are going to be devoured anyways! You can start softening up your butter (or butter substitute of choice) at this point. I put mine in a microwaveable dish and microwaved it in 10 sec increments until it was spreadable. 
3. Once the butter is soft and bread is sliced and cut, spread the butter evenly on the bread and set down buttered side up. Preheat a medium skillet to medium-medium low depending on your individual stove. 
4. Sprinkle a generous amount of the Parmegiano Reggiano on the buttered sides of the bread and press down onto the butter so that it sticks. This will add a crispy crunchy outside to your sandwich and give it that gourmet feel. You can also add some garlic powder before the Parmegiano Reggiano to give it a nice garlic flavor. 
5. Once your Skillet is heated, set one piece of bread buttered side down. Follow this with a slice of cheese (we used a slice and a half) and the second piece of bread (buttered side up of course). After about a minute or two check the bottom of the sandwich. You don't want the bottom to burn, which it tends to do faster than you expect; this is why we keep the flame on the lower side. However, you do want it to be nice golden brown. With this sandwich, you're more concerned on how the outside cooks as opposed to the inside. Once you've reached the color you want flip and repeat the cooking process on the other side. 
6. Now to avoid the burnt Parmegiano Reggiano (which quickly turns the sandwich from yum to gross) the cooking time will be significantly less than the cooking time for the cheese on the inside.  So in order to get the inside to it's gooey goodness potential, I set the sandwiches on a cookie sheet in the oven at about 350 and added each sandwich as I cooked them. This also helped keep them warm so that the first sandwich I made was as fresh and warm as the last one. I left them in there until the cheese melted completely. 
7. Now serve and sit back. Your guests will have no idea that these took you a couple of minutes to put together!! 

We decided to keep ours simple, but you could completely glam these up with endless combinations of toppings, spreads, and cheeses! Avocado and bacon would make an amazing sandwich. You can even set out options and have guests make their own concoctions as you cook them up for easy do-it-youself sandwiches!