Let's just call it an open pocket!

After going to my Spanish literature class and discussing the literature "boom" of the 1960's in Latin America, and then hitting the GW gym for a while, I returned home with a craving for a grilled cheese.  Now I could have just made the traditional grilled cheese my grandmother used to make me, two pieces of wheat bread with margarine on either side, some tillamook sharp cheddar laid evenly between the bread, and then pan grilled to perfection in a standard tephlon non-stick pan.  Even though I haven't been blogging for long, you should know that I tend to pizazz things up a bit.  So, I looked in my fridge and realized I had some beautiful ripe avocado, a plump tomato and a chunk of tasty aged Gruyere. 

I sliced everything up, and then smothered the outside of the bread with some margarine.  Now the trick to perfecting a grilled cheese when adding non-cheese elements is that you need to put a thin layer of cheese then the veggies and then another thin layer of cheese.  Otherwise, everything would end up sliding out.  The cheese on either side acts as the glue of the sandwich, holding everything together.   Once I assembled my sandwich, I cooked it up just the way my grandma taught me, in a non-stick pan.  Thanks to my mom I have a great Calphalon pan I use for these sorts of treats.  I cooked the first side on medium heat, and covered it.  Once the margarine was melted on the side facing up (about 4 minutes), I knew it was time to flip the sandwich.  I quickly flipped my grilled cheese and cooked it on the other side for another few minutes.  Finally it was done and I was ready to eat my lunch.  As you can see it turned out just right!

So, next time you feel like a grilled cheese, mix it up a bit.  It's so fun!