Simple Comfort

Thank goodness for the rain today, a light drizzling and grey, a bit chilly and damp. A perfect lunch is grilled cheese and tomato sandwich. The warm gooey-ness of the cheese and crunchy buttered crust is all comfort on such a day.

My philosophy about cooking is keep it simple and do what you want and how you want. And cooking doesn't have to be fancy, sure it's fun to pull out all your gadgets and make a complete mess in the kitchen but you can only do that once in awhile. Who's got time to clean up all that mess.

One of my basic tools in the kitchen is my 10 year old, well-seasoned cast iron pan. I can't live without it. I use it to make egg dishes, brown and braise meats, pan saute and to toast my grilled cheese on it.

Ingredients:
butter
whole wheat, multi grain sliced bread
sliced cheddar, american, or mozzarella cheese
tomatoes, sliced
basil leaf, chopped

Place the cast iron on the medium low heat and preheat for about 3 minutes.
Brush butter onto the pan, if it's hot enough, it should melt and bubble, have enough butter in the pan for two slices of bread. If your pan's too hot, the butter will start to brown, if this happens, lower the heat or take it off the heat for 30 seconds.
Place two sliced breads in the pan, side by side. Place sliced cheese, sliced tomatoes, sprinkle salt on top of tomatoes, fresh chopped basil, another slice of cheese and top with another slice of bread.
Using a spatula, check to doneness of the bread, it should be a nice golden brown, and should toast slowly. If your heat is too high, the bread will toast too fast and the cheese won't be melted. So take it easy, the whole process will take about 5 minutes, 2-3 minutes per side. Once the bottom is golden brown remove the sandwiches, melt more butter into pan and flip and place sandwiches back into pan and toast the other side.
It's done. That with a side of salad or soup and it's yummy lunch!