This is the first thing I ever cooked and I burned them for six years because nobody told me any of the below.
You need:
- Pan, any type
- Flipper ("spatula")
- Butter or mayo
- White bread
- Cheese
If your stove is electric, you probably want the heat about midway between 5 and 6 on the "big" burner. Let it heat up for probably five minutes, then flick water onto the pan; if it gently sizzles you're probably ready. If it sizzles so violently that the droplet is jumping off the pan, it's too hot; take the pan off the burner for three minutes, then put it back and try again.
While the pan's heating, get two slices of bread out. Spread butter or mayo on one side of each piece of bread. If you're doing multiple sandwiches you can stack the slices with the butter/mayo sides facing each other so you can have a bunch ready to go.
If you like American (yellow "processed") cheese, I recommend it. Get the "deluxe" version of whatever American cheese your store has, it legitimately tastes cheesier. You can use cheddar but it's a huge pain; it takes MUCH longer to melt and you're more likely to burn the bread if you're new. I recommend trying it after you're good with American. If you do use cheddar, slice it fairly thin so it melts easier.
When the pan's hot, drop a slice onto the surface with the butter/mayo down. It should start quietly sizzling; if you hear so much sizzling that it sounds like rushing steam or startles you, it's probably too hot. That's fine, just use the flipper to pull the bread back out, take the pan off the burner for three minutes, then put it back on and try again.
Put a slice of cheese on top of the bread in the pan, then lay another slice of bread on top with the butter/mayo side facing up. All you need to do is wait until one side is brown, then flip and let the other side brown.
If you flip too soon, the cheese won't be melted at all and the slices may come apart. If you have the heat right, you should be able to give it about three minutes and then flip it, and the first side should be well browned. If it isn't, don't worry. Let it sit on the other side for a few minutes, then flip again. Repeat until it's well browned, and you're done.
There are several simple ways to improve a basic grilled cheese:
Contact me at articles@gekk.info - I would love to hear if this helped you.