Grilled cheese is the ultimate comfort food–it’s gooey, crispy, buttery and cheesy. Swapping out a few classic ingredients for slightly more sophisticated ones can make a dramatic difference in turning this childhood novelty into a gourmet favorite.

Instead of white bread, I used slices of rosemary bread. Because the bread is the first thing you bite into, I believe it’s important to choose a kind that says, “Hey taste buds–get ready for this!” Olive or even jalapeño bread would be excellent too! Next is the cheese. I chose mozzarella because it melts beautifully and its white color contrasts the bright-colored toppings.

Now let’s be honest, you could stop the party right there. You could melt the cheese on the bread and have a pretty tasty grilled cheese. But why not take it to the next level? Slice up a tomato, pull out the jar of roasted red peppers in your fridge and snip a few leaves of basil from your garden. (This is me dreaming…I don’t have a herb garden, but if you do…rock on!)

One more important thing–butter. Don’t skimp and use spray or anything. I’m talking real butter all over the bread. That’s how you get the golden brown crispness that makes the grilled cheese look like it came straight out of a food magazine!

[gmc_recipe 1619]

I should mention that this grilled cheese is pretty messy. Balsamic and tomato juice drip from the sides and the peppers want to slip out. This is all part of the fun of eating it, but I just wanted to warn you!

The picture above is from Instagram…do you follow me? Another shameless plug–subscribe to my posts to stay in the loop! You can enter your email address on the right side of the home page, add me to you Bloglovin or your Google Reader. Thanks a million!

Love food | Love self | Love life … Gabriela