Grilled Cheese Goes Beyond Cheese

We don't need to be the ones to tell you there's no science to a grilled cheese. For a Classic American Grilled Cheese, simply slather slices of white bread with some butter, pile on the American cheese and get it on the griddle. Things start to get more interesting, however, when your ingredient list broadens beyond just one cheese, bringing on a whole new spectrum of flavor.

Let's start on the grilled sandwich that focuses on the cheese itself: This ThreeCheese Grilled Cheese recipe by Food Network Magazine stacks cheddar, Swiss and American before heating to melted perfection. Forgoing slices, Rachael Ray's garlicbuttered Grilled 4Cheese Sandwiches come laden with four shredded varieties provolone, mozzarella, Parmesan and Asiago.

More often than not, the supreme grilled cheese is achieved using two simple ingredients: cheese and juicy tomatoes. Food Network Magazine's OpenFaced Valentino Rockstud Shoes Tomato Grilled Cheese renounces that extra dose of bread, and its Triple Grilled Cheese With Tomato Soup pairs the sandwich with its consummate match.

Add meat to the traditional grilled cheese for a wellrounded sandwich. Ina Garten's http://www.valentinorockstudon.com/ Ultimate Grilled Cheese (pictured above) for Food Network Magazine fuses bacon and two kinds of cheese, while its Corned Beef Grilled Cheese comes together with spicy whole grain mustard, grated Jarlsberg and freshly sliced deli meat. Food Network Magazine's HamTaleggio Grilled Cheese counters the salt of the meat with the sweet crunch of green apple.

For an upscale take on the lunchtime favorite, Jeff Mauro's Squash, Manchego and BalsamicOnion Grilled Cheese uses homeroasted, mapleinfused squash. His French Onion Grilled Cheese piles homemade caramelized onions and Gruyere on sourdough for a handheld rendition of the classic soup. Two forms of fig, creamy brie and fluffy challah create the bulk of Sandra Lee's elegant DoubleDecker Truffled Grilled Cheese.

Never knew grilled cheese had a sweet side? Food Network Magazine's CamembertApple Grilled Cheese With Salted Caramel comes on a baguette and is accompanied by an indulgent dipping sauce.

We know the slicing stage can be a contentious moment, so we'll leave that part up to you. Whether cut in triangles or rectangles, rest assured that the flavor is all there.