Whether you melt it, toast it, add it to salad or sandwiches, we use cheese in so many ways on the boat. Breakfast omelets and quiches, lunch or dinner salads, sandwiches, casseroles, pastas, and soups; afternoon snacks, and delicious appetizers with drinks at day’s end are only a few. However, our favorite way to eat cheese is in warm, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches from around the world. They are so adaptable—to the ingredients you have aboard as well as your galley configuration. Either grilled, pressed stove top, or broiled open-face, enjoy a few of our favorite cheesy creations. Each recipe serves four.
Classic Grilled Cheese
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
8 ½-inch-thick slices of bread
8 oz. sliced cheddar, provolone, Swiss, or fresh mozzarella cheese
Spread butter evenly on both sides of each slice of bread. Place a quarter of the cheese on four slices of bread. Top with remaining bread slices. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add sandwiches to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until golden-brown and crusty on both sides, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer the sandwiches to a cutting board, slice them in half, and serve warm.
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South African Braaibroodjie
Meaning barbecue bread, braaibroodjie sandwiches are traditionally served warm with cold beer.
8 slices bread
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
½ large white onion, very thinly sliced
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
4 Tbsp. chutney
Heat grill or skillet to medium-high. Brush outside of each bread slice with melted butter. Place the bread, buttered side down, on a clean work surface. Divide the cheese evenly among four slices of the bread, then top with one to two slices of tomato, onion, salt, and pepper. Spread chutney on the inside of the four remaining bread slices and place on top of the tomato and onion. Grill or sauté sandwiches, turning once, until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted, about six minutes total. Serve hot.
Welsh Rarebit
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup beer
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. English or other sharp mustard
4 thick slices of bread
Chutney to serve (optional)
Set oven, grill, or broiler* to high. In a bowl, mix grated cheese, beer, Worcestershire, butter, and mustard. Stir well. Spread a generous layer of the cheese mixture over each slice of toast, ensuring it covers the crusts too. Transfer each slice onto a baking tray and place directly underneath the broiler* for five minutes or so, until golden-brown and bubbling. Carefully remove open-faced sandwiches from the oven, cut each slice in half, and serve hot with chutney if desired.
*Alternatively, use a covered grill or covered skillet on the stove top to heat and melt cheese; however, it will not brown cheese.
If you want to spice up your grilled cheese, here are a few more sandwich ideas. Simply make sandwiches and grill or sauté:
Tex-Mex Quesadilla: pulled pork, pepper jack cheese, pickled jalapeños on tortillas
Mediterranean: spinach, goat cheese, bacon, caramelized onions on buttered olive bread
Italian Pizza: mozzarella, pepperoni, tomato, garlic butter on both sides of Italian bread
French: brie, ham, sliced pears, fig jam on buttered brioche bread
English: roast beef, caramelized onions, horseradish, sharp cheddar on buttered rye
Coastal: poached lobster or shrimp, havarti, lemon aioli on buttered roll
Swiss: pancetta, pickles, Swiss cheese, mustard, mayo on croissant
New Orleans: ham, salami, mortadella, provolone, olive salad on buttered sub roll
Cuban: roast pork, ham, Swiss, pickle, mustard on buttered roll
-by Lori Ross
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