DIY Grilled Cheese Bar #SundayFunday

Did you know that April is National Grilled Cheese Month? Now you do. I am hosting the event this week and asked the Sunday Funday bloggers to share some recipes to inspire you.

Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Rebekah of Making Miracles, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, and I coordinate this low-stress group; we only participate when we are inspired. This week, I already mentioned, I am hosting. Here is the line-up of the recipes from the group...

• Baked Beans Bruschetta by Sneha's Recipe

• Corned Beef and Gruyère Toasties by Food Lust People Love

• DIY Grilled Cheese Bar by Culinary Cam

• Grilled Cheese and Avocado by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Grilled Provolone with Turkey, Prosciutto, Spinach, and Jalapeños by Karen's Kitchen Stories

• Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese by Amy's Cooking Adventures

DIY Grilled Cheese Bar

First, grilled cheese is not all about the cheese. You think that grilled cheese is about the cheese and that's certainly important, but there are a lot of elements needed to inspire grilled cheese creativity. And, yes, I did actually buy that cheese (pictured above) because it had my name on it!

I like to inspire creativity in my food bars. So I provide a variety of ingredients for guests! At this DIY Grilled Cheese Bar, I gave them everything from nasturium blossoms to prosciutto and radish flowers to dandelion pesto. I pickled onions, made blackberry jam, and crisped sage leaves.

I offered six different kinds of cheese and four different kinds of bread. Here are some grilled cheese basics to get you started...

Choose a hardy bread. Breads with dense crumb stand up better on the grill.

Use thin slices of cheese in multiple layers. While thick slices of cheese are great to grab off the cutting board, thinner slices melt more easily.

It's all about the extras. Well, it’s a balance, I suppose. But lots of extras add personality and intrigue to the sandwiches. Just make sure that there is a balance of extras plus cheese so that it all melts together into gooey deliciousness.

To cook the sandwiches, keep your heat low and melt slowly. Turning up the heat too high results in burnt bread and unmelted cheese.

What do you think? How do you make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich?!

That's a wrap for my grilled cheese offering. The group will be back next week with some brunch recipes. Stay tuned!