The super frico is a super tasty take on grilled cheese, in fact I just posted a bit about them on the shop's FB site: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Calf-Kid/56599653023

In general, here are a few rules of thumb to follow for great grilled cheese:

1. always shred your cheese, this helps it melt quickly and evenly, you'll wind up with a lot less burnt bread.

2. use a heavy pan, like a cast iron skillet and make sure it's heated up thoroughly

3. butter the bread rather than melting it in the pan, this will also prevent the bread from burning

As far as cheese goes, classics like a good aged Gruyere or cheddar are always delicious, but it's also a lot of fun to throw in some unexpected tidbits in there like an aged goat, a little ooey gooey washed rind, or a little blue.
Have fun and enjoy!

I like Texas toast because it is delicious and durable, so you can pile ingredients on without losing flavor or compromising structural integrity. Plus, it makes it easier to maintain a good bread-to-filling ratio when using lots of add-ins. My dream grilled cheese would have buttery, extra crunchy bread (with a maintained give to it when bitten), gruyere cheese, prosciutto, and a tart cherry compote (I like Woodring Orchard's which you can get at Pike Place Market), perhaps with a slice of brie or camembert on it, like Cirrus from Mt. Townsend. I would toast the Texas toast a little first, then butter its outsides (and insides, too, most likely. Hello, Paula Deen). Then, I'd apply gruyere on each side, with the toppings in the middle, and the cherry compote applied thinly so that the cheese can stick together around the ham. It would taste similar to a Monte Cristo, but much, much better.

Have you ever noticed how the most delicious part of a grilled cheese is the crispy bits where the cheese has leaked out and fried to a crisp? Then you, my friend, need the SuperFrico. Rick James soundtrack optional.

For a local take on Grilled Cheese: Try Essential Baking Company's Rosemary Bread cut into 3/4" thick slices...layer with thin slices of Mt. Townsend Creamery's Trailhead Tomme. If you like heat drizzle with any of the Mama Lil's peppers oil (just the oil for a hint of spice)...butter the bread (try Rose Valley unsalted butter)...heat up your favorite cast iron skillet and grill that baby until golden brown and oozing.

For inspiration, you should go directly to Grim's and try the leek/asiago grilled cheese. Grim's is brand new on Capitol Hill and goofily overdecorated in the Quinn's/Smith/Oddfellows reclaimed-crap mode (all newly installed in the old Grey Gallery space, which makes it extra weird), but the sandwiches are inexpensive and this particular grilled cheese knocked my socks off last Thursday. Knocked my mouth's socks off? Anyway, it was really good. Seems like you'd soften up chopped leeks over medium-low heat in lots of butter, then spread a layer of them inside the grilled cheese... mmmmm. WANT NOW. Hi!

Do not forget mustard. It makes cheap cheese taste great and great cheese taste even better.

On a recommendation, I recently made a grilled cheese with rye bread, sharp cheddar cheese, and grilled onions. It was fab.