LENT FOR LUNCH: Home — Grilled Cheese

by Christopher Halleron

I happen to be Roman Catholic. Throughout the course of everyday life, it’s safe to say that I’m not always the most pious person. I’m not the worst, but I could probably do a bit better.

With that in mind, I like to hedge my bets every Lent by honoring the Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays.

That might sound like a bit of challenge—but when you live in a foodie’s paradise like Hudson County, New Jersey, it’s so easy it should be a sin unto itself…

This week, however, I decided to stay home. On this cold and dreary April day, I reflected upon my options and looked inward, deciding that today was a perfect day for the ultimate comfort food—a homemade grilled cheese.

Honestly, if you don’t know how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, you probably shouldn’t even be allowed to use the internet. But there’s making a grilled cheese sandwich, and then there’s making a GOOD grilled cheese sandwich.

While you can accessorize with any number of additions, in its most basic form a grilled cheese is made from bread, cheese and butter.

For bread, I visited my good friend Dom once again, who makes the finest bread in all the land. My wife insists we get the whole wheat (which is kinda like going to Brazil and drinking decaf), but it’s still amazing.

For the dairy portion, I went with Kerrygold‘s sweet and nutty Dubliner Cheddar, and of course Kerrygold Butter. We’re pretty big Kerrygold fans in this house…

Now the trick is to slice the cheese nice and thin—almost shaving it off—so it melts evenly throughout the sandwich. Put a flat pan on the stove and set it to LOW, to avoid scorching the bread while the cheese is melting. Next, thoroughly coat the OUTSIDE of the slices with butter, and set it in the pan.

Flip every two minutes or so, to ensure even browning of the bread and melting of the cheese.

Rocket science? Not at all. And yet it might just be the most important thing you ever learn—because under the right conditions, a well-made grilled cheese can save your life.

As part of a balanced diet, I paired today’s selection with a homemade Spinach, Cucumber, Tomato & Red Onion Salad. Then I took plenty of pictures of my lunch, as is the conventional practice of our times…

Stay tuned for another “Lent for Lunch” excursion next week—being the good Catholic boy I am…

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Christopher M. Halleron is the Publisher/Editor of hMAG.
As a columnist and journalist, he has covered various aspects of life here in the ‘greater Hoboken area’ and beyond for the past two decades.
His opinions are his own.