Gettin' Fresh: Grown adult grilled cheese

Grilled cheese is a really simple lunch, and it was the first thing I learned to make in a skillet at a young age. As I've grown, so has my palate, and, although I often prefer a more complex sandwich, sometimes nothing tastes better than melted cheese between two toasted slices of bread — especially if you have great cheese and know a few tricks to increase the flavor.

This week, I stopped by the Greenleaf Cheese stand at the Sarasota Farmers Market and spoke with Carl Nelson. Nelson started his cheese business seven years ago, traveling around Wisconsin and creating a collection of cheeses for his store at the time.

The stand at the market displayed dozens of blocks of cheese. With too many to choose just one, I picked up a basil farmers cheese, a hickory smoked cheddar and, finally, a five-year-aged sharp cheddar cheese. I also picked up a loaf of bread from the market and headed home for some lunch.

Although grilled cheese is a simple sandwich, there are a lot of  "secrets" to making a grilled cheese. Here are a few of my suggestions:

• Always use butter. Mayo won't burn as quickly, allowing the cheese to melt more, however, the bread will absorb butter better and provide that great additional taste to the sandwich.• Want an artisan grilled cheese? Put grated Parmesan on the the outside. The Parmesan will melt to the bread, but not stick to the pan, encrusting the grilled cheese.• Grated cheese melts faster. If you're looking for a really melted, stringy grilled cheese, cook at a low temperature and  grate your cheese first.

• Additional ingredients add flavor, but can cook faster. Added ingredients adds weight to the pan and puts more pressure on the surface, resulting in a quicker cooking time. If you decide to add more, make sure to keep an eye on your sandwich as it cooks!For lunch, I decided to try three variations of grilled cheeses: basil farmers cheese with onions (cooked in some oil and balsamic glaze); hickory smoked cheddar with bacon; and, finally, a simple grilled cheese with aged cheddar.The basil farmers cheese was creamy and paired well with the slightly sweet glazed onions. It would have gone perfect with a tomato soup. The hickory smoked cheddar tasted great with bacon, but would have tasted even better as a patty melt, or with some turkey. Finally, the aged cheddar grilled cheese was absolutely my favorite. The sharpness of the cheddar combined with the buttery, crisp bread has no equal.