Gourmet Grilled Cheese

I baked some baguettes over the weekend (I had been intending to make my own sourdough bread, but it didn't work out, so these were just regular white baguettes), and we have a fridge full of really good cheeses after some indulging at City Market, and I had been thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches for a few days now...

Cut 2 slices of baguette per person. I like to cut mine 'on a bias' (at a sharp angle), which results in a wider slice than if you cut cut right across. Butter both sides of each slice. Preheat your oven (or broiler) to 350F. Put an oven-proof pan on the stove over medium heat. Once hot, put your slices in the pan. Allow the first sides to get warm, then flip and top the hot sides (which now face upwards) with slices of your favorite cheese. I used a combination of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (my favorite cheddar) and Manchego cheese from Spain. Once the second sides are starting to brown, flip one of each pair onto it's partner so that the bread is on the outside and the cheese is in the middle. Put the pan in the oven or under the broiler until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

You could add extra fillings if you like. I wanted to use bacon, but we had run out - you could crisp it in the pan first before doing the bread, then remove and add to the sandwich when you put it in the oven. We tried sliced tomato (good) and roasted pear (I liked this one). Just be careful not to overload the sandwiches too much...

Note - Metric info: 350F =175C