Everyone should have a good grilled cheese recipe in their back pocket. This is mine.

I decided to add scallions and tomatoes to my traditional cheddar grilled cheese to use up some of my farmers’ market produce. I first had the idea to put tomatoes in the grilled cheese, and then I thought of the flavor combo with scallions. I cut up a few and sprinkled them on the tomatoes and cheddar cheese before I fried the sandwich.

It turned out to be a great move. Scallions take the sandwich up a notch. There’s nothing wrong with plain grilled cheese, but every once in a while, you need to spice things up. I’m beginning to think it’s the little things that elevate a dish from average to awesome.

There’s really not a “recipe” for this grilled cheese. Take two slices of bread (I used homemade sourdough), layer on thin slices of cheddar cheese, thinly-sliced tomatoes, and chopped scallions. Melt about a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and swirl to coat the pan. Cook the grilled cheese, pressing it down with a spatula, until one size gets golden brown. Carefully flip the sandwich and repeat the process. The grilled cheese is done when both sides are golden brown, the cheese is melted and gooey, and you can’t wait any longer to eat it.

A word about butter: I used salted butter for this grilled cheese and I found that it made a big difference. I’m going to write a blog post soon about why salted butter gets a bad rap. I get that baked goods rely on unsalted butter to prevent them from becoming too salty, but for everyday cooking and even most baking projects, salted butter should get more respect.

Anyway, I digress. Stay tuned for my blog post about salted butter. Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this song.