Toasted Cheese

What better way to begin a writing project devoted to the joys of Aga cooking than with an ode to that ultimate Aga creation, the toasted cheese sandwich? To be sure, any kind of toast is grand on the Aga -- be it the traditional crisscrossed kind made with that medieval-looking contraption known as the "Aga Toaster"; rows of sandwich bread lined up neatly on a cookie sheet and roasted briefly in the roasting oven; or a thick chunk of peasant bread grilled directly on the simmering plate. But nothing is quite so glorious as a simple toasted cheese sandwich.

For the first time in our married lives, Marc comes home every day from the office for lunch. When we were living in Stuttgart and later in Madrid, the commute was too forbidding, but here in South Carolina where the pace of life is still deliciously slow, he can trundle home for a lunch break five days a week. Aga Toast is always awaiting him. Of course the combinations vary. This particular week we are on an olive loaf and muenster kick, but the spirit of the sandwich is always the same: The bread is crisp yet buttery. The cheese is stringy and escapist, the insides are tangy and mysterious. And that first bite is a pleasurable reminder that a routine lunch break can indeed be sublime.

AGA TOASTED CHEESE

Thin slices of artisan bread

Freshly grated cheese (not that desiccated bagged stuff resembling packaging material. I always just buy a block of something nice and keep it under my mouse-shaped cheese dome for grating and slicing as needed. If you prefer sliced cheese, the finished sandwich will need a few minutes in the simmering oven for it to melt fully)

Thin slices of lunch meat (According to my Swabian husband, Boar's Head olive loaf is pretty darn close to a lip-smacking slice of German sausage!)

Mayonnaise, mustard and softened butter

1. Spread the bread with mayonnaise and mustard.

2. Layer the bottom half with a few slices of neatly folded lunch meat, sprinkle over the grated cheese and top off the sandwich with the remaining slice of bread.

3. Butter the top piece of bread liberally. (You do not need to butter the bottom half as it will brown nicely in the left over butter on the simmering plate.)

4. Line the simmering plate with bake-o-glide. (This is not, strictly speaking, a necessity, but rinsing off bake-o-glide in the sink is loads easier than scouring the simmering plate with that strange wire brush -- yet another medieval contraption.)

5. Toast the sandwich, butter side down, until starting to brown, about one minute. Flip and toast the other side. If you like, give the whole thing a good squash. I love using a sandwich press just for the fun of it, but anything heavy and flat will do. Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in the simmering or warming oven.