When it comes to comfort food, what beats a grilled cheese sandwich? Gooey, melting cheese and crusty, flavorful bread are hard to beat when you need something warm and wonderful.

Can a classic grilled cheese be improved on? That’s our goal, and we’ve come up with three wonderful ways to crank up the comfort quotient of this to-die-for creation.

• Change up the cheese. American cheese is the gold standard when it comes to grilled cheese, but you can be adventuresome no matter the bread with a different type of cheese. Turn up the heat with pepper jack, which comes in varieties from mildly hot to scorching, or if you prefer a slightly nutty flavor, choose muenster. Be warned: some cheeses, like havarti, melt too fast, and smoked cheeses can lose moisture during the grilling process, so be careful on cheese variations.
• Think outside the box, in this case, that square sandwich bread. Rustic Crust’s Ciabatta bread is a wonderful substitute for plain old white. It may take a little longer on a lower heat to warm the bread and properly melt the cheese, but it’s worth the time and effort. Yum!
• It’s not what you make, but how you serve it! Make a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches – using different breads, different cheeses – then slice into small triangles and serve with tomato soup shooters for the perfect party appetizer! Want them all to yourself? Make Grilled Cheese-Tomato Soup Dumplings that are a perfect fun snack for a crowd — or a party of one.

Need more tips? Our friends at Serious Eats have come up with great ideas, The Art of the Perfect Grilled Cheese. It’s required reading if you need a refresher course on the basics or just want new ideas, so get out the griddle, grab some cheese and bread, and crank up your comfort quotient!