Crisp and Golden.

Crisp on the outside. Soft on the inside. Golden colour. Tantalising scent. As simple or elaborate as you fancy. But always oozing something delicious as soon as you cut into it. Whether as a snack or as part of a 'light' meal with a salad: a toastie is a great way to eat a sandwich. If I'm honest, it's the only way to eat a sandwich. Let's face it, a ham-and-cheese sandwich might be good but when the ham is nice and warm and the cheese is oozing in just the right way that same sandwich becomes great. The same goes for a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich (even better with some chocolate paste), although that might not be the healthiest sounding option...

I have a motto when it comes to food: every food item has something good in it, if you look close enough. Let's take for instance one of my favourites: chocolate. Everyone will tell me that, when eating something chocolate-y, chocolate is not good for you. Let's face the facts:

1. chocolate it made of cacao beans: we all know that beans are good for you
2. added to the beans is sugar, which is made from beets: beets is a vegetable, need I say more?
3. fat is added to make it creamy; we need some fat in our diet

This might be a slightly distorted view of things but, hey, it works for me: I eat as much chocolate as I like, absolutely guilt-free... But it works for more than just chocolate; it works for everything. There is just one golden rule: I wouldn't eat broccoli all day, every day, so I don't eat chocolate all day, every day. Moderation is the key.

At the moment I have a thing for a brie-and-cranberry toasted panini. It used to be bacon-cheese-soy-sauce-and-egg on brown bread. Before that there was ham-cheese-tomato-onion-and-chilli-sauce on white bread. It's also been camembert-walnuts-and-honey (I might just go back to that one in a bit, on good wholemeal bread). Or I might just try an American 'classic': The Reuben; (turkey) pastrami with sauerkraut and swiss cheese (Emmentaler to you and me) on rye bread. It does have a ring to it.

The fun thing about toasties is that you can go as wild as you like. A friend of mine loves (more like, is addicted to) cheese and baked beans... Every now and then she will spice it up a bit and puts a slice of ham with it. When she goes wild, she really lets go, doesn't she? A colleague of mine likes cheese with mayo, pickled onions or piccalilly. My husband prefers a proper Monte Cristo (ham and cheese, to you and me) and peanut butter with banana (preferably fried in a pan with some butter). What is your favourite?

For me, the bread used for a toastie is as important as the filling. I never use fresh bread, it has to be at least two days old. And I prefer not to use white bread unless it is for a Monte Cristo or a Croque Monsieur. Most of the times I wind up using the same wholemeal bread (because it's right there) but I prefer to match my bread with the fillings that I fancy. The sweet, nutty flavour of rye bread goes wonderfully well with french cheeses such as brie and camembert but is also lovely with goats cheese and blue cheese... Sorry, I got distracted by the idea of a goats-cheese-apple-and-walnut toastie on rye... Or blue-cheese-and-grape on rye... Seeded breads go well with strong meats such as salami. 

If I fancy something sweet white bread will do but even then I prefer wholemeal or seeded bread. But if it's decadence I'm after it can only be a sweet bread (or bread made with enriched bread dough) such as brioche. Peanut-butter-and-apple (or banana), brown-sugar-apple-and-cinnamon, chocolate-paste-banana-and-pecans. But there is a bread that is even better for a decadent, sweet, treat. Banana bread... Think about it... Picture it in your mind... Want it... Can you taste it? Banana bread is even great with savoury fillings, think for instance bacon-and-maple-syrup, blue-cheese-and-walnuts (or pecans).

There is one more bread that needs a mention here: sourdough. The slightly tangy flavour is perfect with strong cheeses but can also be a great substitute for a Reuben and white sourdough bread is ideal for a Croque Madame: ham-cheese-lettuce-and-egg. Because of the slight tang, sourdough is also very good with sweet fillings; pick any of the variations above or make your own version.

The recipe for any and all toasties is the same:

• two slices of bread, whatever you fancy
• filling to your taste, as much or as little as you like
• a little (or a lot) (peanut)butter, chocolate paste or sauce
• a hot grill, griddle pan, frying pan, toastie maker (such as breville), panini grill

1. cover one slice of bread with butter or sauce
2. place the fillings on top
3. cover the second slice with butter or sauce
4. place the sandwich under the grill or in the pan (or whatever else you are using) and fry until golden and the filling is piping hot

Eat as is, with a nice dipping sauce (I love french mustard with a cheese toastie) on the side, with a steaming bowl of soup, or with your favourite (fruit) salad.

Of course, you don't have to use bread. Using flour tortillas with similar fillings will make a lovely change; just let the cheese melt in between two tortillas in a dry frying pan, turning the tortillas over so that both sides become lovely golden and crispy...

You know what they say:

Enjoy