Today is National Grilled Cheese Day, and in its honor, let’s take a closer look at that favorite comfort food. The epitome of the college diet — cheap, easy to prepare, tasty and nostalgic — grilled cheese has a special place in all of our hearts.

Grilled cheese might be simple, but there are some very exciting variations on the theme. Depending on how well equipped your kitchen is, your grilled cheese experience can take you down one of the following three paths.

Any bread and any cheese will do. Just make sure you have enough to feed yourself and any jealous roommates.

Stove top: Just like mom used to make it. A pan, a little bit of nonstick cooking spray and maybe a little butter, and you are in business.

Panini press: It might be an expensive piece for your kitchen, but you will thank yourself time and again for the investment. Panini presses produce restaurant-quality grilled cheese faster than the old-fashioned way, and you get the cool grill lines!

Blowtorch: It isn’t efficient, but it sure is fun. Making a grilled cheese sandwich with a creme brulee torch is an experience that you won’t soon forget.

The grilled cheese sandwich is really just the jumping-off point for making many gourmet sandwiches. A personal favorite is the bacon-fried grilled cheese. Start by cooking bacon in a pan, leaving the extra grease in the pan instead of nonstick cooking spray, and be sure to put your cooked bacon back into the sandwich afterward for extra flavor.

Fry up some bacon first, add it to your sandwich, then grill the sandwich in the bacon fat for extra flavor.

Oh, and if you’re lactose-intolerant like me, don’t forget your lactaid pill.

Happy National Grilled Cheese Day!

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