Not your mom's grilled cheese sandwiches

Grilled cheese is as simple and straightforward a sandwich as there is. So why fiddle with it? You can make it better. Here are a few ways:

* Before grilling the sandwich, crisp cook one or two strips of bacon in the pan. Drain off all but a teaspoon or so of the bacon drippings and grill the sandwich. When done, crumble the bacon over the sandwich. (I did this Thursday evening to much acclaim.)

* Throw a couple strips of roasted green chile over the cheese before grilling.

* Mix a little Roquefort or other bleu cheese in with the jack or whatever other cheese you use. Oh, and use a white cheese. Even if you use cheddar, make it a white cheddar.

* Make a "Mexican" grilled cheese, otherwise known as a quesadilla. That's cheese between two tortillas. Corn or flour? Either will work. This is especially good with the chile strips. If they are unavailable, use pepper-jack cheese.

Four ways to improve on that classic of mom's kitchen.