My Mom's French Toast Grilled Cheese Is A Big Fat Hug

From all the grumbling I've seen on social media, you are all sick of cooking. I know, I'm there with you. I'm running my dishwasher through its paces and I'm surprised it hasn't cursed me out yet. I've gotten to the point where my usual lunch has been a mashed-up mess of leftovers, deli meat sandwiches, and a weird amount of Thomas' bagels with a vulgar amount of salmon-flavored cream cheese on them.

But one of my favorite and easiest things to cook (this barely counts as cooking) is this grilled cheese my mom made us when we were kids. Unlike cooler food writers, I do not have any good stories behind this sandwich, other than the fact that my sister and I were picky little turds when we were little. Mom was desperate to make sure we were eating enough calories, so she literally snuck American cheese into everything she could. She even put it into our Cream of Wheat, a combination that tastes amazing.

This cheese strategy also went into a basic French toast. Mom hid a piece of cheese in between two slices, and voila: a meal her children would eat. This French toast grilled cheese sandwich is as easy as it gets, ready to eat in just around 10 minutes from start to finish. Plus, there's very few ingredients.

Do not get all huffy and tell me it's just a Monte Cristo without ham. If you want to add ham or change the cheese, it's your life, but then it is not this sandwich, and then we can't be friends. This is the epitome of comfort food, and if you claim otherwise, I'm shoving my fingers in my ears and shouting "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING I CAN'T HEAR YOU BLAH BLAH BLAH."

But here is one of the most important things: The sandwiches must be sliced into four triangles each. According to me, these are at their maximum comfort level and deliciousness when they are eaten as tiny baby triangles.

Today is going to be a hard day for a lot of people. I recommend taking 10 minutes, if not more, away from the news, your phone, and computer. Make this sandwich, sit by the window, and eat. Take your damn time. I promise this sandwich, as simple as it seems, is like a big hug.

Dennis Lee

Serves 2

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• pinch of salt
• 4 slices sandwich bread
• 2 slices American cheese

Put butter in large skillet and heat on medium. In the meantime, as the butter melts, beat eggs, milk, and salt in a medium bowl.

Dip two slices of bread into egg mixture until soggy, reserving half of the egg mixture in the bowl. Place bread in skillet and fry until both sides of the bread are a golden yellow color. Assemble sandwich with one slice of American cheese in the middle (the residual heat from the toast will melt the cheese).

Repeat with remaining slices of bread and egg mixture. Slice each sandwich into four triangles and serve warm.