On Friday, December 12, 2014 9:24:43 AM UTC-8, Steve Freides wrote:
> I wanted to make a grilled cheese with bacon for my 18-year-old son, who
> was home from high school (which is a few blocks away) because he had a
> double free period at lunch time.
>
> No bacon? No problem. I substituted deli Virginia Ham by making a fine
> (1/2" dice), sauté pan with olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic, and fresh
> ground black pepper. Sprinkled some of that in the middle of the
> grilled cheese sandwiches (made them in the same pan without cleaning
> it, of course, all the better to get some more flavor into the bread)
> and made them as usual, then I asked my son if they were good - yes.
> Same, better, or worse than bacon? Better.
>
> The usual grilled cheese formula here is unsalted butter on the outside,
> and a light dusting of garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper on the
> inside.
>
> I rest my case.
>
> -S-

If I'm going to have ham and eggs for breakfast, I like to fry the ham in butter until it is caramelized and then fry the eggs in the pan drippings.
The sweetness of the cured ham makes for a wonderful crust on the ham and yummy fond in the pan that the eggs pick up.