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-