Cheese dream

Cheese dream

A cheese dream topped with bacon
Type	Open sandwich
Place of origin	United States
Main ingredients	Bread, cheddar cheese, butter

The cheese dream is an open faced version of the American grilled cheese sandwich made with bread, cheese, and butter, as well as other ingredients. It can be cooked in a pan or skillet on the stove top, under a broiler, or using a pan in the oven. In its simplest form, it consists of a slice of bread, topped with American cheese and broiled until the cheese puffs up and browns. Variants include the addition of ingredients such as bacon, tomato, pineapple, and eggs.

Made with basic ingredients (bread, butter, and cheese) and heated, cheese dreams are said to have originated as "the cheese dream" during the Great Depression, as "an inexpensive company supper dish" and an inexpensive option for feeding friends and family at Sunday supper. Additions of sliced tomatoes, ham, and bacon could be used, and they were often accompanied by olives and pickles. A 1932 San Jose News story, "Cheese Dream New Favorite Sandwich," suggested sprinkling the cheese "very sparingly" with a bit of mustard, cayenne, "and a little minced red sweet pepper"; the sandwich was browned on both sides and served with "very hot, rich tomato sauce." The sandwiches may predate the Depression, however, as a 1918 Good Housekeeping issue mentions Cheese Dreams as a luncheon dish, "our teahouse friend."

Cheese dreams were advertised in 1957 as a 55 cent luncheonette lenten special in Daytona Beach, Florida's Sunday News Journal. In 1960, the Milwaukee Journal recommended preparing Cheese Dreams in the oven with scrambled eggs and ham.