Not American Or Cheddar: Grab This Cheese For Perfect Breakfast Sandwiches (Thanks, Martha Stewart)

Practical, budget-friendly, and endlessly versatile, sandwiches are an everyday staple for a reason. Though there's no right or one way to do them, certain combinations have proven to be instant crowd-pleasers. Enter the humble bacon, egg, and cheese, the breakfast of champions and Bobby Flay's favorite late-night snack. It sounds simple enough, but the ingredients you use and how you treat them can be the difference between standard deli fare and Michelin-worthy grub. If you like the sound of the latter option, borrow a tip from the icon herself, Martha Stewart, and use fontina cheese next time you're making one.

Fontina is a must-try Italian cheese. Originating from the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps, it's a semi-soft cow's milk cheese that's been produced since the 12th century. Its high fat content is responsible for its creamy texture, accompanied by a mild nutty and earthy flavor that intensifies with age. Beyond these already impressive attributes, the thing that makes it so well-suited to a bacon, egg, and cheese is its melting capability. You'll have no trouble finding it in Italian dishes like fonduta alla Valdostana (Italy's answer to fondue) and polenta concia, where it's melted down into a thick, gooey consistency with polenta, milk, and butter. Martha Stewart also pairs fontina with pizza on a pie that features lemon and rosemary (via YouTube).

There are many versions of fontina available, but for the most traditional, pick up Fontina DOP, which is made from raw, whole milk of native Valdostana cattle breeds fed on alpine grass or hay. Because it uses raw milk, it must be aged past the USDA's required 60 days. To put it all together, take a cue from Martha Stewart and use an English muffin as your base. Toast it until golden, then layer on crispy bacon and eggs cooked to your liking. While the eggs are still hot, add a slice or two of fontina and let the residual heat melt the cheese into a creamy, gooey layer.

A bacon, egg, and cheese paired with fontina is already a winning combination, but there are a few ways to make it even better. For quick melting and an extra hit of creamy flavor, place the fontina on your bread and give it a blast under the broiler. You can also pop your bacon under there to get it extra crispy, but hold off on adding the egg until afterward. It's delicate, after all, and can quickly overcook under such intense heat. On that note, keep a close eye on your cheese as it broils — there's a fine line between beautifully melted and golden and burnt beyond saving.

Beyond breakfast sandwiches, you can also use fontina to make another classic: grilled cheese. Given its excellent reputation for meltability, adding fontina to a grilled cheese is practically a no-brainer. You don't have to stop at bread and cheese, either. If you want to put a twist on the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup pairing, tuck in a few slices of tomato and some fresh basil leaves.

In a nod to its Italian heritage, fontina is also a welcome addition to a panini. Your idea of a panini might depend on where you are in the world. In Italy, panino simply means sandwich, and often features a more restrained combination of cured meats, cheese, and vegetables than its U.S. counterpart. So if you want the fontina to shine, take a little inspiration from its homeland. Try layering it with thinly sliced prosciutto, roasted red peppers, and a few leaves of peppery arugula on ciabatta. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a little freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt, then use a panini press until the bread is crisp and the cheese has melted.