Tuna Melt - A Pauper's Meal

So every once in a while I go out and blow a bit more money on a meal than I should.  Just a smidgeon.  Really.  Then I spend the next few days trying to spend as little as possible.  One of my favorite meals when this happens is a Tuna Melt.  It is incredibly simple and doesn't take that much time.

Tuna Melt

Start preheating the oven as soon as possible.  I usually just broil the tuna melt (and therefore press fewer buttons) but heating the oven to 350 degrees is fine.  The actual temperature of the oven doesn't matter as long as you watch the food.  Open a can of tuna  and distribute it on a slice of bread to your heart's content.  Sometimes I mix the tuna with some mayonnaise and mustard or whatever else is around: pecans, celery, pickles.  Cut some cheese and put it on top of the tuna.  It really doesn't matter what kind of cheese you use or if you use cheese at all.  I like extra sharp cheddar cheese (shout out to the Vermonter farmers who have supported my addiction to cheese) or brie if I'm feeling particularly extravagant or French.  Place the delightful creations on a pan and put them in the oven - preferably on a rack close to the top of the oven (this is especially important if you are using the broiler).  Remove the pan from the oven when the cheese starts melting or the tuna starts to crisp.  Or whenever it looks most delicious.  I generally use bread rolls, but Susan uses some type of sliced bread.  Because the sliced bread lies flat on the baking sheet, condensation gets trapped between the bread and the metal so the bread can get slightly soggy.  I've found that the best solution to this is to toast one side of the bread before flipping it over and adding the tuna and cheese to the other side.

Here's an appropriate song if you're feeling French:

(It's appropriate in that it is a French song.)