I’m a pretty by the book kind of person. Not prone to wild ideas about pairing seemingly unrelated ingredients or reinterpreting classic dishes with an out-of-left field addition. No, my rebellion is subtle. I will follow a recipe to the letter, but throw in my own spin — like adding a pretty normal extra ingredient or a slight fudge of the measurements. There’s always room for more garlic and more sauce, right? I can’t leave well enough alone, and I always make a recipe my own, somehow.

By the book means I sometimes get stuck when menu or meal planning. So I look to all kinds of places for inspiration — tv shows, cookbooks, magazines, other food blogs. And dining out. I love to try to copycat a restaurant recipe — especially when it’s a fantastical dish from a faraway restaurant that haunts my dreams. When I can’t readily have it, I. must. have. it. Even if that means making it at home. It gets stuck in my craw until it passes my lips.

A restaurant in my hometown used to make the best cheese bread. Only now, it doesn’t. {Insert wild, uncontrollable, I-can’t-have-it-anymore craving.}

So, an experiment was born. In these days of the winter that won’t die, I’ve been eating a lot of soup. And, to me, soup always needs an accompaniment. This is the loveliest cheese bread — crazy simple and easy. The honey butter at its core elevates it, with a hint of sweetness under a layer of creamy, crispy cheese.

This is also a perfect scalable recipe — increase or decrease amounts depending on how much you want to make. In that way, it’s hardly a recipe. You can wing it.

But it’s perfection.

Honey Butter Cheesy Bread

• Bread of your choice: white/wheat/wholegrain, etc. in baguette, italian loaf, hot dog bun, sliced loaf form
• 4 tablespoons softened butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• several handfuls grated cheese (about 1 cup) — I used a pre-shredded cheddar/monterey jack blend. Please don’t judge me.

Preheat your oven broiler.

Mix the softened butter and honey together until well blended.

Cut the bread to your desired shape: halved, sliced, etc. Spread the honey butter liberally on one side.

Place under the broiler (several inches away, if possible) for a couple of minutes. DO NOT WALK AWAY! You just want the butter to melt and the sides of the bread to crisp and brown slightly.

Remove the bread from the oven and top with the shredded cheese. Return to the broiler and let the cheese melt, another 2-3 minutes.

Let the bread cool a bit on the counter, then slice into wedges and serve.