Apple, raisin and Tillamook Cheddar pie. Just add a fork!

Tillamook’s Loaf Love Tour is back and to celebrate we’re partnering with three Tillamook Kitchen signature chefs for an all-day Tillamook Kitchen Takeover.

On Thursday, 9.27, The Grilled Cheese Truck, simplethings sandwich & pie shop, and The Oaks Gourmet are offering Tillamook specials for only $3.

Tillamook Specials ($3 each):

The Oaks Gourmet
Breakfast Burrito – Tillamook Pepper Jack and Sharp Cheddar, Boar’s Head bacon, green onions and scrambled eggs in a spicy jalapeño tortilla.
Address: 1915 North Bronson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068

simplethings
Apple and Golden Raisin Pie with Cheddar Crust – This ‘simple pie’ is filled with two kinds of apples, plumped golden raisins and creamy Tillamook Cheddar.
Address: 8310 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048

The Grilled Cheese Truck
Mom’s Apple Pie Melt – A dessert grilled cheese filled with brown butter cinnamon apples and Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar.
Schedule: See website

Each chef has their recipe featured on Tillamook Kitchen so anyone can re-create these dishes at home too!

The Loaf Love Tour VW mini buses will also be stopping by each restaurant during the day on September 27 to hand out coupons and other Tillamook goodies.

By Loafy

The Roast Dip Sandwich by Heidi Gibson of The AMERICAN Grilled Cheese Kitchen

Making a good grilled cheese is truly an art form. Sure, almost anyone can whip together a basic bread-butter-cheese sammich with a panini press. But to make a truly ooey-gooey, magically melty grilled cheese? Now that’s something you learn from the masters of melting.

Have you taken some time to explore the Tillamook Kitchen? It features a collection of awesome recipes by our partner chefs: Heidi Gibson of The AMERICAN Grilled Cheese Kitchen, Dave Danhi of the Grilled Cheese Truck, and Tommy Habetz of Bunk Sandwiches. The Tillamook Kitchen is packed full of amazing little tips and tricks from these pros. I love watching the video recipes – they’ll have you saying to yourself “Huh, I never would have thought of that!”

In honor of National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, here are some tips and tricks I learned from our partner chefs that will help you make an amazing chef-quality grilled cheese:

- Mayonnaise helps prevent burning. Before grilling his sandwiches, Dave Danhi spreads a 50/50 mix of mayo and butter on the outside of both slices of bread. Dave says this mayo-butter mix helps keep the bread from burning and will give sandwiches like his Pepperbelly Melt that perfect golden-brown crispiness.

- Butter can be more than butter! To sneak more flavor into the Piglet Sandwich, Heidi Gibson mixes rosemary with butter. Another tip: to mince up the rosemary, she uses a standard coffee grinder.

- Cook evenly. To make sure his sandwiches are fully-cooked, Tommy Habetz starts them off on a griddle (or press), then opens them up and places them in a 450°F oven for about 1 minute.

- Get creative! What ingredients sound good to you? Can some of your favorite meals be transformed into a grilled cheese? There are so many ingredient combos that will blend beautifully in a grilled cheese sandwich. Our partner chefs aren’t afraid to try new and inventive grilled cheeses. Their ingenuity, along with their skills, make them grilled cheese masters!

Do you have any tips for making the ultimate grilled cheese?

By Tara

Chefs Dave Danhi and Michele Grant of the Grilled Cheese Truck

Being that April is National Grilled Cheese Month, it only seems fitting to feature our favorite Los Angeles food truck: The Grilled Cheese Truck! Not only do chefs Dave Danhi & Michele Grant make some of the most amazing sammies you’ve ever laid your lips on, they are two of the nicest, most energetic cheese-loving folks you’ll ever meet. They truly have a passion for creating and sharing unique grilled cheese sandwiches with others. Thanks to Dave and Michele for being such wonderful partners (and for using Tillamook Cheese!). We’re proud to feature a collection of your meltastic recipes on our website!

Sample Menu:

Melts:
Cheesy Mac and Rib Melt (macaroni and cheese with sharp cheddar) – $5.50
Pepperbelly Melt (Tillamook Hot Habanero Jack with homemade chili, Fritos, fire roasted salsa and cilantro lime sour cream) – $7
Mom’s Apple Pie Melt (Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar with caramelized cinnamon apples and candied walnuts) – $6.50

Sides:
Tomato Soup – $2.50
Mac and Cheese – $3.25
Tater Tots – $3.75

Tip: In honor of Grilled Cheese Month, the Grilled Cheese Truck is cooking up a special Tillamook ”Loaf Love Melt.” If you can’t get it at the truck, make one at home! Here’s the recipe, courtesy of Dave:

Loaf Love Melt

Makes 8 sandwiches

Ingredients:

16 slices French bread
12 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
12 tablespoons mayonnaise
32 slices Tillamook Sharp Cheddar
24 slices Nueske Applewood Smoked bacon, cooked crisp
2 ripe granny smith apples, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Butter Spread:

In a mixer, put butter and mayonnaise and beat with the paddle attachment until well mixed. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all butter as it may stick to the bowl.

Assembly:

Generously butter one side of each slice of bread with the butter/mayo mixture. Be sure to butter to the very edges! On unbuttered side, lay 2 slices of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese. Next, lay 3 slices of cooked, crispy bacon and top with 5 slices of granny smith apples. Top the apples with 2 more slices of cheese and finally, the buttered bread, butter side out.

Cooking:

Heat griddle to about 350°F. Place all sandwiches on griddle and allow to cook SLOWLY.  If your heat is too high it will burn the bread and the inside will not be hot. Once golden brown, gently flip and repeat until cheese is melted and hot. If the bread browns prior to the inside being hot, place pan with sandwiches in oven at 450 degrees to allow to finish.

The Grilled Cheese Truck
Find them roaming the streets of Los Angeles, CA
Follow @grlldcheesetruk for current locations

By Loafy

The Loaf Love Tour kicked off National Grilled Cheese Month with The Grilled Cheese Truck today!

Today begins the greatest month of the year – National Grilled Cheese Month! We’ve been planning lots of cheesy goodness to celebrate, like a kick-off event with the Grilled Cheese Truck in L.A. and a contest to win a trip to the Grilled Cheese Invitational!

Here’s a recap of some of my favorite fan comments from this week. As always, thanks to everyone for the great conversations… now go home and make a grilled cheese!

-Loafy

Facebook:

- From Gillian G.H.: I just wanted to say there is no substitute for Tillamook Cheddar Cheese. We were completely out of chese so I grabbed a generic brand from Target. It was disgusting! Tillamook you have us spoiled and my family loves you!

- From Presley’s Pantry (this recipe looks amazing!): Capirotada (Mexican bread pudding) is a tradition worth repeating! I make mine with the best cheese in the world… Tillamook!

- From Samuel S.: Just wanted to tell you that you are the VERY best cheese I have ever had. I moved from the west coast to Minnesota 3 years ago. Over here you can get 1/4 pound of Tillamook for around $7. :( Thankfully I have a mother that loves me and ships me a couple 2 pound blocks of cheddar when I run out. Cant wait till I visit with the wife and take her on the factory tour!! Keep up the awesome work!!

- From Michelle W.: I love Tillamook Cheese. I was born there and, believe it or not, my first word was COW! GO FIGURE!

- From Dani S.: Dear Tillamook, we never had you growing up in Philadelphia, but now that I’m out in California, I absolutely adore you. You’re the only cheese in my fridge!!

Twitter:

- From @danport: Big BIG thanks to @tillamookcheese @grlldcheesetruk and @bevhillsporsche for lunch today. Great cheese and super friendly people.

- From @Lorie_Acosta: @TillamookCheese : Hey Cheesy! I seen a commercial with you! Those Nachos were divine looking ! Made me hungry.

- From @estarLA: Oops, dropped some free cheese by @TillamookCheese. Guess my mouse shoe will have to eat it. @BevHillsPorsche http://plixi.com/p/88654353

- From @clickmecoupons: @TillamookCheese Thanks for the great coupon on Monterey Jack! Love you cheese, well okay all your products! Thanks again!!

- From @grlldchztrukguy: Happy happy national grilled cheese month y’all!! Lots of fun happening this month ESPECIALLY the 2011 GCI! @grilldcheez @TillamookCheese

By Loafy

Members of the Loaf Love Tour team, Beverly Hills Porsche, and Dave Danhi of the Grilled Cheese Grill.

Today is the first day of National Grilled Cheese Month – my favorite time of year! To kick off the month of magical-meltiness, the Tillamook Cheese Loaf Love Tour is teaming up with one of our favorite L.A. eateries, The Grilled Cheese Truck. Join us this Friday, April 1, from 11am – 12pm at Beverly Hills Porsche for a FREE Tillamook Cheese grilled cheese sandwich!*

National Grilled Cheese Month Kick-Off
Beverly Hills Porsche
8425 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
11am – 12pm

After 12pm, the full Grilled Cheese Truck menu will be available, including the “Loaf Love Melt” – Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, sliced Granny Smith apples and applewood smoked bacon. In celebration of Grilled Cheese Month, the Grilled Cheese Truck will be offering the Loaf Love Melt all throughout April.

Follow us on Twitter for more day-of details:
@TillamookCheese
@grlldcheesetruk
@BevHillsPorsche

Stay tuned for details on additional Loaf Love Tour and Grilled Cheese Truck events during the month of April.

*One sandwich per person please!

By Tillamook

My absolute favorite part of our new website is the Tillamook Kitchen. It’s filled with amazing recipes – truly unique sandwiches and more – from chefs at three of our Tillamook-loving partner restaurants: The AMERICAN Grilled Cheese Kitchen, Bunk Bar, and the Grilled Cheese Truck. These chefs were cooking with Tillamook before we even met them!

I have to admit, I’m not much of a cook… but I do love trying new food! The best part about these recipes is that they’re not overly-complicated, but they’re still unique and creative. They’re definitely not your mom’s PB&J (please don’t tell your mom I said that!).

The Tillamook Kitchen even has video recipes to coach you along. They feature our partner chefs preparing their tasty masterpieces while they divulge some of their helpful chef secrets. These videos are inspiring – they make me feel like even I can melt some sandwich magic. I seriously can’t wait to try them all.

We want you to try them, too! During the next two weeks, we’re holding a “Make, Review, Win Tillamook!” contest. All you have to do is make one of these delicious recipes, write a review on our website, and you could win a free Tillamook Baby Loaf Love gift box!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Between February 14 – February 25, visit the Tillamook Kitchen on our new website.

2. Browse our new recipes and pick any one of them that you’d like to try.

3. Gather ingredients and start cooking!

4. Eat what you whipped up (best part).

5. Review – An area to write a review for the recipe you made is located at the bottom of each recipe page.

6. At 5 p.m. on Friday, February 25, come back to the Loaf Life Blog to see if you’ve won and find out how to claim your prize.

All entries must be received before noon on Friday, February 25. You can review as many different recipes as you’d like!

Each person who writes a recipe review will be automatically entered into a random drawing to receive a free Tillamook Baby Loaf Love gift box! We’ll select 10 winners total and announce them on the Loaf Life Blog on Friday, February 25, before 5pm. Tune in on this date to see if you’ve won and to find out how to get your free Baby Loaf Love gift box!

Contest Official Rules

By Loafy