Drum roll please. . . . . .
Announcing the 3^rd Annual Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest

Do you have the best tasting, creamiest melting, most unique and utterly irresistible grilled cheese sandwich recipe out there? Then enter the Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest! From March 22 through April 15, submit your one-of-a-kind recipe and you could be one of three finalists who will compete in a live cook-off on Saturday, April 27 at the Cheese Factory. A panel of judges including chefs, local personalities such as Marlynn Schotland of Urban Bliss Life, and professional cheese tasters (yes, that is a real job) will pick a winner who will get bragging rights for the best darned Tillamook Grilled Cheese sandwich on the planet – oh, and $500 and a delicious Tillamook goodie basket! There are goodie basket prizes for our runners up, too.

Three easy ways to enter:

1) E-mail your name, city, daytime phone number, and grilled cheese recipe to grilledcheesecontest@tillamook.com (check entry format for instructions on recipe format), or
2) Stop by the Cheese Factory for entry format sample and contest rules; type up your recipe and return it there, or
3) Type your recipe according to entry format and mail it to us!
4) Make sure to follow the entry format or we’ll have to disqualify your delicious recipe!

But hurry – deadline for entries is midnight, Monday, April 15. Click here for all the contest details and official rules!

You say you’re not much of a cook but still LOAF to eat Tillamook grilled cheese sandwiches? Then you will want to enter our contest to become our Celebrity “Best Tillamook Cheese Fan” judge at the recipe cook-off! Details on this contest coming soon so stay tuned as the Loaf Life Blog celebrates National Grilled Cheese month, which begins April 1!

By Susan P.

Food Network Celebrity Chef Amanda Freitag takes a plug of Tillamook Cheese.

In late September Tillamook was a sponsor of Feast Portland, the first large scale epicurean event the city has seen. There were many other local companies like Jacobsen Salt, Widmer Brother’s, Moonstruck Chocolates and Portland Creamery (Goat Cheese). There were also a number of large profile chefs who attended this inaugural event. From Chef Amanda Freitag to Brad Farmerie to Chef Duff Goldman, they came out in force to enjoy a beautiful fall weekend in Portland. If you didn’t have a chance to go this year, this Eater article has all the information you need (as if you needed any) to help you make your decision to go next year! Because, YES, there will be another Feast!! 2013 is already on the calendar and we can’t wait to see what amazing things co-founders Mike Thelin and Carrie Welch have in store. If you can go, what are you most excited about?

Sandwiches and judges at the Sandwich Invitational.

Comfort Call

The year is 2012. The place is Portland, OR. The venue is Feast. All of the world’s top culinary stars our out to shine on our humble and ‘weird’ city. They are here to experience Portland – a mystical place to those who don’t know it. You recycle? You grow your own vegetables? You know your chicken’s name before you eat it (ok, that doesn’t really happen)? They come to see what all the fuss is about. They will leave knowing exactly what the fuss is all about!

We were very fortunate to partner with Mike Thelin, Carrie Welch and their incredible staff at Feast to not only be involved, but to work with them to give a once-in-a-lifetime experience – the kind only Portland can offer! Tillamook, being the cheese-nerds that we are, couldn’t just hand out samples. Yes, we wanted to hand out samples, but we couldn’t just stop there. The next logical choice was, of course, grilled cheese sandwiches. But how do we make grilled cheese sandwiches that are perfectly crisp on the outside and perfectly gooey on the inside and get them to people who are all over the city at food parties? With phones of course.

Flip-phones to be exact! We handed out 200 flip-phones to super fans, chefs, writers, and generally, people who looked interested. The phone’s sole purpose was ordering a grilled cheese sandwich from Tillamook between midnight and 3am – just when you need it most! As soon as the order came through, our chefs went to work and made some pretty yummy combinations (think Apple Cinnamon and Vintage White Medium Cheddar, Bacon Waffle with Medium Cheddar and Tarragon Zucchini with Medium Cheddar and Pepper Jack).

At first people didn’t believe that we would actually deliver the sandwiches, thinking that it was just a marketing thing. But then, we did! We hand-made and delivered – in our yum bus – over 100 sandwiches in two nights! The smiles on people’s faces when they got their sandwich after a long day of cooking or eventing or twittering, were priceless and validated just how much we love our jobs! The last thing we did, because we couldn’t just throw the phones out, was ask the recipients of the phones to leave them with the front desk at their hotels. We then donated the phones to a local charity.

The year is now 2013. The place is still Portland, OR. The venue is still Feast. All of the world’s top culinary stars will be out to shine – won’t you please join them!? We’ll be there to meet you…You won’t regret it!

Updated: 4/16/2013

By Matt

With busy school days and weekends full of chores and activities, I often find myself looking for a quick, easy, delicious meal full of protein to keep me and my family going. When we are running out the door to practice, we need something easily transportable, too! With all this in mind, I came up with a grilled cheese sandwich mixed together with my family’s favorite, eggs in a basket. The outcome is a very quick meal that everyone in my family adores! The best part is, you can wrap it in a paper towel and take it on the go.

Grilled Cheese in a Basket

Ingredients
2 slices of whole wheat toast
1 egg
Tillamook Salted Butter
2 slices of Tillamook Medium Cheddar

Preparation
Butter both slices of bread. Use a cookie cutter to cut a hole out of the center of one slice of bread

Place a table spoon of butter in a fry pan, and turn burner on to medium-low. Place the slice of bread with a hole in the pan.

Crack egg into hole of bread slice.

When the egg has cooked half way through and the bread has turned golden brown, flip egg and bread over. Add the Tillamook Medium Cheddar and the other slice of bread, butter side up.

Flip entire sandwich when bread is golden brown.

When both sides of the sandwich are golden brown and the cheese is melted, remove from heat, slice in half, and wrap in napkin if taking it on the go!

Another highlight of this easy sandwich is, it passes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Whatever quick meal you need, Grilled Cheese in a Basket can come to your rescue. What easy meal tips do you have? Submit them here to be entered into Tillamook’s Back to School Contest on Facebook.

By Kelly

The Mousetrap from our friends at The American

With the Loaf Love Tour being in San Francisco, sometimes I feel like I’m in another country. Between the brightly colored apartments lined up along city hills and the water almost always in sight, the only thing reminding me that I’m close to home is the weather!  The foggy mornings and chilly nights particularly reminds me that fall is on its way.  When I think of fall time, I think of a few of my very favorite things about growing up in the Northwest…. back-to-school supplies (usually things with glitter), cozy socks inside my rainboots, a new lunchbox with sticky notes from mom inside of it (and if I was lucky, a Tilla-Moo!), and insulated horseback-riding gloves.

However, the best and tastiest part of fall was the yummy gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that were always waiting for me at home after a blustery day at the horse stables! By the end of the day with my horsey friends, my fingers ached in the cold. Once home, I could barely muster the will-power to wash my hands before scooping up the first half of my grilled cheese sandwich. The first thing to touch my fingers was salted Tillamook butter, generously slathered on the outsides of my sandwich, turning the bread a crunchy crispy golden brown. Licking my fingers to test the butter, the first bite made it into my mouth. Ooey gooey and just hot enough, Tillamook Cheese strings all over my chin, the sandwich was always exactly the way I imagined it all the way home in the car. The second bite was accompanied by a dip in my tomato soup, and before I knew it, it was all in my belly and I was warm head to toe!

Grilled cheese sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food and always a great way to end a day of being outdoors in the cool fall weather. One of Tillamook’s partner restaurants, The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen is known for having the very best, most perfect grilled cheese sandwiches EVER. I personally cannot wait to get some of that deliciousness into my belly! I already know exactly what I’m going to order, too. The Mousetrap is their classic grilled cheese sandwich with two of those nice thick Tillamook slices that we all love. Add some bacon and an order of their smoky tomato soup and I’ve got the perfect meal to keep me looking forward to fall and many grilled cheese meals to come! Don’t live in San Francisco? No worries! You can see how to make your own Mousetrap grilled cheese sandwich in the Tillamook Kitchen!

Bon apetit, stay warm, and stay cheesy!
TillaMaya

By Maya

We have a Grilled Cheese Apron on our Online Shop that inspired this post. We love the apron and think that it’s a lot of fun, but after a while we got to thinking, what actually happens if you grill a loaf of Tillamook Cheese? We had to find out…

It turns out… you can grill cheese! It starts melting pretty fast and as cheese drips on to the coals, the fire flares up. Just like you would with anything else on the grill you have to rotate the loaf and it gets grill marks in it. One thing that I didn’t expect is that after I took the loafs of cheese off the grill, I found that only the outer layer of cheese was melty and gooey, and the rest of the cheese was still pretty solid. I guess you could keep it on the grill longer and let it keep getting gooey if you want to grill it all the way through? You just might not have a very big loaf left!

However, my real problem is that I didn’t know what to do with a grilled cheese once it was grilled. We got out a bag of tortilla chips and sliced cheese onto them. It was sort of like nachos, but you only heat up the cheese! Tell me, what would you do with a loaf of grilled cheese?

By Laura

The ingredients – plenty of Tillamook!

There is nothing I love more than cheering on my fellow Americans competing in the Summer Olympics. Watching the world’s countries come together, each contributing their best to one single event, is thrilling. I get swept up in the excitement and start to think I missed my calling when I opted to play with my Easy Bake Oven instead of dedicating 12 hours a day to track & field or table tennis as an 8 year old.

I may not be able to represent my country in this year’s events, but I can bring nations together in my own little way. To celebrate the Olympics I am collecting the best of America and England, this year’s host nation, in my kitchen. Representing the United States of America after winning the World’s Best Medium Cheddar Cheese award is Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese, and for the United Kingdom I’ve selected the English muffin. (The English muffin was a clear choice given that it has the country name in its title.) The Olympic Games are all about bringing nations together, so I opted to make a grilled cheese using my two competitors.

Step one: Make English Muffins. Sure, you can buy them but making them seemed like an Olympic feat so I went for it. Using a recipe I found online I greased up my griddle and produced some pretty spongy muffins, if I do say so my self.

With the English muffins cooling on the rack, I grabbed America’s representative, Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese, and went to slicing. Although it wasn’t a team event, Tillamook Salted Butter made an appearance when I slathered it on the inside of my English muffin in preparation for the big event – grilling the sandwich. I opted to put the muffins on the griddle inside out because they were already pretty toasted on the outside.

Grilling on the griddle

One look at the final product and I knew I had created a grilled cheese worthy of any gold medal. If the Olympic committee opts to add competitive sandwich making into future Olympic Games, I am sure to obtain my childhood dream of representing my country. In the meantime, I will sit back, eat my tasty sandwich, and enjoy the blend that American and English products can create.

What English staples do you make with Tillamook products?

By Kelly

Frances' Dreamiest Grilled Cheese Sandwich Plus took home the grand prize

The three finalists in the 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Contest Cook-off competed last Saturday, April 21^st at the Cheese Factory to determine who makes the best darned Tillamook grilled cheese sandwich on the planet. From a field of 48 entries, narrowed to 8 semi-finalists, these three grilled cheese lovin’ finalists did their best to impress six judges to take the grand prize title. And impress they did with three very different, unique and cheesy recipes.

Steve Maffin of Tillamook, OR brought his Hearty Macho Grilled Cheese, with lots of Tillamook Medium Cheddar and Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese and was our 2^nd runner up. Krystal Bishop of Renton, WA competed with her Guilty Griller, a sweet and spicy delight overflowing with Pepper Jack and Provolone. But at the end of the day, the creator of the unique and savory Dreamiest Grilled Cheese Sandwich Plus walked away with the $500 grand prize, along with a gift basket chock-full of Tillamook goodies and bragging rights for the best Tillamook Grilled Cheese!  Frances Benthin of Scio, OR, packed her sandwich with thick slices of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar, added a mixture of prosciutto, roasted red pepper, Tillamook Premium Sour Cream and Pepper Jack Cheese all grilled on thick slices of hazelnut bread.

Our visitors also got into the fun by sampling all three of the contestants’ sandwiches and voting with their applause for the Audience Favorite prize.  While the voting was close, Frances’ sandwich also was the favorite of our audience. She was one excited and happy winner!

Thanks for celebrating National Grilled Cheese month with us! We hope to see you at next year’s Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest!

Our six judges had a hard decision to make!

By Susan P.

South of the border spicy grilled cheese from Panini Happy

Kathy Strahs has been writing PaniniHappy.com, a food blog all about sandwiches and other innovative recipes for the panini maker, since 2008. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two preschoolers.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 45 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 4 panini

Recipe Overview

The word rajas in Spanish literally translates as “strips”…as in strips of roasted chiles and onions that bring a punch of south-of-the-border flavor to all kinds of dishes. Grilling rajas is an easy job on the panini maker – it takes just minutes to get them nicely charred. Pile them on sourdough bread with Tillamook Pepper Jack for a spicy grilled cheese sandwich or, to tone down the heat, opt for Tillamook Monterey Jack.

Ingredients List

• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds, rings intact
• 8 slices sourdough bread
• 8 slices Tillamook Pepper Jack or Monterey Jack

Preparation/Instructions

Preheat the panini grill according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Slice off the tops and bottoms of both peppers. Stand each one up on its end and slice it open from top to bottom. With the poblano you’ll be able to open the pepper out flat; with the red bell pepper you’ll need to cut the walls of the pepper a section at a time. Remove and discard the seeds and trim any white ribs.

Lay the peppers cut side down on the grill and close the lid. Grill the peppers until they’re charred and blistered, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a paper bag and leave them in there for 20 minutes to allow the steam to release the skin.

While the peppers are steaming, drizzle the onion rounds with oil and grill them until they’re tender with dark grill marks, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the onions to a medium bowl, separating the rings. Keep the panini grill on.

One at a time, remove the peppers from the paper bag, peel off the skins (if they don’t come off easily, try putting them back in the bag to steam for a little while longer) and slice the peppers lengthwise into strips. Toss the peppers in with the grilled onions.

For each sandwich: Lay a slice of cheese on a slice of sourdough bread. Top the cheese with a generous pile of peppers and onions and second slice of cheese. Close the sandwich with another slice of bread.

Grill the panini until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, 4 to 5 minutes.

Grilled peppers and onions give this grilled cheese a little kick!

By Tillamook

Sweet, savory and oh so cheesy!

Blogger Barbara Kiebel loves sharing the food she makes with her family and friends both at her table and on her blog, Creative Culinary, through photos and recipes.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 20 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): One serving

Recipe Overview

Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese is combined with fresh apple slices, savory pancetta and a sweet and savory spread on a buttery grilled croissant.

Ingredients List

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Tillamook Unsalted Butter for grilling
• 1 large croissant, sliced in half
• 2 slices Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 2 slices pancetta
• One half apple, cored and sliced

Preparation/Instructions

To make the cranberry spread, blend together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey and dried cranberries and set aside.

Place the pancetta in a pan or on a flat grill heated to medium. Cook until brown and starting to crisp. Drain. Wipe off pan or grill.

Melt 1 teaspoon of butter in medium heated pan or on flat grill. Place cut edges face down on butter until slightly toasted; approximately 1 minute. Remove from pan.

Melt another teaspoon of butter on pan or grill and place bottom of croissant in pan, toasted side facing up. Layer 1 slice of cheese, apple slices, pancetta and a 2nd slice of cheese on top of croissant. Spread the inside of the top piece of croissant with the cranberry spread and place it with spread face down on layered ingredients.

Lower heat and cover the sandwich with a lid or aluminum foil until the cheese starts to melt; carefully watching the underside so as not to burn. Carefully flip the sandwich over and repeat. Remove from heat, cut in half and enjoy.

Let the grilling begin!

By Tillamook

Local Texas ingredients + two kinds of Tillamook Cheese = YUM!

J. Black’s Feel Good Kitchen & Lounge talented and creative Executive Chef, Josie Paredes, combines her experience and passion for exceptional food to create a delicious selection of starters, sharing plates and artisan pizzas at their two locations in Austin, Texas and Dallas, Texas. Chef Paredes has had a passion for food ever since she saw her mother cooking at 7 years old in South Texas. Chef Paredes has been with J. Black’s since 2007.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 5 Minutes
• Total time: 8 Minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 1

Recipe Overview:

In celebration of Austin Grill Cheese Week, J. Black’s The Feel Good Lounge has put together the Open Faced Grilled Cheese B.A.T., featuring an overload of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack, topped with Niman Ranch Bacon, local Texas baby arugula and Texas tomatoes on a fresh thick cut of Challah bread.

Ingredients List

• 1oz Tillamook Unsalted Butter
• 2oz Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, shredded
• 2oz Tillamook Monterey Jack, shredded
• 1 thick cut slice of Challah bread
• 3 slices of Niman Ranch Bacon
• 2oz baby arugula
• 2 – 3 tomatoes slices

Preparation/Instructions

Lightly butter one side of thick sliced Challah bread and place it butter side down on medium heated pan or flat grill. Place shredded Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese on bread. Let cheese melt while checking the underside so as not to burn. In a separate pan cook the bacon until crispy. Once desired melted cheese consistency has been reached, remove from heat and top with baby arugula, bacon and tomatoes. Serve and enjoy.

By Tillamook