Check out Cate's unique chile rellano-inspired grilled cheese!

Cate Melton of the blog Cate’s World Kitchen is a full-time teacher and new mom who loves to cook, bake, and run. Her blog is where she shares her favorite recipes and a little peek into her life.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 30 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 6

Recipe Overview

Inspired by the flavors of a chile relleno, these sandwiches feature roasted portobello mushrooms, green chilies, and Tillamook Monterey Jack Cheese with spicy mayo on cornbread.

Ingredients List

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 portobello mushrooms
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1  4-oz can diced green chilies
• 6 pieces cornbread, halved horizontally
• 6 slices Tillamook Monterey Jack Cheese

Preparation/Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Slice the stems off the portabellos and scrape the gills out with a spoon.  Carefully cut each mushroom in half horizontally.

Arrange the mushroom pieces on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil.

Roast the mushrooms for 15-20 minutes, flipping them one, until tender.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the mushrooms are roasting, mix the mayonnaise and hot sauce together (add extra hot sauce if you prefer spicier food!)

Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on half of a piece of cornbread, then top with a slice of cheese.  Place under a broiler or in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

Lightly butter a skillet and set it over medium heat.  Place a piece of portobello and about 2 tablespoons of chiles on top of the cheese.  Top with the other half of the piece of corn bread and cook in the skillet for about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.

By Tillamook

Dale's Pigs in a Blanket...of Cheese

Tillamook Corporate Cheese Production Manager, Dale Baumgartner has been making cheese at Tillamook for 44 years – the last 18 as Head Cheese Maker! In that time, he has developed quite a taste for cheese and in his opinion the sharper the better. He is an avid hunter who once dreamed of being a hunting guide in the wilds of Alaska – we at Tillamook are pretty glad he went into the cheese business instead!

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Total time: 15 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 4 sandwiches

Recipe Overview

Working at Tillamook I’ve had my fair share of delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. The Centennial Grilled Cheese at the Cheese Factory Creamery Cafe and the ol’ faithful with just Medium Cheddar and a bowl of tomato soup stand out, but none compare to my own favorite, Pigs in a Blanket…of Cheese. When I’m out hunting with my buddies, I need something that’s easy to make but that fills up our stomachs. I think I’ve found the perfect sandwich to do just that! The contrast of sharp (Vintage White Extra Sharp) and spicy (Pepper Jack) cheese with a mellow ham just can’t be beat. I know there are a ton of different breads to choose from, but my favorite bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich with is good ol’ white bread. Just talking about this sandwich makes me want to be out hunting again!

Ingredients List

• 4 tablespoons Tillamook Salted Butter
• 12 slices Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar
• 8 slices Tillamook Pepper Jack
• 8 oz of your favorite ham
• 8 slices of your favorite bread

Preparation/Instructions

Since we make these in the middle of nowhere I use a camper stove, but these directions will work just as well for your home stove. Butter one side of each piece of bread and put it on the grill butter side down on medium heat. For each sandwich place two slices of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and one slice of Pepper Jack on one side of bread and one slice of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and one slice of Pepper Jack on the other slice of bread. Next to the bread and cheese put a couple pieces of ham on the grill just enough to warm it. Warming the ham makes for a little better texture and consistency while pulling the sandwich together.

Melt the cheese on the bread gently, but don’t burn the bread. If you’re burning the bread you can lower heat or place the lid of a cooking pot over the bread to make the cheese melt faster. Put the ham onto one slice of bread per sandwich and put the two slices of bread together when they have reached desired gooey goodness level. Remove the sandwiches from heat, put them on a paper plate and eat with some chips and an ice cold root beer. I can’t take it anymore. See ya…I’m going hunting!

By Tillamook

Simple and delicious grilled cheese from Harold Strunk

As the ‘Big Cheese’ at Tillamook, President and CEO Harold Strunk knows a thing or two about what goes into making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. The foundations of a delicious grilled cheese, according to Harold: melts perfectly with gooey cheese spilling out the sides, an evenly crispy crust, and begins and ends with great tasting, naturally aged cheese like Tillamook.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Total time: 15 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 4 sandwiches

Recipe Overview

Unfortunately, I have had my share of grilled cheese sandwiches made with processed cheese. I grew up on the east coast where processed cheese is very popular and even spent some time working with a company that made processed cheese. Until I started working with Tillamook I didn’t truly appreciate the difference between a naturally made and aged cheese vs. a processed cheese, and how it affects the taste, texture and quality of a grilled cheese sandwich. When it’s cold, wet and rainy in Tillamook, Oregon – the home and headquarters of Tillamook – this is the grilled cheese I make for me and my family.

Ingredients List

• 4 tablespoons Tillamook Salted Butter
• 12 slices Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar
• 4 slices Tillamook Pepper Jack
• 8 slices of your favorite bread

Preparation/Instructions

Lightly butter one side of each piece of bread and place butter side down on medium heated pan or flat grill. For each sandwich place 2 slices of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar on one side of bread and 1 slice of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and 1 slice of Pepper Jack on the other slice of bread.

Let the cheese melt on the bread while checking the underside so as not to burn. Lower heat if necessary, or if the bread starts to brown faster than the cheese melts, place the lid of a cooking pot over the bread to make the cheese melt faster. Place the two slices of bread together when they have reached desired melted consistency. Remove from heat, let sit on a cutting board for a few minutes and enjoy.

By Tillamook

Carol Abrogoua's Ooey Gooey Maple Fruity

In 2011, the Tillamook Cheese Factory held its first ever Grilled Cheese Recipe Contest. From 48 entries, three finalists were chosen to cook for a panel of judges to see whose recipe was the cheesiest of them all. Carol Abrogoua of Tillamook, Oregon entered the contest at the prompting of her mom, who was confident Carol could win. Carol says her recipe, the Ooey Gooey Maple Fruity, “was really just a combination of some of my favorite foods, all squished into a melty sandwich!” The unique collection of ingredients helped Carol take home the gold.

Recipe Overview

With Tillamook Medium Cheddar and Monterey Jack, the unique combination of tart apples and sweet, salty bacon on Hawaiian sweet rolls makes this grilled cheese sandwich unlike anything you’ve tried. It’s a winner in our book!

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Total time: 45 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 4

Ingredients List

• 1 cluster of 6 Hawaiian sweet rolls, kept together as 6 and cut across the middle like it was one giant roll
• 3‐4 Tbsp Tillamook Salted Butter, softened so it’s very easy to spread
• 6‐8 slices (enough to cover the bread) Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese
• 6‐8 slices (enough to cover the bread) Tillamook Monterey Jack Cheese
• 7‐ 8 slices maple flavored bacon
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

Preparation/instructions

Heat a flat top grill to medium/medium‐high heat.

Fry bacon in a sauté pan until crispy. Set aside.

Butter the INSIDES of the Hawaiian sweet roll slices, and lay 1 slice buttered side down on a flat top
grill.

Lay slices of Cheddar, enough to cover the roll evenly.

Top with bacon slices, to evenly cover.

Top with apple slices, to evenly cover.

Top with Monterey Jack slices, to evenly cover.

Lay the remaining sweet roll slice on top, buttered side up.

Once the cheddar just begins to melt, flip the sandwich over. Allow to grill for 3‐4 minutes, then place a
heavy pan (such as a cast iron skillet or something similar) on the top of the sandwich to press it down.

Continue to grill for another 3‐4 minutes. Check to make sure bread isn’t burnt. Flip the sandwich again,
and grill for evenness on each side. Cut into individual sized pieces and enjoy!

By Tillamook

Photo courtesy of J. Black's Feel Good Lounge

Tillamook Grilled Cheese Week kicks off in Austin during National Grilled Cheese Month on Saturday, April 7^th.  For one week, six of Austin’s favorite local restaurants have created a unique grilled cheese featuring Tillamook natural cheese slices to honor the sandwich so beloved it has its own month.  Don’t miss out on the cheesy celebration!

Check out what our partner restaurants are grilling up!

Noble Pig Sandwiches
With Eater Austin calling it a “cult favorite” and Chefs John Bates and Brandon Martinez boasting the Best Sandwich in Austin, this is a must stop on your grilled cheese crawl.
Special: Pimento Grilled Cheese made with Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, sweet red peppers, pickled jalapeno and crispy bacon ($8)

Max’s Wine Dive
Known for “gourmet comfort food” it’s no wonder Executive Chef Erica Beneke’s grilled cheese is one of the most sought-after in Austin.
Special: Smoked Duck and Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Watercress ($14)

Austin Daily Press
This popular food truck is so good it was featured on The Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race in 2010. Stay up late for a gooey midnight snack.
Special: Black Forest Ham Grilled Cheese made with a blend of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses served with Spicy Ranch ($6)

J.Black’s Feel Good Lounge
Chef Josie Paredes combines her experience and passion for exceptional food to create a delicious, upscale grilled cheese that will leave you feeling very, very good.
Special: Open-Faced Grilled Cheese BAT with Tillamook Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack, Niman Ranch Bacon, Local Texas Tomatoes, Arugula, and Lemon Aioli ($8)

FoodHeads
This local hotspot with fresh, handmade ingredients is known for having some of the best sandwiches in Austin and is grilling up three Tillamook specials for Grilled Cheese Week.
Special 1: Grilled Tillamook Monterey Jack with turkey, jalapenos, cracked black pepper, house slaw & honey Dijon on nine grain ($7.95)
Special 2: Grilled Tillamook Sharp Cheddar & Pepper Jack cheeses with a fried egg, arugula, bread-n-butter pickles, cracked black pepper and truffle oil on sourdough ($6.95)
Special 3: Grilled Tillamook Sharp Cheddar with bacon, apple pico and chipotle mayonnaise ($7.95)

Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Burger lovers, join Tillamook in the celebration of Grilled Cheese Week because this one is for you. Austin’s favorite burger bar is taking on the grilled cheese with a burger so cheesy it rivals any bread and butter grilled cheese.
Special: The I Love Lucy Burger – Hopdoddy’s version of a JuicyLucy – Angus Beef stuffed with Tillamook Sharp Cheddar. ($8)

The Loaf Love Tour will be rolling around Austin from March 30th to April 18. See the full schedule of stops here.

Photo courtesy of Max's Wine Dive

By Loafy

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 Recipe Contest! From March 16th through April 9th, 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 21st at the Cheese Factory.  A panel of judges including chefs, local personalities, 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.

How to enter

Three easy ways:

• E-mail your name, city, daytime phone number and grilled cheese recipe to grilledcheesecontest@tillamook.com, or
• Stop by the Cheese Factory for an entry form, fill it out and return it there, or
• Print out an entry form and mail it to us!

But hurry – deadline for entries is midnight, Monday, April 9th.  Click here for all the contest details!

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 to the Loaf Life blog and Facebook!

By Tillamook

Holy Cheesus – It’s The Grilled Cheese Grill!

There is a new face in the Tillamook Kitchen. Portland, Oregon’s The Grilled Cheese Grill and owner Matthew Breslow has shared some of their most popular, unique and cheese-tastic recipes for all Tillamook fans to enjoy. You can stop by the Tillamook Kitchen to check it all out, but here are a few highlights you don’t want to miss!

Did you know that The Grilled Cheese Grill has two locations in Portland, each made out of an old bus?

SPOLIER ALERT: one bus is an old school bus and the other is an old double decker bus!

One of my favorite recipes from The Grilled Cheese Grill is the Quesus Cheeseburger. Brace yourself for this…it’s a cheeseburger prepared with all the fixins’, and instead of a bun on either side of the patty, they use a grilled cheese sandwich, made with Tillamook Pepper Jack and Tillamook Medium Cheddar on each side of the patty.

Most of us at Tillamook eat our fair share of grilled cheese sandwiches. But until recently I had never, EVER experienced a grilled cheese sandwich quite like this one….

Test out some of these great recipes at home, or if you’re in the Portland area, pay a visit to Portland’s premier grilled cheese food cart yourself!

~ Mary of the Tillamook Team

By Mary

Going camping? Need camping food ideas? Well Tillamook Cheese Lover, let me introduce you to a few delicious ideas and the most important piece of camping equipment you will ever own…the Pudgy Pie.

The Pudgy Pie cooking iron just might be the greatest contraption ever invented. Here we’ve put ours to the test, the Grilled Cheese Pudgy Pie Test. After a lovely camping trip to the base of Washington’s Mt. Rainier, we now have a new appreciation for cooking outside. A hike through Summerland

– an alpine meadow at 6000ft – left us ravenous. So we headed back to camp to try our hand at three different Pudgy Pie grilled cheese experiments.

Step 1: Channel your inner boy/girl scout and build a fire. Let the coals get HOT!

Step 2: Stick an empty Pudgy Pie into the coals to get it nice and hot.

Step 3: Grab hold of a stick of butter and slather the hot Pudgy Pie until well coated. The butter may run off so do it over a newspaper or something that can be disposed of so you leave no trace.

Step 4: Lay out two slices of bread on a flat surface. Pick your bread wisely as it really makes a difference in flavor and texture. We chose a freshly baked, sliced sourdough.

Step 5: Have fun with different combos of ingredients with melty, gooey cheese as the staple!

Tip: try to pile as much of the ingredients into the middle of the bread to prevent it from spilling over the sides of the Pudgy Pie.

Step 6: Press sandwich into Pudgy Pie, clamp shut, remove bread from around the edge, and stick directly into hot fire.

Step 7: Let sit for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the heat of the fire. This part takes some estimating, so play it by ear and enjoy any 'mess-ups'!

Step 8: Let the fire burn off. Clean up any remaining food on the Pudgy Pie.

To kick things off, we started with a classic, fire-kissed avocado, tomato, and Tillamook Medium Cheddar grilled cheese.

This sandwich was incredibly fresh for a grilled cheese! Obviously, bacon would be a great addition for those of us who are meat lovers. This was a delicious way to begin dinner, and it created lots of tasty leftovers for a veggie breakfast scramble in the morning.

Tip: this was the first one we made so the Pudgy Pie cast iron could have been hotter and we could have left it in the fire longer to make sure it was really roasty-toasty.

Following that was a fancy-schmancy, fire-roasted sautéed onions, prosciutto, and Tillamook Smoked Medium Cheddar grilled cheese.

OMG, yum.  This was hands down our favorite. The smokiness of the cheese with the saltiness of the prosciutto with the sweetness of the onions…perfect flavor combo, perfect texture, perfect!

Tip: the onions can be prepared at home before leaving or set to sauté on low on a camp stove. Warning: The smell might attract neighboring campers!

And for dessert? A decadent, fire-toasted fig, green apple, dark chocolate, and Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar grilled cheese.

This was the perfect way to watch a dying fire under the stars. The fruit keeps this treat light, while the chocolate makes sure you get dessert. The cheese actually acts more as texture and paves the way for all the other great flavors to combine. The fig was a last-minute addition as we “harvested” the first three figs from our new baby tree in the backyard! I think any fruit you have handy would work.

Tip: A Vintage White Medium Cheddar might have been even better for aesthetics and a more authentic taste.

I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten so gourmet on a camping trip! And it was all thanks to the Pudgy Pie and a few tasty camping food ideas.

What would you put in your Pudgy Pie pocket of gooey deliciousness?

By Gillian

Although National Grilled Cheese Month (otherwise known as April) was about a million grilled cheeses ago, we’re still finding ways to celebrate! One of our favorite parts of this year’s Grilled Cheese Invitational was having the fabulous March Fourth Marching Band be a part of the festivities. To catch a glimpse of the event, we’ve queued up this video:

Fortunately, there’s still lots of opportunities to catch March Fourth playin’ and swayin’ this month:

- 4th of July in Reno opening for Pink Martini

- July 10th at the Oregon County Fair

- July 14th returning to Los Angeles

Special shout outs to:

- The ever-cute Heidi Gibson with The AMERICAN Grilled Cheese Kitchen for working her grilled cheese magic up on the GCI cooking demo stage!

- Cameron McLean (alongside his adorable dancing kiddos) who won the coveted Tillamook Trophy for best grilled cheese (in our humble opinion).

- Dave Danhi, chef and mastermind at LA’s The Grilled Cheese Truck who took home a number of trophies this year!

- The delicious Tim Walker, Founder and Chief Instigator of the Grilled Cheese Invitational for 9 years in a row.

And I’m very happy to report, we are slowly but surely coming out of our post-GCI cheese coma and making some room in our bellies this month for Tillamook Ice Cream!

By Gillian

Liam and Kelly of the Loaf Love Tour team competed at the 2nd 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, April 23.

Who says a grilled cheese has to be savory? The Honey Pot competition category at the Grilled Cheese Invitational is devoted to sweet sammiches. Since grilled cheese isn’t typically thought of as dessert, I think this is one of the most creative (not to mention delicious!) categories at the competition. Some of the sweet ingredients as this year’s GCI included honey, ice cream, berries, jam… and of course, lots of sugar!

We’re so proud of Loaf Love Tour team members Liam and Kelly! They won a judges award for Liam’s tasty dessert sammich creation: Apple ‘n Cheddar Nothing Better (made with Tillamook Cheese, of course!).

I’m still kicking myself for not having taken a bite of this cinnamony-sugary treat at the GCI. Luckily Liam passed along his recipe so I can try it at home!

Apple ‘n Cheddar Nothing Better

Ingredients:

1 loaf apple cinnamon bread
8 oz Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Tillamook Salted Butter
Raw sugar
Granny Smith apples
Cinnamon

Instructions:

Heat a burner to medium, warm a frying pan on the burner.

Butter one side of a slice of bread. Pour some of the sugar on a plate and dip the buttered side of the bread in the sugar. Place buttered/sugared bread on pan to start caramelizing the sugar.

Cut cheese into thin slices and cover the bread with the slices as it cooks. Cut apple into thin slices and cover the cheese with the slices. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the apple slices. Thinly slice more cheese (enough to cover one slice of bread) and place it on top of the apples and cinnamon.

Cover pan with a plate or lid in order to melt down the cheese. Butter a second slice of the bread and dip the buttered side in the sugar.

Remove plate or lid from pan and place second slice of bread on top of the cheese. Flip sandwich and caramelize the sugar on the second slice of bread.

Cover the pan with a plate or lid. Once the sugar on the second slice is caramelized, remove sandwich from pan. Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and enjoy!

Liam working his grilled cheese-making magic.

Yay! Kelly with their trophy.

By Loafy