To celebrate National Burger Month, we’re sharing burger recipes from some of our favorite Texas friends! This recipe comes from the blog Restless Chipotle.

Overview
Smoky cheeseburger sits on top of macaroni and cheese, then is covered with caramelized onion, bacon, and chipotle mayo. A great way to turn a cheeseburger into something even more awesome.

Ingredients
3 lbs ground chuck (80% lean)
2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 burger buns
Olive oil for brushing
2 cups prepared macaroni and cheese, made with smoked Gouda and Tillamook Sharp Cheddar
8 slices Tillamook Medium Cheddar
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo, mashed
½ cup Hellman’s mayo
16 slices of crisp bacon, optional

Preparation
Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the onions. Saute slowly, stirring often, until they are golden brown and very tender then set aside. Mash the chipotle and stir it into the mayo and then set it aside.

Preheat the grill to high. Mix the liquid smoke into the burger gently, making sure that it is well blended. Separate the meat into 8 equal portions and gently form into a ¾ inch thick patty. (Be careful not to compact the meat too much. This will make it tough.) Grill for 3 minutes or until the burger is slightly charred with good grill marks. Flip and grill for 3 minutes more (for medium rare) or until the patty is just under temperature for desired doneness.

Brush the buns with oil and put them cut side down on the grill. Add the cheese to the burgers and close the grill cover for one minute to allow the cheese to melt. Remove buns and cheeseburgers from the grill. Place ¼ cup of hot macaroni and cheese on the bottom bun and put the cheeseburger on top. Add 2 slices of the crispy bacon if using and spoon ⅛ of the onions on top of the cheeseburger. Spread the cut side of the top bun with chipotle mayo and put it on the burger. Serve with a good, artisan amber ale and pretzels.

Notes:
Use shell macaroni for the macaroni and cheese – it stays in the bun better. You can use boxed mac and cheese if you must but it won’t be nearly so good.

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By Tillamook

I’ve seen some images floating around online of sushi rolls made with mac and cheese. Could it be that a marriage between sushi and mac and cheese, two of my favorite foods, really exists? There was only one way to find out if this urban legend was as scrumptious as it looked.

My experiment began with creating three different flavors of mac and cheese. The first was your standard fare, not too gooey, but certainly cheese laden. The second, I made extra cheesy. Something inside me said, the more cheese I added, the closer to sticky rice the consistency would get. The third was all about flavor. I used Tillamook Garlic White Cheddar to kick it up a notch. Once my mac and cheese was prepped, I let it cool in the fridge for an hour. You know how when you refrigerate leftover mac and cheese, it firms up? Well that’s exactly what I was going for!

An hour later, I removed it from the fridge and started making my rolls…easier said than done. I covered my sushi rolling mat in plastic wrap and sprinkled breadcrumbs over one third of the mat. Then, I scooped the mac and cheese onto the breadcrumbs and spread it out into a long rectangle, trying to make sure there were no gaps. I tried placing a few different things inside the rolls: pesto sauce, parmesan, more breadcrumbs, and thin strips of cheese. Rolling the rolls proved pretty difficult, especially with the plastic wrap. I ended up trying aluminum foil as well, which held its shape much better. The mac and cheese oozed out the ends of my rolling mat on my first few tries. Once I had the rolls complete and wrapped, I placed them in the fresezer for another hour.

I took the rolls out, unwrapped them, and sliced them into sushi pieces using a sharp knife. I let the rolls sit out and warm to room temperature before eating (I highly recommend this, they’ll hold their shape and taste much better). I sprinkled some cayenne pepper on top of a few of the rolls for good measure, and dipped the sushi pieces in pesto sauce, Tabasco sauce, and Secret Aardvark Habanero sauce.

As far as execution, the rolls with strips of cheese in the center held up the best. The pesto sauce leaked through the center of the roll, but still tasted great. I really recommend trying this experiment with the flavored cheddars. The Garlic White Cheddar rolls were my favorite!

Would you try this cheestastic sushi experiment!?

By Amalya

Caramelized Sweet Potato, Garlic, and Rosemary Mac & Cheese

It’s one of my favorite days of the whole year: National Mac & Cheese Day! Many people think there’s just one way to celebrate this tasty day but oh how wrong they are. Sure, you can make traditional mac & cheese in a pan – my favorite being this Caramelized Sweet Potato, Garlic, and Rosemary Mac & Cheese – but that’s just one of the many forms mac & cheese can take.

There is no limit to creativity as these yummy mac & cheese dishes show!

• Who doesn’t like the idea of quick and easy dinners? Put everything in a crock pot and ta-da, mac & cheese from Paula Deen.
• The best surprises often come when people find something they know and love in a new form like these mac & cheese muffins.
• Is there such a thing as leftover mac & cheese? Not in my house! But if you find yourself with leftovers or you put some aside ahead of time, these mac & cheese balls make for the best appetizers.
• I love grilled cheese! I love mac & cheese! Therefore, I’m sure they are tasty together. It turns out, I’m right! See what I mean with this Cheesy Mac and Rib Melt.
• You can never go wrong with a flaky pie crust. When you turn mac & cheese into a pot pie you get one perfect way to celebrate national Mac & Cheese Day!

With the big day coming up on July 14, how are you going to celebrate National Mac & Cheese Day? I wonder, can you make mac & cheese into a dessert?

By Kelly

Tornado in Texas!

As touring brand ambassadors, we experience lots of things for the very first time. On our last day in Plano, TX we witnessed our first tornado.  It was exciting and frightening all at the same time when the news reporters started broadcasting warnings around noon. Naturally, we frantically gathered all of our leftover bags of Tillamook Cheese and prepared for an afternoon huddled around the TV.

As we watched the tornadoes brewing in the dark sky, saw the rain coming down in gallon-sized rain drops, and listened to the sound of emergency sirens outside, the center of our tornado party was none other than…. Tillamook Cheese!!!  We pooled together a mix of spare crackers, but Noelle quickly realized that what we really needed was comfort food. What we needed was macaroni and cheese. But after the news showed a parking lot full of huge semi-trucks and trailers (much like our Daddy Loafs) getting thrown through the air like toys, we decided that a “quick trip” to the grocery store was not an option.

So, we quickly strategized how to get the needed ingredients. Our biggest obstacle was two tablespoons of flour, and we had to get creative. One of the best parts of this particular hotel was the Texas-shaped waffles served every morning.  What’s the main ingredient in waffle mix?  Flour!  The concierge at the front desk helped us get what we needed, and she was quite impressed with our crafty recipe tweak. It was really a team effort – April supplied the noodles, Alyssa donated her Tillamook Sharp Cheddar cubes, I contributed some broccoli, and Noelle went to work in the kitchen!

As the tornado sirens blared from neighboring buildings, we sat together on the couch, on the floor and in doorways enjoying our deliciously cheesy snacks. In the end, the tornado missed us by just six miles. The Daddy Loaf trucks and stayed firmly on the ground, all five Baby Loaf buses sound asleep in the trailers. When the announcement came on television that it was safe to leave our hotel, we were incredibly relieved. The only thing that would have made our celebration sweeter would have been some Tillamook Ice Cream. Because when it comes to surviving your first tornado, there’s nothing you want more than a big bowl of Tillamook Mudslide.

See you safely on the ground!

-TillaMaya

Maya and the team get cheesy (and creative) with their mac n' cheese recipe

By Maya

10 Barrel Brewing's Sundae featuring Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

My favorite way to discover a restaurant that uses Tillamook products is on accident —and that’s exactly what happened Labor Day weekend while visiting Bend with my family. My husband, one-year-old son and I had just finished a gorgeous hike around Sparks Lake and were looking for something to fill our bellies and cool us down on a 90 degree day in Central Oregon. A good friend had suggested we check out 10 Barrel Brewing Company. It was easy to find on our way back into town so we stopped for a bite. We hit the jackpot!

Not only was the atmosphere perfect for a warm, end-of-summer, day with a large outdoor patio and garage doors that let indoor diners catch a breeze — it was definitely conducive to carting a little one along for dinner (not always an easy task).

But the real treat came when I spotted Tillamook on the menu, more than once. It was hard not to skip dinner and go straight for the Ice Cream Sundae with Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream — but I left room, and waited. It was well worth the wait. Tillamook Ice Cream really does have that ‘wow’ factor! The sundae was pretty simple…chocolate syrup, nuts, whipped cream and a cherry. Perfect!

If you’re just in the mood for a really good burger, try their Pubhouse Burger featuring Tillamook Smoked Medium Cheddar. You really can’t go wrong with this one! View their entire menu here.

Summer may be over (although those of us in the Pacific Northwest are still celebrating, as we had to wait quite a while for sun this year), but ski season is just around the corner. So if Mt. Bachelor is on your list of winter to-do’s, don’t miss a meal, dessert and a beer at 10 Barrel Brewing. We’re big fans!

10 Barrel Brewing
1135 NW Galveston
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 678-5228

Hours:
Monday-Thursday, Sunday: 11am-11pm
Friday & Saturday, 11am-midnight

By Jala

Do you dance like Daniel when you find out that mac & cheese is on the menu?

I know I do! If you’re looking for a tasty recipe, check out our Top 10 Mac & Cheese Recipes (made with Tillamook Cheese, of course!).

By Gillian

Gluten Free Mac & Cheese by The AMERICAN Grilled Cheese Kitchen

Celebrate National Noodle Month with the Gluten Free Mac & Cheese recipe on the Tillamook Kitchen! This recipe is super delicious, but when I look at this recipe I also love looking at the reviews. Melanie from Stockton, CA left a review that keeps me struggling to hold back tears each time I read it:

Celiac’s dream
“Made it for my mom who was diagnosed with Celiac disease less than 2 years ago. She still can’t eat a lot of fat or dairy due the damage done to her intestines from the disease, but it was so good she almost cried.”

Thanks for the kind words, Melanie. I am so happy that you can make this for your Mom!

Ingredients:
7 tablespoons Tillamook® Salted Butter
6 tablespoons gluten-free flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour)
4 cups milk
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1½ teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 lb gluten free pasta of your choice (elbow shape is traditional), cooked to al dente or according to the directions on the package
3 cups (12 oz) Tillamook® Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz) gruyere, shredded (mixed together with cheddar)
1 cup fresh gluten free bread crumbs (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix shredded sharp cheddar and gruyere cheese together in a bowl, set aside. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a medium heavy bottom saucepan over medium-low heat. When butter is melted, whisk in gluten free flour; keep whisking until roux thickens and lets of a nutty aroma, 2-3 minutes.

Add milk in a thin stream to roux, whisking as you go. Add cayenne, mustard, salt and pepper. Allow mixture to come to a low boil, continuing to whisk. Simmer sauce until thickened, about 2 minutes, then turn off heat and stir in all but ½ cup of shredded cheese.

Stir in cooked, drained gluten free macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour entire contents into buttered casserole dish (a 3-Qt dish is the right size). In a small bowl, stir together bread crumbs (if using) and remaining ½ cup cheese. Sprinkle over macaroni.

Bake in middle of oven 25-30 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

By Laura

Don't be fooled! This candle only looks delicious.

Self-assembly DIY Mac n Cheese candle in a Ramekin baking dish. By kokocandles in Los Angeles, CA.

By Loafy

Who doesn’t love Macaroni & Cheese? I have collected my favorite 10, and believe me this was hard to only share 10 (I can share more later). Some recipes are very easy and some are more challenging. So whether you are a starter or seasoned chef there is something here for everyone. Enjoy!

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By Jennifer