National Cheese Lover’s Day!

January 20th is National Cheese Lover’s Day! Cheese holds a special place in all our hearts from a light Gouda to the ever-popular toddler favorite (and mine) Mac & Cheese.

Who hasn’t had that middle-of-the night craving of a deliciously hot and oh-so ooey-gooey grilled cheese? You open your eyes in bed and glance around to make sure no one is looking. You tip-toe into the kitchen, pull out the griddle and in breezeless silence you grill up the most delicious sandwich ever! It’s that midnight rendezvous into the kitchen that teaches adults the ninja-like don’t-wake-the-baby skills that help us develop into amazing parents.

Cheese has been around for nearly 7,000 years which is a long time to not only perfect the trade, but also to develop, create and dabble into what is now well over 1,800 varieties of cheese available around the world—and those are the just the known varieties. That doesn’t include the hundreds of varieties that have been created in “old world” towns or even in your neighbor Rob’s basement. For an extensive list to blow your mind, check out Cheese.com – you’ll love it! As my grandmother had told me, cheese was first discovered by shepherds who would carry goat or sheep’s milk in dried out stomach “pouches.” Over time the milk would interact with natural rennet, curdle and separate the milk into whey and the first stage of cheese.

Over time, and we’re talking about 1,000 to 2,000 years, shepherds eventually began to process new varieties that were abundant with flavor and could match texture-for-texture with renaissance art. It is the variety of textures from creamy to hard, the saltiness, the tang and versatility that make cheese a global favorite and often a staple at the dinner table.

So, in celebration of National Cheese Lover’s Day we’d like to give you a few cheesy Toastilla favorites to serve up on one of the most important days of the year. 

​Sweet Bacon and Cheese 

There is something to be said about mingling salty and sweet on our palates. This delicious Toastilla mixes the saltiness of bacon and sharp cheddar with sweet apples and preserves or jam to liven up dinner.

While this makes for a great meal, we’ve found that this Toastilla also performs well as an appetizer for parties or when friends unexpectedly come knocking on the door—probably because they smell bacon wafting through the neighborhood. 

Ingredients:

• 10” tortilla (flour or wheat)
• 2 TBSP of your favorite preserves or jam. We recommend raspberry or blackberry
• ¼ of a pear sliced thin. While a sweet apple, such as Fuji and Pink Lady can be used, pears have a unique honey flavor that are hard to recreate with other fruits.
• 2 oz. sharp cheddar.
• 2 strips of bacon.

Directions:

1. Prepare bacon according to desired crispiness.
2. Spread the preserves in the center of the Toastilla in about a four-inch diameter.
3. Layer the pear.
4. Lay the sharp cheddar on the pear.
5. Lay the bacon on the cheddar.
6. Wrap toastilla per our instructions, making sure not to have any opening or holes in the tortilla and place into the Toastilla.
7. Place the Toastilla into toaster and cook on high for one cycle. 

​Jefferson’s Delight

Okay, so we’re going to let you in on a little American myth. Thomas Jefferson did not invent mac & cheese, he wasn’t the person to bring it to America, and (take a breath) he also wasn’t the first person to serve macaroni with or without cheese. So, then why is this little “fact” of American history shared at dinner by millions of people each year? While Jefferson didn’t invent mac & cheese what he did do is popularize the dish by frequently serving it at dinner. He also loved “macaroni” which he used as a common name for pasta. In fact, he obtained a "mould for making macaroni" while living in Paris.

This recipe combines the simplicity of creamy mac & cheese with the crispy love of bacon and a bit of heat with Sriracha. While Jefferson’s recipe may be a little different than you expect, we  have no doubt Jefferson would have loved this Toastilla recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 10” tortilla (flour)
• 1 cup dry macaroni noodles
• 3 oz. of diced Velveeta cheese
  

          (Yep, that dreamy processed block of cheese)

• ¼ cup of milk
• 2 TBSP of parmesan, romano, or a mix of both.
• Dash of pepper
• Sriracha sauce
• 2 strips of bacon (Duh, we love bacon!)

​If you’re all about speed, which many Toastilla customers are, you can replace the macaroni and Velveeta process with Kraft mac & cheese. The single-serving cups are even faster!

Directions:

1. Prepare bacon according to desired crispiness.
2. Prepare macaroni noodles per box suggestion (we recommend going a little al dente.)
3. Once the macaroni is cooked and strained, add it back to the pot and along with the Velveeta cubes, milk, parmesan/romano, and dash of pepper. Put burner on low and stir until all ingredients are mixed, creamy and delish!
4. Layer the bacon in the center of the tortilla.
5. Top with 3-4 TBSP. of the mac and cheese.
6. Spritz the Sriracha per your heat preference.
7. Wrap toastilla per our instructions, making sure not to have any opening or holes in the tortilla and place into the Toastilla.
8. Place the Toastilla into toaster and cook on high for one cycle. 

​Toasted Cheescake

​Have you ever tried warm cheesecake? Well, it tastes great! This Toastilla recipe mixes a simple cream cheese filling with our touch of a warm and cool dessert that is destined to make it’s way into your home and heart.  

Ingredients:

• 10” tortilla
• ½ of a graham cracker (crumbled)
• 3 TBSP of cold cream cheese.
• 2 TSP sugar
• 1 TSP Coconut
• Drizzle of caramel
• Fresh fruit such as strawberries or blueberries.
• Heavy whipped cream
• Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl use a fork to quickly mix crumbled graham crackers, cream cheese, sugar and coconut.
2. Cover and chill the mixture for about 20-30 minutes.
3. Add mixture to the tortilla.
4. Wrap toastilla per our instructions, making sure not to have any opening or holes in the tortilla and place into the Toastilla.
5. Place the toastilla into toaster and cook on ¾ heat for one cycle.
6. Once Toastilla is cooked, drizzle with caramel, and tops with fresh fruit, heavy whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon. 

Ready to start making these and many other recipes in your toaster? Get Toastilla today at www.toastilla.net/shop-our-store.