Jeffrey Norling, 2010 February Fan of the Month
Location: Lincoln City, OR
Submitted By: Jeffrey Norling
Favorite Tillamook Product: Vintage White Medium Cheddar
Random Fact: I have really loud hiccups; if I feel them coming on, and I am able to contain them, they make me jerk a little; if I happen to be talking, or if my mouth is open, the sound is quite surprising to any one around.
Favorite Tillamook Recipe: Too difficult to choose one. The one pictured is a layered salad with medium cheddar Tillamook Cheese. One of my favorites is my chicken and cheese enchiladas, using Tillamook Monterey Jack cheese; and then of course, there is my potato cheese soup, of which I use a blend of the medium and sharp cheddars!
I have loved Tillamook cheese for over 30 years. The taste, texture and creaminess far surpasses any other cheese I have had the pleasure of eating. I have lived in Massachussets and North Carolina for a fair portion of my life, and due to the difficulty in finding good cheese, we would call home and ask a family member to ship us some Tillamook cheese...often due to my, or our (once married) major withdrawal from not having Tillamook cheese available to us. In addition, every trip home to Oregon, we would stock up on our Tillamook Cheese, packing it in our suitcase as if it was gold, (and in our opinion...it was!!!)...as we know we could not get it where we were living.
I still recall finding a box outside our door when living in North Carolina, filled with several bricks of Tillamook Cheese...and unfortunately, my parents were unaware of how hot it was in North Carolina at that time...and the cheese was melted..ruined...I can't begin to tell you the disappointment and sadness that was felt!!!
Now that we live back in Oregon, and just an hour away from the factory on the beautful Oregon coast, we are so thankful knowing that we can enjoy Tillamook cheese anytime we choose. So, now it is we who are sending Tillamook cheese off to family members in Indiana, California, and Arizona...packed carefully of course! The funny thing is, I still tend to hoard the cheese, as a result of those days when it was unavailable to us...I just was putting away groceries in our refridgerator last night, and saw my 5 loaves of Tillamook cheese neatly lined up, just waiting quietly there to be used in the next cheesy moment in our lives. I have the luxury now to explore the increasingly wide variety and options available in Tillamook cheese, and am never dissappointed... new favorites are the white cheddar varieties, particulary as they increase in their sharpness and bite.
And as if my "gushing" about Tillamook cheese is not enough, I am also a huge fan of the yogurt, actually the only yogurt that we buy, and of course, your wonderfully textured and flavored sour cream. So, needless to say, despite the possibility of being named the "fan of the month", my loyalty to Tillamook products has not, and WILL not change. I am completely and totally the "fan of a lifetime"!!!
