Cheddar

Cheesy. Crispy. Make-ahead. These slice-and-bake cheddar crackers are the easiest, tastiest way to kick off cocktail hour.

File under: Breakfast for Dinner.

Muenster and Fontina are pretty soft cheeses and can be difficult to grate, so just stick both in the freezer 10 minutes to let them firm up before starting.

It can get tricky to hold the bread together when making the second set of cuts. Just do your best and plop any loose pieces back into place.

This will take you back to the flavor of all those canned cream-of-mushroom-soup-based casseroles, but without all the weird ingredients!

Feel free to sub store-bought tortilla chips for the tostadas.

Beer + cheese = the best combination ever.

A legendary layered dip from Matt’s El Rancho in Austin, Texas, of taco meat, queso, guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo.

Known as the "caviar of the South," this pimiento cheese recipe can be used as a dip for a party, or spread it on a sandwich for the ultimate grilled cheese.

When great dips get together, it’s magic. This recipe boasts all the beauty of a creamy onion dip with the irresistible appeal of queso.

This is a remarkable quiche recipe for a few reasons: The dough is intentionally generous so that it can be formed into tall walls all around, and the filling is jam-packed full of healthy greens. They balance out the butter and cream, right?

You know how the cheese sometimes oozes out of a grilled cheese while it’s cooking and gets all brown and crunchy when it hits the skillet? Well, this open-face sandwich recipe is dedicated to making that happen on purpose.

This holiday-worthy recipe was inspired by bread pudding and ended up somewhere between a strata, a gratin, and a traditional Thanksgiving stuffing.

Apple and cheddar met on a cheese board, realized they both dreamed of someday turning into a deep-fried doughnut, and ran off to do just that.

You can use only all-purpose flour for this scones recipe if you’d like, but going 50/50 with whole wheat produces a nice nuttiness that complements the cheese and walnuts.

You know when cheese gets so hot and melty that it stretches? Food stylists call that a "cheese pull," and we think it's gorgeous.

Topping this modern tartare with groats adds an earthy note, but they’re mostly there for texture. A coarse toasted breadcrumb can be subbed. This recipe is from Wildair, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Like cheesy grits. Really, really, really, really cheesy grits. This recipe, which puts a southern twist (that’s the grits, y’all) on very French aligot (mashed potatoes blended with melted cheese), is from Buxton Hall, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Progression of a tomato sandwich: On buttered bread with salt; on bread with mayo and cheddar; seasoned and grilled with cheddar and mayo. They’re all pretty perfect, but we’ll take the advanced version, thanks.

Not to break your heart or anything, but good luck finding Toma, a cow’s-milk cheese. We didn’t just go rogue: Chef Cámara okayed the cheddar substitute.

These are ideally made with ground shortrib, but using chuck will give you an equally savory filling.

Ultrarich and almost custardy in the middle, this is the kind of appetizer you should serve before a dinner of celery sticks.

The liquid will not submerge the endive at first, and that’s okay. Take the gratin out of the oven after 10 minutes and press down with a spatula to submerge the endive in cream.

Warning: A fork and knife (or a bib, at the very least) may be required to tackle this sandwich.