topic Re: Pimiento cheese in Kitchen

Pimiento cheese

stilltamn8r — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:04:05 GMT

Ok, My Dad used to make this when I was a kid and I would have NONE of it- Saw it premade in the deli section and got curious.. afterall, HE used to LOVE it!

Well, it was pricey, but I decided to use it, along with some tri-tip I had smoked and do a sort of grilled cheese sandwich with it.. Layer of that cheese spread, a few pepperoncini, thinly sliced meat, a little garlic powder on the outside of the bread and lots of crispy, buttery toastiness...YUMM!

Ok, so now I am hooked! Any of you ladies ( maybe southerners like my Dad) have recipe for this, I remember grated cheese and mayo or miracle whip and pimientos and him beating the H out of it...

HELP!!!

Re: Pimiento cheese

Barbarainnc — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:14:12 GMT

My mom grates sharp cheddar cheese, add a small jar of drained pimentos and adds Hellmans Mayo to taste and then stirs it up. She always makes it homemade, none of that store bought stuff for her.

Where in So Cal are you located, I use to live in Vista.

Re: Pimiento cheese

stilltamn8r — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:26:09 GMT

Thanks! I am in the San Gabriel Valley- Foothill living-land of fires and mudslides...

Re: Pimiento cheese

stilltamn8r — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:27:12 GMT

so the cheese doesn't have any onion or garlic (or onion or garlic powder?)...well that sounds easy enough to do....

Re: Pimiento cheese

CinNC — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:34:19 GMT

Here is the recipe for Harper's Restaurant (Charlotte NC) Pimento Cheese from the local newspaper

Betty’s Pimento Cheese

Tom Sasser recommends using 8 ounces of white extra-sharp and 8 ounces of yellow extra-sharp cheddar. When I made it, I doubled the amount of garlic powder and celery salt.

1 pound extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Duke’s mayonnaise

9 ounces whole pimentos, drained and roughly chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon celery salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

LET cheese sit out at room temperature for 5 minutes, then grate by hand.

COMBINE the grated cheese with the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until just incorporated. Do not overprocess. CHILL thoroughly before serving.

YIELD: About 2 cups

Re: Pimiento cheese

mousiegirl — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:35:50 GMT

I saw one recently on the Food Network.

Re: Pimiento cheese

stilltamn8r — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:40:11 GMT

Cindy that sounds great! I found I can get ""Duke's"" mayo at Cost Plus WorldMarket here in Southern California- Its with the ""imported"" items!!LOL!

Re: Pimiento cheese

Sooner — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:55:30 GMT

On 4/4/2014 Barbarainnc said:
My mom grates sharp cheddar cheese, add a small jar of drained pimentos and adds Hellmans Mayo to taste and then stirs it up. She always makes it homemade, none of that store bought stuff for her.

Where in So Cal are you located, I use to live in Vista.

Pronounced: pimentUH where I come from! Yes, that's the basic, but you can add a little finely diced pickle (dill or sweet or a mix or relish), olives (I am wild about olives in this!), diced or scraped onion, and even finely chopped pecans! WONDERFUL stuff! Pretty made with white cheese too, and I vote for Dukes mayo as well and even some of the vegan mayo's are really good and not too sweet. I have been known to add just a drop of booze for a party too. . . adds a little kick. Or use a little hot sauce or cayenne for a kick!

Re: Pimiento cheese

DiAnne — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 18:17:27 GMT

I keep hearing about Dukes mayo. I am from Southern California and now live near Seattle and have never tasted it. How does it compare to Best Foods? I guess I am really asking is can you substitute Best Foods.

Re: Pimiento cheese

Zhills — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 18:27:54 GMT

On 4/4/2014 Barbarainnc said:
My mom grates sharp cheddar cheese, add a small jar of drained pimentos and adds Hellmans Mayo to taste and then stirs it up. She always makes it homemade, none of that store bought stuff for her.

Where in So Cal are you located, I use to live in Vista.

One thing I learned on this forum is that there are at least 47 ways to make pimiento
cheese! I just mix sharp cheddar and pimientos with Dukes. Tried adding garlic powder and like it! A restaurant near us adds hot sauce. Do a search on here for another thread.

Re: Pimiento cheese

stilltamn8r — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 18:37:23 GMT

Thanks! sounds like everyone starts with a similar "base" and then embellishes it...

I am really enjoying seeing what all everyone likes in THEIRS...

to DIanne..do you have a Cost Plus near you in Seattle? They carry Duke's sometimes..(psst...don't tell the southern ladies, but Best foods is pretty close!)

Re: Pimiento cheese

CinNC — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 19:38:30 GMT

I'm not orginally from the South and even though I've made the Harpers many times (a few years ago), I've never purchased Dukes Mayo - just used whatever I've had in the refrigerator.

Re: Pimiento cheese

lilypad3 — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 20:02:53 GMT

Hellmans Mayo is Best Foods in the west-same thing. Yes, you could definitely substitute Best Foods. I'm a southerner and I prefer Hellmans (best foods) over Dukes.

Re: Pimiento cheese

Deadeye Daisy — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 21:20:01 GMT

Magnolia's Cheese Spread (from Magnolia's Restaurant in Charleston, SC)

For people who THINK they don't like pimento cheese spread. This does NOT taste like Price’s or any of the other prepared versions. It's far better.

PIMENTO CHEESE SPREAD

5 large roasted red peppers. Alternately, you can use about 2½ cups of jarred roasted pinquillo peppers. SEE NOTES below.

1 cup stuffed green olives, finely chopped (cerignolas are great, but have to be pitted)

1¼ pounds good quality New York or Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

¼ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 T. chopped fresh parsley

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 t. cayenne (or just a dash to taste)

Combine all of ingredients in a glass, crockery or stainless steel mixing bowl and mix well. Season to taste with cayenne pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you prefer a spicy version, add 1 Tablespoon sautéed minced jalapeno pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce OR you can use jalapeño stuffed olives instead of regular olives.

ROASTED PEPPERS (FRESH)

Preheat oven to 500°

Wash, drain and dry the peppers. Rub the peppers with olive oil by hand, just to coat them lightly. Place the peppers on a baking pan and roast on the top shelf of the 500E oven for about 20 minutes, turning once or twice. The skin should be well browned and will be blackened in some places.

Note: Thin peppers will have a shorter roasting time. It’s preferable to use fresh peppers that look very healthy and have good thick flesh.

The skin will become loose and easy to remove. Peal the skin off the peppers. Remove the stems, cores and seeds. Do not rinse. At this point you may use the peppers in any way that you would use pimientos.

Chop the roasted red peppers fine.

Daisy & Sherry's NOTES:

For the cheese, I like Cabot Seriously Sharp White Cheddar.

ROASTED PEPPERS (JARRED)

Sam's Club sells 33 oz jars of Member's Mark Whole Roasted Red Peppers. These are pinquillo peppers, just a different variety from the Spanish ones. Most of the ones you find in small jars at most supermarkets are just red peppers. Pinquillos are NOT hot, NOT spicy, but VERY tasty. They are quite short, unlike other jarred roasted red peppers.

Don't worry about the extras left in the jar. Wad up a full sheet or two of parchment and stuff down into the jar to keep the peppers submerged in the brine. They will keep in fridge for quite a while.

These little suckers are REALLY good stuffed. With almost ANYTHING savory. Boursin, plain cream cheese, flavored cheeses, goat cheese, mixture of crème fraîche & crab - you name it. I’ve been known to stuff ‘em with a wedge of Laughing Cow. Once stuffed, you can pan fry them. Or not. DH preferred 'em fried; I like 'em just stuffed at room temp. Our beer drinking friends like 'em with beer. Our wine drinkers like with wine. Our Baptist and Mormon friends just don't have any fun at all.

They are NOT a hot pepper, just a tasty one. We tried regular jarred red peppers, but they aren't as good in the cheese spread. Pinquillos are short - just a mouthful or two when stuffed. Regular roasted red peppers are much longer and not nearly as tasty.

Have had the recipe for well over a dozen years. A number of years back when we had dinner at Magnolias, we asked about the recipe - we were told they used to use just regular red peppers, but they reworked the recipe to use pinquillos as customers seemed to like the spread better. They also sometimes use cerignola olives instead of regular stuffed ones. When I make it, I add one or two minced shallots to the mixture.

Re: Pimiento cheese

magicmoodz — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 21:36:57 GMT

I never tasted pimento cheese until I lived in the South. I learned to make it using a good white cheddar, chopped pimento stuffed olives, mayo, a little garlic powder and pepper.

Good on cocktail rye/pumpernickel or with crackers as an easy appetizer.

Re: Pimiento cheese

RedTop — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 21:47:25 GMT

My husband loves pimento cheese, and his favorite recipe uses sharp cheddar, Velveeta, pimentoes, Miracle Whip and a dash of cayenne pepper. Due to food allergies, I generally stay away from cheese, but will push my limits by eating a bite of this on crackers, or spread thinly on one slice of bread.

Re: Pimiento cheese

stilltamn8r — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 22:38:29 GMT

I really like the idea of green olives in this, they just seem to go hand in hand with pimientos!

Re: Pimiento cheese

DiAnne — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 22:41:12 GMT

On 4/4/2014 stilltamn8r said:
Thanks! sounds like everyone starts with a similar "base" and then embellishes it...

I am really enjoying seeing what all everyone likes in THEIRS...

to DIanne..do you have a Cost Plus near you in Seattle? They carry Duke's sometimes..(psst...don't tell the southern ladies, but Best foods is pretty close!)

There is a Cost Plus in the next town. I will check the next time I am there. Thanks.

Re: Pimiento cheese

magicmoodz — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 23:41:24 GMT

On 4/4/2014 stilltamn8r said:
I really like the idea of green olives in this, they just seem to go hand in hand with pimientos!

still ~ if you like olives, they really do add a whole new dimension of flavor!

Re: Pimiento cheese

stilltamn8r — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 00:24:17 GMT

LOVE 'em!