Pimiento Cheese - Tavern Crock of Cheese

 Adapted from the Colonial Williamsburg Chowning Tavern recipe to feed less than a tavern full of people 

mix together well:

1 quart mayo

8 oz cream cheese, softened 

1 T salt

1 T black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 oz horseradish

1 oz Worcestershire sauce

1 T hot sauce (like Texas Pete)

1 lemon, zested and juiced  

couple tablespoons chopped shallots or finely chopped sweet onion

~ 1/2 jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

stir in:

1.5 pounds shredded cheddar cheese - I prefer a mix of yellow and white extra sharp cheddar, maybe with a bit of smoked cheddar or dubliner as well

 

Serve with crackers and/or veggie slices.   Could easily be converted into a cheeseball.   

Pub Cheese (cheddar cheese spread)

So did you know you can actually make "pub cheese" pretty easily?

I did yesterday - 1 pound shredded good cheddar (shred it, don't buy shredded, because of the additives!), about 6 ounces shredded Dubliner. One cube frozen crushed garlic (or one clove through a garlic press), one spoonful good mustard .... then start drizzling in a bit of apple cider and/or beer and running all the ingredients in the food processor until smooth! It was really good. I think I ended up using about 3/4 cup of liquid, using half cider, half stout. Definitely a recipe that needs a full size food processor.

Here's what it looked like right before processing: 

It was spectacular.   My four year old kept begging for just one more crackerful.   It would be excellent with soft pretzel nuggets too.   

Cheese drawer odds and ends Mac & Cheese

A loose recipe I make every so often when I have some good cheese on hand ....

1st. Boil and drain one pound of pasta to al dente, drain and set aside. (I tend to use penne or ziti, but if you have elbows on hand, that is fine too)

2nd. Make a roux - melt half a stick of butter in a large pot. Whisk in about a quarter cup flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it's a light brown with a light scent of toast.

3rd. Mix in about a pint of milk, stirring constantly as it comes up to temperature (the flour will thicken the liquid as it comes to a boil). Season with mustard (dry powder or a prepared dijon or brown would be best), a few tablespoons of sherry or white wine, paprika, garlic powder or finely minced garlic, onion powder, pepper (preferably white pepper), nutmeg.

4th. Mix in about a pound of cheese, shredded. In my last batch I think I used fontina, cheddar, parmesan and a little bit each of Parrano and swiss. Any "real" cheese (except those studded with apricots or jalapenos) will work. Items that say "velveeta" or "cheese product" just won't do. This is a GREAT way to use up any bits in your cheese drawer. Anything from asiago to ricotta to brie to dubliner .... your mac and cheese will be different each time, but for a mouse like me, always a success. Save a little of one type for the top. Mix the rest in, stirring until it is all melted.

5th. Mix the pasta into the milk/cheese mixture. Taste to make sure it is seasoned to your liking. If you want, add some chopped ham or turkey or chicken (cooked) at this point. You could also mix in any veggie that is not high water content - already roasted pepper or cooked and drained peas, for instance.

6th. Divide into casserole dishes. This will make two good size round casserole dishes, or one generous 13 x 9 plus a bit left over.

7th. Top with the reserved cheese you saved for the top, and if desired some buttered panko crumbs or bread crumbs or crushed ritz crackers.

8th. Refrigerate for later or pop into a 375 degree oven until bubbly.

Apple Sausage and Cheddar Quiche

I started putting apple in quiche about three years ago, and LOVED the way it turned out, so have been doing it ever since. Apples are complimented especially well with sausage and some variety of cheddar cheese.

For two 9" quiche (the clear glass pie dishes are best for this):

2 handrolled, from Grammy's old family recipe, pie crusts (wink, wink):

5 apples (I prefer to use multiple varieties), peeled and chunked:

1 pound of sausage, browned and then sliced. (this was an apple chicken sausage from Trader Joes):

Put the apples and sausage in the pie crusts:

Top with about 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can mix in asiago, dubliner, fontina, gouda, etc from the bits in your cheese drawer:

Crack 8 jumbo or 10 large eggs, mix with cracked black pepper, nutmeg, 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, a sprinkling of parsley and a dash of garlic powder, and a cup and a quarter of whole milk plus a big spoonful of sour cream (many quiche recipes call for half and half or heavy cream but I rarely have those in my fridge):

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Let it cool for at least twenty minutes before serving:

20 Minute Shrimp and Grits

This is NOT the same as the slow-cooked-all day miracle that is shrimp and grits. But it was pretty tasty.

The 20 minute time was accomplished by:

1. using already slow-cooked grits in a package from my beloved Trader Joes:

2. using frozen already cut peppers and onions from BJ's:

3. Microwaving things.

4. Using thawed already cooked shrimp (bought on sale, of course!):

5. Using marmalade from a jar. (ok, if you factor in the time MAKING marmalade, this would be 500 minute shrimp and grits. But that was back in March. It doesn't count).


Microwave the frozen onions and peppers until they are cooked. Meanwhile pull the tails off the shrimp and set aside. Open the tube of cooked grits, and pour into a bowl. The grits go into the microwave after the onions and peppers.

In a pot, pour about a cup of white wine, 1/2 pint of marmalade, cajun seasoning (a tablespoon?), a tablespoon or two of molasses, and bring to a boil, then immediately turn down. Add pepper/onion mixture and keep stirring occasionally.

Shred some cheddar cheese, and mix into the grits.

Add the shrimp at the last second - just long enough to warm the shrimp all the way through.

Scoop grits in a bowl, and spoon shrimp mixture over top:

Nachos!

Sometimes you just crave melted cheese. Without paying take-out prices.

Preheat oven to 450. Layer on pan:




Corn tortilla chips, preferably not very salty




taco meat (leftover from the taco salad. shredded chicken, leftover or canned would be an alternate protein)



black beans



shredded cheddar



Bake for 3-5 minutes. Watch them!!



Then add:

tomatoes (I used multi-colored cherry tomatoes from my last CSA box)




sliced peppers, hot or not:


then salsa (GREAT way to use up the last of jars in your fridge) and sour cream: