Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

 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.   

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.   

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" ...

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...

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 st...

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: