PIMENTO CHEESE
Pre-wedding with Mom. Trinity Episcopal Church, Houston, TX. 2000. How cool is Mom’s dress? It was hand dyed and very delicate. A friend of hers would refer to her “the Queen of Funk” when she would wear things like this.
Mom would meet you where you were. That was one of her great qualities. After she died, we were sorting her cds and I expressed interest in having the “Best of Chet Baker” one. I have fond memories of drinking wine and listening to it while cooking with my mom when I was probably college-age. It made me feel sophisticated. When I told this to my sister she was surprised, having never listened to it. She didn’t know Mom even liked Chet Baker! That’s ok - it was our thing, and I’m sure Elisabeth has a bunch of her own private memories with Mom.
When I was interested in something, Mom would immediately sign me up for magazine subscriptions. Fashion? Vogue and Women’s Wear Daily (like the real trade one - that came DAILY! Kind of overwhelming for a 15 year old, but cool nonetheless). Interior Design? Architectural Digest and House & Garden. Music? Rolling Stone, of course! I used to work at a boutique after school and would get invited to the store’s parties. Talk about sophisticated! One time, I was talking to this guy in the kitchen of my boss’s house. I was probably 15 and he was maybe late 30s or 40s. He asked me a bunch of creeper questions. Where do you live? “Mallette Street”. Which end? “Top of the hill”. Things like that. All of the sudden: “You’re Sarah Reed! You get Rolling Stone magazine!”. YIKES. (Turns out he was my mailman and actually a very nice guy.)
Anyway, on those Rolling Stone delivery days (remember that? When things weren’t readily available and you had to deliciously wait?), I would come home from school and Mom would have already read the magazine cover to cover. I remember her once saying, “I think we should get that new Del Fuegos album. It got a good review. I’d like to check them out.”. Um, what?!
Mom would sit in my room and sew while I puttered around doing Goth things. I was big on the band The Smiths in junior high. I remember Morrissey droning on and on “I know it’s over… I know it’s over … I know it’s over…” to which Mom quipped “I wish it were over!”. Regardless of my music choices, she hung in there because she wanted to spend time with me. And once, when listening to Southern Culture on the Skids, she popped up and started freaking CAMEL WALKING (it’s a dance) when “Walk Like a Camel” came on. Who knew she could do that?
Mom was hip to things. One thing she was SUPER hip to was Pimento Cheese. (My fave! I’m thinking of making a shirt that say “Pimento Cheese is Personal”.) I’m about to give you ALL THINGS PIMENTO from her recipes. Her basic Pimento Cheese recipe was from Bill Neal of Crook’s Corner fame. There’s also a Hatch Pimento Cheese recipe. (This is now my delicious default. This may be my Dad’s recipe, but I’m sure he’ll share.) Also, Pimento Cheese Biscuits. And some sort of faux Pimento mixture which I guess is used as a spice? Chime in if you know more about it. Remember you can always cut up roasted red peppers to use as pimentos. I actually prefer that.
BILL NEAL’S (CROOK’S CORNER) PIMENTO CHEESE
Makes 3 cups
12 oz aged white cheddar
1/3 c. grated Parmesan
¼ c diced canned pimentos, drained
6 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1½ tsp bourbon
¼ tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground cumin.
Grate cheddar by hand. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir lightly to mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
HATCH PIMENTO CHEESE
Makes 2 1/2 cups.
2 cups shredded Cabot or another good-quality white Cheddar
1/2 cup shredded sharp yellow Cheddar
1/3 cup roasted, minced Hatch chiles
1 tablespoon (or less) minced red onion
3-4 Tablespoons jarred roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 cup good mayonnaise (Duke’s)
dash of salt or fish sauce
In a bowl, combine ingredients. Mix gently with a fork, just enough to combine. Spread should still have plenty of texture. For a creamier consistency, add more mayonnaise. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
PIMENTO CHEESE BISCUITS
makes about 12
2 cups White Lily self-rising flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 cup whole milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. diced pimentos
melted butter for brushing tops
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, black pepper, and cayenne
stir in mayonnaise and milk until moistened
stir in cheese and pimentos
drop by heaping tablespoons on prepared baking sheet, about 2” apart
bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown
brush tops with melted butter
SMOKY PIMENTO SUBSTITUTE (SPICE)
Sweet hot smoky pepper spice / Quite hot.
3 tbsp. sweet paprika, preferably Hungarian
2 ¼ tsp. Loose smoky tea, such as Lapsang Souchong or Hu-kwa (about 2 teabags, cut open)
1 tsp. Cayenne pepper, or more to taste
put paprika, tea, and cayenne in blender or spice grinder and blend at least 1 minute, to finest possible powder. Let settle before removing cover.
Use a dry pastry brush to brush thru strainer.
Store tightly sealed away from light.
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