Ok, so since we are all cooking at home a lot, I thought I would go ahead and share some recipes. Canal House Cook Something: Recipes to Rely On by Christoper Hersheimer and Melissa Hamilton
is one of those basic recipe cookbooks that are great gifts for anyone who is just starting to cook. A lot of the recipes are just variations on a simple recipe. The one I tried out, Pimiento Cheese, is about as basic as it gets.
This is something my husband makes a lot, but he doesn’t really have a set recipe for it. So the other day when I was hosting my neighborhood book club (remember those days when you were allowed to have other people in your house :-)) and wanted to make something, I looked up the pimiento cheese recipe in Cook Something. My only complaint about this book was some of the recipes seemed a little old-fashioned and not really the kinds of things I’m usually cooking. My two favorite basic reference cookbooks are How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman and the always reliable Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. In fact, I need to get updated copies of both of these!
Anyway, even though you won’t be able to have friends over any time soon, maybe you can make some pimiento cheese to enjoy while attending your book club virtually. Take care everyone!
Pimiento Cheese
Makes 2 cups
- 8 ounces extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cups cream cheese, room temperature
- One 4-ounce jar pimientos, drained and chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated yellow onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pinch of ground cayenne
- Put all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until it is well blended and the Cheddar becomes creamy.
- Refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving.
My notes: I used an 8 ounce package of cream cheese. I don’t know how many cups that is. At my husband’s suggestion, I omitted the onion and used 1/2 teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. He also likes a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
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