Pimento Cheese Frittata Food

PIMENTO CHEESE GRITS

Steps:

• Put the bacon in a medium pot over medium heat and cook until crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Add the scallion whites and garlic to the pot to cook in the residual bacon fat. Cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then pour in the warmed stock. Raise the heat and bring it to a boil.
• Slowly whisk in the grits. Cook until the liquid is all absorbed, about 5 minutes, then stir in the cream cheese, pimentos, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, adobo, mustard, salt and pepper to taste and half of the reserved bacon. Serve garnished with the remaining bacon and reserved scallion greens.

PIMENTO CHEESE FRITTATA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place the cream cheese pieces in the freezer.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, red-pepper flakes and black pepper until combined.
• Add the olive oil, onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeño to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and sauté over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the pimiento peppers, reserving their liquid. Turn off the heat. Add the reserved pimiento liquid (about ⅓ cup) to the eggs and whisk to combine.
• Spread the cooked vegetables in an even layer in the skillet. Sprinkle the Cheddar, chives and chilled cream cheese over the vegetables. Pour the egg mixture on top.
• Bake until the eggs are set, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before serving warm or at room temperature.

SOUTHERN PIMENTO CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, minced jalapeno, and pimento into the large bowl of a mixer. Beat at medium speed, with paddle if possible, until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

PIMENTO MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to package instructions. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the panko and cook, stirring often, until golden and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Melt remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add flour and paprika, stir well, and cook until vegetables are coated, about 1 minute.
• While whisking, carefully stream in the milk until smooth and incorporated. Bring to a simmer while continuing to whisk. Simmer, whisking often, until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the Cheddar cheese, cream cheese and pimentos, and stir until the cheese is completely melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add cooked pasta and stir to coat. Transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly. Evenly sprinkle the toasted panko on top. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then serve.

PIMENTO CHEESE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

PIMENTO CHEESE, AUTHENTIC SOUTHERN STYLE

Steps:

• Rough cut all blocks of cheese into chunks about the size of a 50 cent piece.
• In your food processor with the regular blade, chop the extra sharp cheddar. You may have to do this in batches so you don't get a big lump. Return any removed cheese to the processing bowl and add a couple dollops of mayo and one jar of very well drained pimentos and whir up until blended nicely.
• Scrape the sharp cheddar, mayonnaise and pimento mixture into a large bowl.
• Change your blade to the shredding blade. Shred both the Colby and the sharp cheddar in batches. Put in a separate bowl. (Again, batches will be necessary.).
• Add the shredded cheese to the whirred up cheese folding it in a little at a time. Alternating with dollops of mayo and more of the drained pimentos. Lastly, stir in a smidge of cayenne. You don't want it to be hot, just have personality.
• Don't over stir to mush, but make sure everything is well incorporated.
• Some notes:.
• **Yes, one could use Hellman's instead. But please, no Miracle Whip. Also, no low fat or light mayo. Your already eating a ton of cheese, that light mayo won't help you any.
• **Serve on very fresh white bread or Ritz Crackers if you are feeling fancy or are serving company. One piece of bread folded in half will transport you home, I'm sure. Yes, you could use anything else you like. It's great by the finger full, on hot dogs, hamburgers and crudités too.).
• **If you can't find the chopped pimentos. Go ahead and buy the fancy jarred red bell peppers, drain them well and chop / shred them in the food processor. They are the same thing, just more expensive.
• **This stays good in the refrigerator for up to a month. (If it lasts that long.) Even with mayo? Yes -- How long do you keep your mayonnaise jar in the fridge? Ya'll will know when it's gone bad; the green furry stuff will take over. If it has just a little though, you can scrape it off and its fine. (Now the Food Safety people may disagree with me here, but it never killed any of us, so it's up to you.)
• **This makes four (4) 16oz Ball jelly jars. Enough to keep and some to share.
• **Please, for the love of God above -- don't buy pre-shredded cheese. It is too expensive and has extra ingredients in it that keep the shreds separate. 1 cup by volume of shredded cheese is not the same as 8oz of weight. You could go ALLLLL authentic and grate by hand with a box grater and work off some of the calories you'll eat when tasting for perfection. It's tough though. Please, beg, borrow or all but steal to get a food processor for this one.
• **The mix of cheeses is as similar as you can get to the old government cheese from which this recipe was initially invented. We were just fortunate enough not to be on the list for those 10lb blocks of cheese, but one would find this mixture very similar.
• ** There is no cream cheese in this recipe. You get the creaminess from the way you process the extra sharp cheddar.
• **Fancy cheese is not necessary. Get generic, it's perfectly fine.
• **If you've ever had the kind in the jar and hated it, no worries. This is totally different. That other stuff is chemical in a jar.
• **Please, enjoy with your choice of a Mason jar of sweet tea, some very sweet red Kool-Aid or fruit punch Fla-Vor-Aid! I hope if your familar that it take you back. If it's new to you -- it can be a new tradition. It's like grilled cheese without the grill.
• Lip Smack -- ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!