Antiques... Food & Wine... ART! Make a Day of It in the Village of Millwood
April 24 through May 9 Sunday - Friday, 12-5 Saturdays, 10-6
Sunny Bouquet by Trisha Adams
COVID Protocols will be observed.
Art Mill at the
Burwell-Morgan Mill, Millwood, VA 540.955.2600 540.837.1799
https://www.clarkehistory.org/art-mill.html Sponsored by The Clarke County Historical Association and Tito’s Vodka
24
Pimento Cheese, the Guest of Honor at Every Southern Celebration
P
By Daniela Anderson
imento cheese is a “Southern Institution,” one of the region’s most legendary, quintessential staples. From a well-known, annual golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia to baby showers, church picnics and tailgates, Pimento cheese always adds to a celebration. Actually, this delectable concoction originated in New York State in the 1870s, when farmers started making a soft, unripened cheese similar to French Neufchatel which they called cream cheese. Simultaneously Spain started exporting canned sweet red peppers, called Pimientos, to the United States. The “i” in Pimiento was dropped, and they became known as Pimentos. In 1908, an article in Good Housekeeping published a recipe blending cream cheese, chives, mustard and pimentos as a sandwich filling and gave birth to “pimento cheese.” In 1910, commercially prepared Pimento cheese hit the market and quickly became popular. The following year, farmers in Georgia began growing domestic pimentos to keep up with the demand. After World War II, home cooks started making their own version, swapping out the cream cheese for “hoop cheese,” and then later, cheddar. They added mayo to bind it all together, and voila, this Southern icon was born. Decades later, there are as many variations as there are personal preferences. The most interesting recipe I received came from a friend from Georgia, passed down from her grandmother’s housekeeper. She roasted her own red peppers, DANIELA’S SIGNATURE leaving just a bit of the charred PIMENTO CHEESE skin on the pepper for depth of flavor. 1 lb extra sharp yellow cheddar The most amusing anecdote 1 lb extra sharp white cheddar came from my friend Rebecca 4 oz cream cheese (room temperature) Webert. Pimento cheese shows 1/2 cup shredded Vidalia onion up at all her family functions. 9 oz fire roasted red peppers or jarred pimentos “I had to call my grandmother 1/2 cup Duke’s mayonnaise, plus another 1/4 cup to get the recipe because I’m not 2 tsp garlic powder old enough to be trusted with a 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce written copy yet, ” she said. “And 2 tsp Louisiana hot sauce she made sure to ask if I had a Ground fresh pepper, to taste hand mixer, because it was a must In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and for this.” mayonnaise with a hand blender until smooth. Grate She definitely hasn’t told her the yellow and white cheddar cheese and add to grandmother that she now uses bowl. Add the garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, a food processor. ground fresh pepper and Louisiana hot sauce. Mix Cookeville, Tennessee native using hand mixer until all the ingredients are well Suzi Worsham, another friend, blended. Add the roasted red peppers or pimentos. suggested the following tip. If roasting your own peppers, remove the skins and “Taste your pimento cheese after seeds after roasting and chop into small pieces. it’s been sitting for several hours Mix with hand mixer until well blended. When or overnight to see if you need to you reach your preferred consistency, add 1/4 cup add that little addition that makes more mayonnaise to compensate for absorption by it your version.” the cheese over the following 24 hours. Flavors will Suzi owned Heart in Hand deepen and intensify over the next 12-24 hours and restaurant in Clifton for 30 the cheese is best after 48 hours. Keep refrigerated years and wrote a popular cookbook called Cooking with before serving. Heart in Hand.
Go Green Middleburg | Spring 2021
