back down south

a few weeks back we spent a fantastic week down south in birmingham, al..  while shooting for cooking light magazine, we ate and drank our way through a town full of fantastic food.  we were showed lots of amazing southern hospitality, eating way too much fried okra, drinking lots of good people beer and connected with great friends like hector sanchez and mairin cooper carins.

this version of our pimento cheese is one we made for our friend dimity's birthday party. she had bbq flown in from butts to go, which we were also lucky enough to hit up while in al – they also happen to have the best potato salad we ever tasted. by no means are we experts on southern food and we definitely don’t discriminate – any bbq , bourbon cocktail or pimento cheese dish is good in our book! here’s what we think is a simple tasty recipe that’s perfect for any summer gathering and has an unexpected kick from easy refrigerator jalapeno pickles.

PIMENTO CHEESE WITH PICKLED JALAPENOS

4 medium jalapenos, thinly sliced

½ cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbs granulated sugar

pinch salt
½ tsp whole black peppercorns
½ tsp whole coriander seeds

combine jalapenos, vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns and coriander seeds and shake well. refrigerate for at least 3 days and up to 2 weeks.

8oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup mayonnaise
4oz sliced pimientos
12oz shredded sharp cheddar
½ tsp sweet paprika
¼ tsp salt
2 green onions, chopped
½ Tbs fresh black pepper
Saltine crackers to serves

in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and mayonnaise, until blended.  add Pimientos, cheddar, paprika, salt, onion and pepper and stir until just combined. can be made and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. serve with saltine crackers and top with pickled jalapenos.

all images ©andrew pucell 2013