# Roasted Bell Pepper cheese



## one eyed jack (Nov 5, 2015)

A pal introduced me to Bobby Flay's recipe for "Pimento Cheese" a while back and I have been tweaking it a little more over the 8 to 10 times I have made it.

I didn't grow up in a "Pimento Cheese" household but have grown real fond of this stuff.

Here is the original Flay recipe as I was given it.

Bobby Flay Pimento Cheese

Pimento Cheese:
1 1/2 pounds extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, coarsely grated 
1 cup prepared mayonnaise
1 cup drained and finely diced roasted red peppers
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

And here is what I have settled on as my own "go to" recipe

Keeper Roasted Pepper Cheese

24 oz.  Sharp Cheddar cheese

3 fresh red Bell peppers

1 Cup + Mayo  (1 & 1/8th Cup)

2 Tbsp.  Dijon mustard  (I use Grey Poupon)

2 teaspoon onion powder

7 teaspoon Garlic powder.  (Kirkland granulated garlic)      (I like garlic but even with this amount it is not anywhere near overpowering).   

1 teaspoon Cumin

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

15 shakes Texas Pete  (This is going to be more than 15 drops,  Probably double that).

Three red bell peppers getting started.













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Getting there













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Steaming after roasting helps loosen the skin for pealing.













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Things get a little messy at this point.  I slice the peppers from stem to bottom and open them up, cut around the stem and remove it, and lay them flat. There will be a fair amount of HOT liquid inside and it will take a little "fussing around" to remove all the seeds and "webbing" inside the peppers.  I use a lot of paper towels to dry the peppers as much as possible.

Here they are with the insides cleaned up and ready for the skins to be removed.  The more completely you get the outsides blackened the easier the skinning will go.  I dry the peppers again after skinning.  You want the diced peppers to be as dry as possible so that it doesn't dilute your sauce too much.













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__ one eyed jack
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Sauce ingredients all ready to blend together.  I let the sauce blend in the fridge for at least an hour after blending together, add the diced peppers and let sit.  Usually over night.













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__ one eyed jack
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Blended sauce and diced peppers.   I like to chop about a third of the peppers to a fairly large size, though that may not be apparent in these photos.













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__ one eyed jack
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Sauce and diced peppers all mixed up.













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All done and time for an "Original Club cracker" which is my go to cracker for this recipe.













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Close up













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Just realized that I don't have a pic of it sitting on a cracker.  I'll try to post one up later.


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## bmaddox (Nov 5, 2015)

When I was growing up I always thought pimento cheese was nasty when I saw my parents eat it. Now I love the stuff.

This looks really good. I am going to have to give this a try.


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## one eyed jack (Nov 5, 2015)

bmaddox said:


> When I was growing up I always thought pimento cheese was nasty when I saw my parents eat it. Now I love the stuff.
> 
> This looks really good. I am going to have to give this a try.


Hope it works out well for you. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I have pretty much settled with the recipe as I wrote it in the revised version.  If you come up with any tweeks that you like please post them up.


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## joe black (Nov 5, 2015)

Looks really great.  I ate a lot of PC when I was younger, but got away from it for some reason.  I will be trying this soon.  The recipe looks very good.


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## one eyed jack (Nov 5, 2015)

Joe Black said:


> Looks really great. I ate a lot of PC when I was younger, but got away from it for some reason. I will be trying this soon. The recipe looks very good.


Thanks Joe.  Hope you like it.  Let me know if you make any tweaks to it.

I've been trying to figure out how to use fresh pressed garlic rather than the powder but am concerned about winding up with garlic "hot spots".


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## sfprankster (Nov 5, 2015)

My grandparents used to make a variation on this when I was small. I would sit with my grandfather and uncle eating combinations of pepperoncini's, blue cheese, salami and pimento cheese on crackers watching the A's games at the Oakland Coliseum.

I might have to give this a try for a Thanksgiving appetizer.


One eyed Jack said:


> I've been trying to figure out how to use fresh pressed garlic rather than the powder but am concerned about winding up with garlic "hot spots".


Have you tried grating the garlic using a fine microplane? It will make the garlic a much finer texture, with a more liquid consistency. Or swap out the mayo for garlic aioli.


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## jted (Nov 6, 2015)

I WANT SOME!


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## chef jimmyj (Nov 6, 2015)

Growing up in NJ I never heard of this stuff...Until I tried it! Great and makes a killer Grilled Cheese sandwich or as a Burger topping with Bacon. 

The Microplane works well or Press or Mince the Garlic. Add the Salt, as an abrasive, then using the side of a Chef's Knife or Bench Scaper smear and work the Garlic into a paste. I use a couple Tablespoons of fine grated Onion instead of powder. Chopped Scallion and Bacon add a nice twist too. Nice Post...JJ


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## one eyed jack (Nov 6, 2015)

sfprankster said:


> My grandparents used to make a variation on this when I was small. I would sit with my grandfather and uncle eating combinations of pepperoncini's, blue cheese, salami and pimento cheese on crackers watching the A's games at the Oakland Coliseum.
> 
> I might have to give this a try for a Thanksgiving appetizer.
> 
> Have you tried grating the garlic using a fine microplane? It will make the garlic a much finer texture, with a more liquid consistency. Or swap out the mayo for garlic aioli.


I do have a microplane but had not thought to try it with garlic but I will soon.  I would like to hear of any changes you make if you try this recipe. 

My Mom's Dad and my brothers and I would share plain popcorn as we sat listening to the Cardinals games.  Fond memories.

Thanks for checking out my thread and thanks for the tip on the microplane.


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## one eyed jack (Nov 6, 2015)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Growing up in NJ I never heard of this stuff...Until I tried it! Great and makes a killer Grilled Cheese sandwich or as a Burger topping with Bacon.
> 
> The Microplane works well or Press or Mince the Garlic. Add the Salt, as an abrasive, then using the side of a Chef's Knife or Bench Scaper smear and work the Garlic into a paste. I use a couple Tablespoons of fine grated Onion instead of powder. Chopped Scallion and Bacon add a nice twist too. Nice Post...JJ


Thanks for the professional tips Chef Jim.  I appreciate your sharing your training and will give your tips a try.  I am always happy for the opportunity to add professional methods to my cooking skills.

I will add some bacon to some of the next batch that I make.  I have used the spread on a burger and will try it for grilled cheese soon.

Thanks for checking out my thread and for your comments.


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## one eyed jack (Nov 6, 2015)

jted said:


> I WANT SOME!


Give it a try JTed.  It's a simple recipe.  Let me know what you think of it.

Thanks for checking in.


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## driedstick (Nov 6, 2015)

Looks great very nice side,,, 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





DS


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## one eyed jack (Nov 6, 2015)

driedstick said:


> Looks great very nice side,,,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for checking it out and the point DS.  I appreciate it.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Nov 7, 2015)

Looks tasty! So when's this hunk of cheese going in the smoker??? 

We've used it in Mac and cheese with bacon, tasty!


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## one eyed jack (Nov 7, 2015)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Looks tasty! So when's this hunk of cheese going in the smoker???
> 
> We've used it in Mac and cheese with bacon, tasty!


I do have plans on using some of my smoked Cheddar for the recipe but till now, I have just been playing with spice ingredients in order to settle on a flavor that I like.

Next on the to try list is incorporating Chef Jimmy's tip on the garlic to determine proper quantity of fresh garlic in the recipe.  I will try it with smoked cheese soon, though.

(Or were you thinking of trying to cold smoke the completed recipe?  That might be worth a try too).

Thanks for checking out my thread, Case.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Nov 7, 2015)

You could go either route with the smoking. Either use smoked cheese or cold smoke the final pimento cheese. I have used smoked cheese in ours and its good. I have not smoked the final product though. 

Couple other things to try. We have used plain Greek yogurt in place of mayo. We have also added cream cheese. I put worchestershire in mine.


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## one eyed jack (Nov 7, 2015)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> You could go either route with the smoking. Either use smoked cheese or cold smoke the final pimento cheese. I have used smoked cheese in ours and its good. I have not smoked the final product though.
> 
> Couple other things to try. We have used plain Greek yogurt in place of mayo. We have also added cream cheese. I put worchestershire in mine.


Using smoked cheese seems like the better idea, to me.  To much stirring involved in trying to get the pre-made flavored I think.

Thanks for the tip on the yogurt.  That thought had not occurred to me.  I had thought about cream cheese but not the "what's this here" sauce.  About how much are you using say to a 24 oz. cheese mix?

Thanks for the further tips.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Nov 7, 2015)

Probably 2-3 teaspoons of worchestershire.


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## disco (Nov 8, 2015)

This is something I will try. Thanks for the recipe.

Points.

Disco


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## b-one (Nov 8, 2015)

Looks great OEJ, I really like the scallion and bacon addition ideas! But your cracker choice is incorrect the only good cracker is Chicken in a biscut!!:biggrin:


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## one eyed jack (Nov 8, 2015)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Probably 2-3 teaspoons of worchestershire.


Thanks Case.  I'll give that a shot.


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## one eyed jack (Nov 8, 2015)

Disco said:


> This is something I will try. Thanks for the recipe.
> 
> Points.
> 
> Disco


Thanks for checking it out and the point Disco.  I look forward to hearing how it works out for you.


b-one said:


> Looks great OEJ, I really like the scallion and bacon addition ideas! But your cracker choice is incorrect the only good cracker is Chicken in a biscut!!


Hey B-one.  I agree on the bacon and scallions.  I don't think that I've ever had a chicken in a biscuit, but I'll try most thing at least once.


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