Pimento Cheese

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Believe it or not this was my first time ever making pimento cheese. Pretty incredible considering it's a staple item for almost any Southern gathering, particularly those involving tea sandwiches. From showers to ladies luncheons to church picnics, pimento cheese, usually in sandwich form, is guaranteed to make an appearance. I have to confess though, that I just never really cared for pimento cheese...at all. However, Hubs loves it. He asks for it all the time and I always find a reason not  to make it. Somehow pimento cheese came up recently in conversation (we talk about food a lot!) and once again Hubs said how much he loved the stuff. I just happened to have all the necessary ingredients on hand,so I thought I'd surprise him with some homemade pimento cheese. To find a recipe I thought I'd start right at the top and consult the godfather of Southern foods, Chef Frank Stitt. I'll admit that if my first experience with pimento cheese was this pimento cheese, it wouldn't have taken me so long to make it.

You say tomato, I say...

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Long hot days, shorts, flip flops, and juicy red ripe tomatoes; it must be summer! I look forward to eating those first tomatoes of the summer, all year. I love eating them anyway, on a sandwich, in a salad, or even just sliced with a sprinkle of salt. In the July issue of Southern living, they have a whole section dedicated to fresh tomato recipes. This one for tomato pie caught my eye. I had about 6 super ripe tomatoes (from my parents farm) that I needed to use, so I decided to make the tomato pie. It is fabulous! Flaky crust, lots of fresh herbs, and of course tomatoes, all baked together under a little cheese...amazing! This is the perfect recipe for in season, really ripe, tasty tomatoes. I would not recommend making it with your run of the mill grocery store tomatoes.Find a farmers market, farm stand, or farm trail, near you, get some tomatoes and enjoy a true bite of summer.

Tomato Pie
Virginia Willis, Southern Living 
JULY 2012 
Printable Recipe

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 to 4 Tbsp. ice-cold water

For the filling:
2 1/4 pounds  very ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, divided
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup assorted chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme, chives, parsley,and basil)
1/2 cup freshly grated Swiss cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise 

Method:


The crust: 

Process first 4 ingredients in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor running, gradually add 3 Tbsp. ice-cold water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, and process until dough forms a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding up to 1 Tbsp. more water, if necessary. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°. Unwrap pie crust dough, and place on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle with flour. Roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness.

Place the rolled out dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim dough 1 inch larger than diameter of pie plate; fold overhanging dough under itself along rim of pie plate, crimp a decorative edge, if desired. Chill 30 minutes or until firm.
Line piecrust with aluminum foil; fill with pie weights or dried beans. (This will keep the crust from bubbling up.) Place on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake at 425° for 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil. Bake 5 minutes or until browned. Cool completely on baking sheet on a wire rack.
For the filling:

Reduce oven temperature to 350°. Place tomatoes in a single layer on paper towels; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté onion and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper in hot oil in a skillet over medium heat 3 minutes or until tender. Pat tomatoes dry with a paper towel. Layer tomatoes, onion, and herbs in the cooled pie crust, seasoning each layer with pepper (1 tsp. total). Stir together cheeses and mayonnaise; spread over the top of the pie.
 Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. If needed, shield the edges of the crust with foil to prevent excessive browning. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Celebrate Summer!