Pimento Cheese

Pimento cheese was one of those treats I always looked forward to growing up.

This recipe came from my grandmother, who got it from a Mennonite man on a trip to Virginia.  No clue where it came from before that, but it's my favorite...and today I'm going to share it with you!  A few weeks ago our friends Christian and Laci took a trip to North Carolina and had Pimento Cheese for the first time and loved it.  Her excitement re-inspired me to make it for an upcoming picnic - thanks Laci!  :)

Ingredients
1 pound Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 pound Colby Jack Cheese
1 pound Velveeta
8 ounce jar pimentos (chopped)
4 Tablespoons sugar
1.5 cups mayonnaise (or more if needed)



Directions

Grate all cheese.  The Velveeta is quite soft (and can be hard to grate), so it helps to put it in the freezer for a while so it stiffens up.  Be careful of fingers - don't go too fast...grating thumbs hurts.

Strain pimentos and chop them a little more.

Then combine the pimentos, sugar and mayo.

Refrigerate a few hours before enjoying.  Serve with crackers or on a sandwich, and it'll make your day.  We also like to make grilled pimento cheese sandwiches.  Just butter the outsides of your bread, fill with 1/4 cup of pimento cheese, and cook on low in  frying pan...just like you would a regular grilled cheese sandwich.  Creamy, melted goodness.

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Southern Season and Dad's New Car

Happy New Year's Eve!  As we're gearing up for a fun evening of games, old friends, and snacks, I thought I'd share one of my new favorite store experiences with you - Southern Season.  But first...

Last Saturday, we went to Raleigh to pick up my dad's newwwwww car!  He'd been looking for a new car for some time, and finally settled on the 2013 Avalon.  Toyota totally updated the body of the car - it's much sportier now - and it drives even more smoothly than his last one.  It's got lots of neat bells and whistles too, like heated seats, navigation, a bluetooth phone system that connects with your cell phone, and a "blind spot" warning system that flashes when someone may be hiding to your left or right!  So cool!

When we left the dealership, we decided to head over to Southern Season in Chapel Hill.  I've heard awesome things about this place, but had never been before, so I was excited!  

Southern Season is a huuuuuuge store full of specialty food, wines, kitchen gadgets, home decor, coffee and teas...you name it!  Apparently their restaurant is delicious too, but we weren't able to stay for dinner.

The perimeter of the store had different shops - a coffee bar, candy shop, old-timey ice cream store, a bakery & cheese shop, and a prepared food bar (which I literally had to drag husband away from).  

The center of the huge warehouse is sectioned off into different categories.  We started in the kitchen gadgets and then wove through every section, eyeing all the goodies.  Being December, there were lots of really cute Christmas things I wanted.  The thought of having to haul everything back to Boston was enough of a deterrent to keep me from buying everything in sight, though.  :)

We went home with some chocolate truffles for dad (which were devoured on Christmas day), some Angry Bird gummy candies for Mark's stocking, some crazy NC pickles for Trav's composition teacher (a pickle fanatic), and a North Carolina-shaped cheese board for me! 

If you're in the Raleigh area, this is a must-see.  So much fun!

Tomato Pie

One of our family Thanksgiving staples is tomato pie.  I got this recipe from my super-amazing mother-in-law (who also happens to be a fantastic cook), which I think is a variation of a Southern Living classic. I'm not 100% sure, but want to make sure credit is given where it's due!  :)

We've discovered this is a perfect side for Thanksgiving (it goes SO well with the turkey/gravy/mashed potato combo), but is even better when you've just pulled the tomatoes off the vine in a garden!

Ingredients

1 (9") deep dish pie shell (unbaked)
5 large tomatoes
3/4 cup mayo
1 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper
Basil (dried)
Garlic powder


Directions

Bake pie shell 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove from oven and slice tomatoes.

Take your fingers and remove seeds from tomato slices.  (This helps the pie from becoming watery.)  Layer tomatoes in shell, sprinkling each layer with salt, pepper, basil, and garlic powder.

Combine mayo and cheese.

Spread mixture on top of tomatoes.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until top browns.  Let pie stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.

You'll love it!