{"id":12385,"date":"2019-07-31T09:01:28","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T13:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/?p=12385"},"modified":"2019-07-31T09:01:36","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T13:01:36","slug":"a-summer-spread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/?p=12385","title":{"rendered":"A Summer Spread"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Summertime \u2026 and the food is easy!<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m busy getting ready for my annual summer concert. This coming Sunday, pianist Jerry Noble and I will celebrate the 100th birthday of George Gershwin\u2019s first big hit, \u201cSwanee,\u201d with a concert of songs by the composer and his brother Ira.<\/span><\/p>\n

So naturally I want to name everything I cook after a Gershwin song. I recently made a blueberry crisp I dubbed \u201cRhapsody in Blue.\u201d (Really, just about anything with fresh local blueberries makes me feel rhapsodic.) I\u2019m contemplating a pork dish called \u201cPorky and Bess.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And every simple appetizer can be called \u201cSummertime.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

My most recent venture into appetizers is a chipotle pimento cheese spread. I lived for many years in the American South, where pimiento cheese is a staple. Last year in Virginia, I discovered chipotle pimiento cheese in a grocery store. I thought adding the smoky flavor of chipotles (which are basically smoked jalape\u00f1os) to pimiento cheese was a brilliant idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the product from the grocery store suffered from the same problem that much pimiento cheese encounters: it had too much mayonnaise. I consequently concocted my own chipotle version, which is (in my humble opinion) pretty perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n

The recipe below needs some mayonnaise in order to smooth out the spread, but you shouldn\u2019t end up with more than 1\/4 to 1\/2 cup of the stuff. If you\u2019re unfamiliar with chipotles in adobo, look for them in small cans in the Latin section of a supermarket. If you\u2019d like to see me make it on TV, follow this link<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enjoy the summer spiciness \u2026 and do come to our concert if you\u2019re in the neighborhood!<\/span><\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

4 ounces roasted red peppers (a.k.a. pimientos), drained (reserve 1 tablespoon of the liquid) and roughly chopped
1 to 2 chipotles in adobo, seeded if you like them mild, coarsely chopped
several turns of the pepper grinder
1 tablespoon roasted-red-pepper brine
1 to 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from the chipotle can
1\/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
mayonnaise to taste (start with 2 tablespoons)<\/span><\/p>\n

Instructions:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Place the pimientos, the chipotles, the pepper, the brine, and the adobo sauce in a mini-food processor. Whir until combined. Toss in the cheese, and combine again. Add mayonnaise until the spread achieves a silky consistency.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a mini-food processor, beat the heck out of the mixture with an electric mixture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chill the cheese blend for at least 1\/2 hour. Serve with crackers or vegetables. Makes about 1-1\/2 cups.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Summertime \u2026 and the food is easy! I\u2019m busy getting ready for my annual summer concert. This coming Sunday, pianist Jerry Noble and I will celebrate the 100th birthday of George Gershwin\u2019s first big hit, \u201cSwanee,\u201d with a concert of songs by the composer and his brother Ira. So naturally I want to name everything […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[2002,1290,1249],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12385"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12393,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12385\/revisions\/12393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}