Baked Pimento Cheese & Sausage

JUST AFTER I HAPPENED into making blueberry barbecue sauce and found my voice, I started thinking about appetizers that spoke of the region. Pimento cheese and crackers came to mind. And although other chefs have done pimento cheese to accolades, I just didn’t think it fully reflected the dip culture Down East. Then I thought of the artery cement my sister Leraine serves on Christmas Eve. Cream cheese, sausage, and Ro-Tel heated in a crockpot till somebody spoons it into a Frito Scoop. (I can’t believe I just wrote Frito Scoop in my book [Deep Run Roots].)

INGREDIENTS

3 cups pimento cheese

1 pound fresh sausage, cooked and crumbled (about 1½ cups)

⅔ cup panko bread crumbs”

PIMENTO CHEESE INGREDIENTS

Makes 3 cups

2 cups grated sharp yellow cheddar (about 10 ounces)

2 cups grated aged white cheddar (about 10 ounces)

½ cup finely diced roasted red peppers or pimentos

⅓ cup crushed canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes pulsed in a food processor

¼ cup of your favorite mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sour cream

¼ teaspoon hot sauce

½ teaspoon salt (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Make the pimento cheese: Combine everything but the salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Process for about 30 seconds on low till you have a slightly creamy cheese spread. Taste, add the salt if you wish, and paddle 10 seconds more. Chill till you’re ready to use.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Stir together the cold pimento cheese and the cooked, very well drained, and cooled sausage. Press it down into a 1-quart baking dish or 8-inch cast-iron skillet and top with the panko crumbs. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. The bread crumbs will not necessarily brown; they are there more to provide texture and to soak up some of the grease that rises to the top. When the baked cheese is done, it will be bubbling around all the edges.

Serve this with saltines, Ritz crackers, or toast. I like some pickles on the side.

Note: Using high-quality cheese makes a big difference here. At the very least, do not use pre-shredded cheese food from a bag. That stuff is often coated with a powdery substance that keeps it from clumping, but it also keeps it from tasting like cheese.