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Pimento Cheese Gift For Father’s Day

We love to give gifts of pimento cheese. It isn’t a “thing” in the Northeast, where we live. We can’t remember the last time we saw it in a cheese department. Yet it’s such a versatile cheese, to use on bagels, burgers, hors d’oeuvre, crackers and beer, and so much more.

> Here are 20 ways to use pimento cheese.

Pimento cheese is typically made with cheddar, but can be made with any cheese you can grate: jack, gouda, etc. Sometimes it’s mixed with cream cheese for super-spreadability.

For a cheese lover, a gift of pimento cheese can be an eye-opener.

Birdie’s Pimento Cheese, of South Hill, Virginia, is a venture that began as many small food businesses do: selling in local farmers markets.

After continually selling out their stock, Robin and Glenn Allen sold their 25-year-old printing business and set forth to make pimento cheese full-time.

You can buy a dozen different gifts online—all pimento cheeses with accompaniments from artisan crackers to charcuterie to nut mixes and pretzels.

Personally, we’d go for one of every pimento cheese flavor:

  • Classic
  • Cream Cheese + Black Pepper
  • Garlic Parmesan
  • Jalapeno
  • Smoked Gouda & Roasted Red Pepper
  •  
    Then, all you need is beer, wine, cocktails, or whatever to start the party (or the afternoon snack or the pre-dinner appetizers).
     
     
    > Head to BirdiesPimentoCheese.com to buy pimento cheese.

    > The History Of Pimento Cheese

     
     
    PIMENTO CHEESE RECIPES

  • Homemade Pimento Cheese
  • Pepperjack Pimento Cheese Recipe
  • Pimento Cheese Ball With Pecans
  • Pimento Cheese Cheeseburger
  • Pimento Cheese Pizza Rolls
  • Pimento Cheese & Sausage Dip
  •  


    [1] The pimento cheese is currently available in five flavors (all photos © Birdie’s).


    [2] One of 12+ gift options.


    [3] You pick the flavors with each item you order.

     

      

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    The Pepperoni Pizza Doughnut, Topped With Hormel Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp


    [1] Sweet and savory: pizza doughnuts topped with Hormel pepperoni cups (all photos © Hormel).


    [2] Beyond doughnuts, the pepperoni cups have uses in addition to pizza.


    [3] How about pepperoni cups on a salad?


    [4] A pepperoni cup grilled cheese sandwich.


    [5] How abut a pepperoni frittata, for breakfast, lunch or dinner?

     

    Move over, pizza bagel. You too, English muffin pizza. There’s a new round mini pizza in town: a pepperoni pizza doughnut (photos #1 and #2)!

    In honor of National Pizza Party Day, May 21st, The Doughnut Project in Greenwich Village, New York City, has teamed up with the makers of Hormel® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp.

    They’ve created a limited-edition pizza doughnut called “Cheese The Day.”

    And we love it!

    Known for its trend-forward, hand-crafted doughnuts, The Doughnut Project took inspiration from the little pepperoni cups, that fit easily on a doughnut, crostini, and just about any other place (see photos #3, #4 and #5).

    There’s more about the pepperoni cups below.

    Using half of a plain, unglazed doughnut as the base, Cheese The Day is topped with homemade marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and five yummy pieces of Hormel Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp.

    The sweet and savory doughnut is unlike anything The Doughnut Project offered before. It’s a new way to enjoy pizza that you just can’t pass up.

    The doughnuts will be served warm in-store from Friday, May 21st through Sunday, May 23rd.

    National Pizza Party Day is celebrated on the third Friday in May.
     
     
    HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PEPPERONI PIZZA DOUGHNUTS

    If you’re not in the neighborhood, we encourage you to pick up a bag of Hormel Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp and make your own.

  • If you can’t find unglazed doughnuts, slice a glazed doughnut in half. It will be sweeter than The Doughnut Project version, but it will still work.
  • Top the doughnut half with sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Bake until the cheese melts.
  •  
    This year, do something special: Have a Pepperoni Pizza Doughnut. Like regular pizza, you can eat any leftovers the next day.
     

    ABOUT HORMEL PEPPERONI CUP N’ CRISP

    Hormel Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp is a premium pizza topping uniquely crafted to curl into a bowl shape, cooked to crispy perfection.

    In the past, all pepperoni used to cup, but production efficiencies eliminated that aspect*. The current pepperoni cup shape—called the roni cup—was re-created by a Columbus, Ohio-based company called Ezzo Sausage Co. A restaurant supplier, Ace Endico, introduced them to the New York market in 2016.

    The cup style—versus the traditional flat slices—has been gaining in popularity in pizzerias, especially in New York City, where it appeals to the many foodies who are always looking for something new and special.

    Roni cups became a trend, spawning debates of cups versus flats (i.e., the silver dollar-type slices)—and lots of photos on social media.

    Hormel, which makes America’s #1 pepperoni brand, caught the trend with HORMEL Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp. It’s available in two versions:

  • HORMEL Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp
  • HORMEL Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp Bold, which has added spices and smoke flavor
  •  
    The Hormel pepperoni cups can be found at select retailers nationwide. For more information, visit HormelPepperoni.com.
     
     
    THE HISTORY OF PEPPERONI

    “Peperoni” is the Italian word for bell peppers. There is no Italian salami by that name, and we don’t know how pepperoni was named.

    Pepperoni itself is an American cured meat salame that was created about a century ago by Italian-American butchers. It has its roots in Italy’s salame piccante.

    No one can pinpoint when and where, but pepperoni was made by blending finely-ground pork and beef, seasoned with cayenne or chili flakes, garlic, fennel, mustard seeds and/or paprika, and salt, stuffed into a casing and dried.

    Pepperoni is an example of syncretism: when two or more ideas unite into something new.

  • Salame piccante from Italy is a mix of ground pork, hot chile peppers, salt, and sometimes sometimes also black pepper and fennel seeds.
  • Italian-immigrant butchers added beef to the blend. Beef was widely available and affordable in the U.S., and was neither in Italy.
  • Pepperoni has a finer grind, which means smaller pieces of fat.
  • The butchers likely learned of paprika in the U.S., where it was brought by Eastern European immigrants.
  •  
    “Pepperoni” was first mentioned in print in the U.S. Government’s Yearbook of Agriculture in 1894, called “a dry sausage.” It was not until the World War I that the word came into common use for a sausage†, within Italian-American communities. The first known use of the word in print in New York City is in 1919 [source].

    Pepperoni is not considered an “Italian” cured meat because it was invented in the U.S. It is “Italian style.”

    TIP: In addition to topping pizza or mac and cheese, added to a charcuterie board or grilled cheese sandwich, or mixed into pasta dishes, try grinding some pepperoni into meatballs and ragù for an added punch.
     
     
    > THE HISTORY OF DOUGHNUTS
     
     
    > DOUGHNUT VS. DONUT
     
     
    > THE HISTORY OF PIZZA
    ________________

    *Pepperoni was originally made with natural casings that were left on the product as it was sliced. The casing contracted a bit during cooking, causing slices to pucker.

    After World War II, as manufacturers sought greater production efficiencies, most switched to paper-like fibrous casings, which were typically removed before slicing. These casing-free slices remained flat as they cooked. Producers in a few “holdout” markets, such as Buffalo and Detroit, still made and make the original cupping pepperoni [source].

    †Salame (salami is an Americanization of the word) is cured sausage that is fermented and air dried. Sausage, on the other hand, is made using ground meat and it has a casing (skin) around it which protects it from falling apart.
     
     

    CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

     
     

     
      

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    Beer-Based BBQ Sauce From Rufus Teague

    With summer grilling on the mind, how about a beer-based barbecue sauce?

    Rufus Teague has just launched them.

    The company sells a high-end line of eight craft barbecue sauces, including two that are sugar-free and Keto friendly.

    (The company uses the BBQ spelling; The Nibble uses barbecue.)

    Now there are three more to add to the family:

    Rufus Teague has introduced the world’s first BBQ sauces made with beer and sold in an actual beer can!

    The beers are from the acclaimed Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri.
     
     
    MEET CAN-O-QUE BBQ SAUCE

    You may find other barbecue sauces made with beer; but Rufus Teague’s Can-O-Que sauces are packaged in an actual beer can.

    The sauces are not only delicious: They’re fun!

    There are three Can-O-Que sauces, made with different styles of beer. The sauces comprise 25% beer.

    The sauces are named after Boulevard’s beers:

  • Tank 7 BBQ Sauce: Made with an American farmhouse ale (a.k.a. saison), Tank 7 has a sweet, herbal taste of cloves and a distinctive peppery punch.
  • Space Camper IPA BBQ Sauce: The the spiciest of the three (but not truly hot). The base is sweet and fruity; the spicy boldness accentuates IPA’s inherent hoppy kick.
  • Unfiltered Wheat BBQ Sauce: The mildest of the three sauces, with a good depth of sweet flavor, a bit of earthiness and a hint of citrus zest. It was recently awarded the American Royal’s 2nd best Specialty BBQ Sauce on the Planet.
  •  
    The varieties are sold individually or in a variety pack.

    They’re perfect for gifting, tailgating, or “simply making your dinner table look cool,” says Rufus Teague.

    Each can has a snap-on re-closable lid.

    So have some fun as you enjoy delicious barbecue sauces.
     
     
    > THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEER & THE HISTORY OF BEER
     
     
    ABOUT RUFUS TEAGUE

    Rufus Teague is an award-winning, independent producer of high-quality craft BBQ sauces and rubs.

    The company has a highly decorated product lineup that includes Honey Sweet, Touch ‘O Heat, Blazin’ Hot, Whiskey Maple, Smoky Apple, Steak Sauce, Chick N’ Rub, Meat Rub, Spicy Meat Rub, Fish Rub and Steak Rub.
     
     
    ABOUT BOULEVARD BREWING COMPANY

    Boulevard Brewing Company is the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. Their beers are available in 45 states and 11 countries.

     


    [1] Tank 7 BBQ Sauce is made with a saison beer (all photos © Rufus Teague).


    [2] Space Camper is made with Boulevard Brewing’s IPA.


    [3] unfiltered wheat beer is the mildest (non-spicy) sauce.

     

      

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    Melamine Dinnerware From Zak Designs, Break Resistant & Beautiful


    Melamine dinnerware from Zak designs, in a classic style (photo © Zak Designs).

     

    When you eat outdoors, do you use paper plates? Would you like something more festive and eco-friendly?

    Take a look at the beautiful, break-resistant dinnerware from Zak Designs.

    The melamine dinnerware can be used indoors and out, including for barbecues/cookouts* and picnics.

    There are designs for every taste: trendy, fun, modern and classic.

    The dinnerware is made from durable, 40% post-industrial recycled melamine.

    It’s an affordable investment in outdoor entertaining, and it’s perfectly at home indoors as well.

    (Tip: Melamine plates are a great idea for everyday plates in households with young children.)

    The tableware is BPA free and dishwasher safe (but not microwavable).

    Dinnerware sets include matching dinner plates, salad plates and soup bowls.

    Are you ready to bring something special to your table?

    Take a look at these 10 designs, some in a choice of colors for mix-and-match:

    Check out the dinnerware at Zak.com.

    Zak also has a line of water bottles, both classic and kid-friendly, with designs from Batman, Frozen, Star Wars and more.

    The company is a National Strategic Partner of the USDA, supporting its mission to help create healthy eating habits through the MyPlate program.

     
    ________________

    *When you grill in the backyard, do you call it a barbecue or a cookout? The terms are often used interchangeably, and are often regionally-based. Originally, the term “barbecue” came from the South, where cooks slow-roasted meat over fire pits (based on what Spanish explorers learned from the Taino people in the Caribbean). While this method is still practiced (i.e., pit barbecue), home cooks have adopted the term to refer to cooking meat over a grill.

     
      

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    Barbecue Chicken Baked Potato Recipe For National Barbecue Month

    May is National Barbecue Month, and we’ve been enjoying everything from Barbecue Deviled Eggs With Pulled Pork to Pulled Pork Sandwiches With Barbecue Cabbage Slaw.

    Today, it’s a Barbecue Chicken Baked Potato for lunch (you can spell it barbecue, barbeque or BBQ).

    The recipe, from MinShien Denis of Joyous Apron, was sent to us by the Idaho Potato Commission—which has a seemingly endless number of creative potato recipes.

    Read MinShien’s full post, including more photos, here.

    In her recipe, baked russet Idaho® potatoes are topped with slow cooker shredded barbecue chicken, cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives.

    It’s a quick and easy lunch or dinner that can be made ahead of time. BYOB!

    We’ve got two more barbecue potato recipes below.
     
     
    > THE HISTORY OF BARBECUE

    > THE HISTORY OF POTATOES

    > THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POTATOES
     
     
    RECIPE: BARBECUE CHICKEN BAKED POTATOES

    These aren’t stuffed baked potatoes. Rather, the cooked potatoes are cut in half, and the chicken and garnishes are layered on top of them.

    Many people will be satisfied with one baked potato half and a large green salad. Those of us with bigger appetites ate both halves, the salad and a beer.

    Ingredients

  • 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 2 cups barbecue sauce
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
  • 8 large russet Idaho® potatoes
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ cup sour cream (we love s.c. and used more)
  • ¼ cup chives, chopped
  •  
    Preparation

    1. ADD the chicken breast, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder and liquid smoke to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3½ hours, or until the chicken can be easily shredded with a fork.

    2. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Wash the potatoes and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until they’re soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.

    3. SHRED the chicken using a fork (or better, two forks, pulling in opposite directions). Stir, cover and cook on high for another 10 minutes.

    4. CUT the potatoes into halves, then top with shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives.
     
     
    LIQUID SMOKE USES

    If you like smoke flavor but don’t own a bottle of liquid smoke, now’s the time to get one. Thanks to Taste Of Home for these tips.

    Liquid smoke is actually made from smoke. Chips or sawdust, typically from hickory or mesquite, are burned at high temperatures. Particles of the smoke are collected in condensers. The resulting liquid is then concentrated.

    The best-known use of a few drops of liquid smoke is to enhance food with wood-grilled flavor, when you don’t have an outdoor grill.

    It’s also vegan: a non-meat way to get smoky flavor and aroma onto vegetables, salad dressings and more.

    Note that liquid smoke is concentrated so add it carefully. Use 1/4 teaspoon or less in your recipes. Sometimes, a drop or two is all you need. Taste and add more as you desire.

    Here are some liquid smoke uses to start you off:

  • Give meat and poultry a smoky taste and aroma. Brush liquid smoke on steaks, burgers, poultry, even deli meats, for that familiar barbecue punch.
  • Cook up some “smoked” salmon. Marinate the fish in a mixture of liquid smoke, brown sugar and soy sauce, for at least an hour before cooking (we made a paste to brush on, instead of a marinade).
  • Make smoky beans. Add a dash of smoke to baked beans, chili, lentils, and other bean and legume dishes.
  • Make vegan bacon. You can give thinly-sliced eggplants, mushrooms, other veggies, seitan, tempeh, even rice paper, which seems to be the most popular choice. Make a marinade with liquid smoke, soy sauce, maple syrup and paprika; and cook as you wish. Here’s a recipe using rice paper.
  • Make vegan hot dogs. Do it with carrots! Prepare a marinade with a few drops of liquid smoke, some olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Let the carrots soak in the liquid for four hours; then roast them and side them into a roll (the difference between rolls and buns). Top with sauerkraut, mustard, chili, onions, etc. Here’s a recipe.
  • Turn tomatoes into lox. Liquid smoke can give sliced tomatoes the flavor of smoked salmon. Boil the tomatoes for about a minute, add the liquid smoke to a marinade with tamari or soy sauce, water and kelp powder to create a [much less expensive] topping for bagels. Here’s a recipe.
  • Smoky almonds. Blend olive oil, salt, and liquid smoke and toss the almonds; then roast them. You can add paprika, red pepper flakes or other favorite spices to the olive oil mixture. For a sweeter flavor, blend the olive oil with maple syrup and a bit of vanilla extract. Here’s a recipe.
  • Smoky olive oil. Add smoke flavor to olive oil (or other oil); then use it for anything from vinaigrettes to sautées and stir-frys.
  • Smoky sauces. Add a few drops of liquid smoke to the cheese sauce of mac and cheese; to other white sauces; or to red sauces. We use it in Spaghetti Puttanesca, with anchovies, capers and a red sauce.
  • Smoky cocktails. Rinse a glass with one to two drops of liquid smoke. Swirl the smoky water, toss it out, and make your cocktail as usual. This works best with tequila or dark liquors, like rum and whiskey. Here’s a Smoked Old Fashioned recipe, a Smoky Martini and a Smoked Margarita.
  • Smoky caramels. If you like sea salt caramels, add a drop of liquid smoke. It works with caramel sauce, too.
  •  
    Next, we’re going to try Smoked Parmesan Ice Cream, a savory ice cream, adding smoke to this recipe. It should be great!
     

    MORE BARBECUE POTATO RECIPES

  • “Barbecue” Potato Salad
  • Barbecue Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
  •  


    [1] Barbecue chicken and garnishes top baked potato halves (photo and recipe © Idaho Potato Commission).


    [2] Stubbs Liquid Smoke is made in both hickory mesquite flavors. You can find them both on Amazon (photo © Stubbs).


    [3] Rufus Teague makes premium barbecue sauces in eight different flavors, including two sugar-free Keto flavors (photo © Rufus Teague).

    Grated Cheddar Cheese
    [4] Top the barbecue with shredded cheddar, jack or other favorite cheese (photo © Szakaly | Panther Media).

    Types Of Cream
    [5] We used lots of sour cream (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).


    [6] Barbecue stuffed sweet potatoes with pulled pork. Here’s the recipe (photo © Byron’s BBQ).


    [7] A Smoked Margarita. Here’s the recipe (photo © Patron Tequila).

     

      

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