Juniper Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip

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If you are anything like me, i.e. someone who enjoys reading new recipes, then you are probably as eager as I am every Wednesday for the food section in the local paper, whether you read it digitally or a hard-copy. And, if, also like me, you are a fan of pimento cheese, have I got a recipe for you!

Juniper, a Southern Table and Bar, in downtown St. Louis offered up their recipe for this zippy, flavorful pimiento cheese that is baked. Like all pimiento cheese, it is easy to put together, and, as I always do, make it easy on myself by using Melissa’s Fire Roasted Sweet Bell Peppers rather than roasting my own (as they suggested in their recipe). One taste, and this quickly rose to my top five favorite pimiento cheeses, in a list that boasts more than two dozen varieties.

Here is my adaptation of their recipe. While this one is baked, it is just as good cold, and has as many uses as you can imagine, including being stuffed into celery, dolloped on top of a burger or hotdog, added to a steaming bowl of chili or tomato soup, or simply as the hot dip that it was intended. Juniper includes pickles among their dippers, as well as a type of bread that is similar to pita or to the Indian bread naan. Choose your favorites here. There is no end to the way that you can enjoy this.

Juniper Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip
Slightly adapted from the original in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Yield: 8 servings (as if!)

1 Melissa’s Fire Roasted Sweet Bell Pepper, minced
¼ pound yellow cheddar cheese
¼ pound white cheddar cheese
¼ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon smoked paprika (no substitutions!)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Crystal hot sauce
1 tablespoon garlic-dill pickle juice
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons cornbread crumbs
2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

The dip is baked and served in cast iron at Juniper, which helps it retain heat. You may use individual 6- or 8-ounce ramekins for this appetizer. Adjust the timing of the baking accordingly.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF, or 325ºF for glass pans.

Grate the cold cheddar cheeses using the large holes on a box grater or a food processor fitted with a grating disc. Toss the cheeses together in a mixing bowl. Add the diced red peppers and fold into the cheese.

In a separate mixing bowl, blend the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. Stir the mix into the cheeses. Add hot sauce and pickle juice and stir to blend evenly. Taste. Add salt if needed.

 

Transfer the mixed dip into a 1-½ quart baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and top with cornbread crumbs. Return to the oven and bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Top with chopped parsley. Serve with assorted pickles, breads or crackers.