‘The Pioneer Woman’: Ree Drummond’s Spicy Pimento Cheese Is a Perfect Snack
Ree Drummond makes an easy spicy pimento cheese spread that pairs perfectly with crackers or tortilla chips — and even makes the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. The Pioneer Woman star’s snack might not be such a hit with her daughters, however.
Ree Drummond’s jalapeno pimento cheese spread recipe isn’t a hit with her daughters
Drummond made the pimento cheese during an episode of The Pioneer Woman featuring spicy dishes. “We are going to make spicy recipes today,” she said. “Talk about my ideal day, just making spicy hot food.”
The Food Network host joked, “Spicy food basically give me a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Right alongside that extra-charged iced coffee I have every day.”
Her first recipe for spicy pimento cheese didn’t get quite the reaction she hoped for from her family film crew, however. When she asked, “Who loves pimento cheese,” her daughters Alex and Paige both said, “Not me.”
How to make Ree Drummond’s pimento cheese recipe
Drummond’s recipe started by combining the base ingredients in a food processor: cream cheese, mayonnaise, brown mustard, hot sauce, and adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers.
She added grated sharp cheddar and smoked gouda cheeses, reserving some of the cheese in a bowl. Drummond pulsed the food processor ingredients together briefly, then added the mixture to the bowl with the rest of the cheese.
“The reason I’m doing this is I don’t want the cheese to be completely pulverized,” she explained. I don’t want it to be just a big mushy concoction so I’m adding the processed cheese in with the whole cheese.”
Drummond folded the ingredients together, then added chopped jalapenos, pimentos, fresh dill, salt, and pepper and mixed everything together.
She put the cheese spread in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. “And then all the flavors kind of get together and get married and have babies,” she said.
‘The Pioneer Woman’ star offers serving suggestions — including a grilled cheese sandwich
Drummond shared one of the ways she likes to serve the pimento cheese, placing the spread in a bowl on a platter with crackers and olives. “If I’m not trying to watch my waistline, I’ll eat it with tortilla chips with some hot sauce on top,” she noted.
She also demonstrated how to use the cheese to make “basically the best grilled cheese sandwich.” She put a layer of the pimento cheese on bread, spread mayonnaise on the outside of the slices, then placed the sandwich in a pan. Then she grilled the sandwich until it was golden brown on both sides..
The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.
Ree Drummond’s pimento cheese recipe earns glowing reviews
Drummond also makes a less spicy version of the pimento cheese that uses cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses. The recipe earns plenty of rave reviews on the Food Network site, with one person commenting, “My favorite pimento cheese recipe.”
Another reviewer shared, “This is the only pimento cheese recipe I’ll make from now on. I don’t change anything. I make it exactly as written. I love the addition of dill in things so that was an automatic plus for me.”
“I think this is the only pimento cheese recipe I’ll ever use again,” another satisfied reviewer shared. “In fact, this is the only pimento cheese I’ll ever eat.”
