So, I bought the celery, the peppers, onion, and sharp cheddar cheese. I set the items out to work with on Sunday afternoon, and began to grate the cheddar cheese-1 small brick. As I'm grating, I review the apparently simple recipe and notice it mentions the cheese should be at room temperature and the bell pepper should be roasted. I also realize I need eggs for the homemade mayonnaise(blog to come) I need to make. I decided to pause grating the cheese and go get the eggs, after all the cheese is still cold.
On my way to the local grocery store to purchase eggs, my 11yo nephew texts me to ask if I'm coming to his band concert, nearly an hour away two towns over. I call him back to tell him I should be able to make it as soon as I finish some errands. I had probably mentioned before I would go, when it "may have been mentioned a month before" (at Easter). I actually enjoy his concerts. This one was Juke Box Sunday and began with Taking Care of Business by the High School Jazz Band, and ended with Queen with everyone on stage. I took my knitting and realized I needed quieter needles, but you could only hear them when the conductor/instructor was speaking, so I didn't knit while he was speaking. My nieces looked as if they wanted this item knit for them, but that could be another blog. Back to the recipe...after the concert.
I get home in time to see my boyfriend off to work, at his house, finish my facebook addiction, then go home to return to the cheese which I guarantee is at room temperature now. I'm glad it wasn't warmer out, I might've had to worry about spoilage.
I decide to make the mayonnaise, then return to grating the cheddar cheese. You could buy store-bought shredded cheddar, but I wanted the excuse to try the good stuff, and I like grating my own cheese. It usually has a better flavor. While I'm grating the cheese, I remember the red pepper needs to be roasted. I crank the electric oven to 450 degrees and begin roasting. I check it in two minutes, like the book tells me too, back on page 44, I'm supposed to be on page 152. Not yet, I didn't pre-heat the oven, thankfully(this time). Once the oven comes up to temp, I start trying to remember to turn the pepper every couple of minutes. Finally, its blistered and turning black-which tells me its about ready. I pulled it out of the oven, peeled the pepper, seeded it and minced this baby into something resembling minced pepper.
Now the real fun begins, there's only one way I know to get 2 teaspoons of grated red onion--you have to grate an onion. I sliced off a chunk, and began to grate it and was grateful when it was over. I'm not sure if I got the exact amount, but when grating onions, there comes a point when enough is enough;-). It was a little rough on the eyes.
Next, add a pinch of salt plus a dash, enough to taste, another pinch of Louisiana hot sauce, or two dashes, and a dash of cayenne pepper.
The instructions are quite simple: Combine all the ingredients except the celery in a medium bowl and stir to blend well. Refrigerate until slightly chilled.
To serve, trim the ends off and remove any extra fibrous strings, cut into skinny batons/wands for dipping, chilled.
Once it was done, I tasted it and it was pretty good. The next day, it tasted even better. Its still good a week later(the recipe says it will keep for two days). I had a slight chest cold last week, and had to wait until tonight when I felt up to eating cheese with mayonnaise again.
I will definitely make this recipe again, with the cheese already at room temperature, and hopefully not with a nephew's band concert in the middle of it. I must admit, the band concert rocked too.
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