pimento

Vegetarian Bruschetta

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Joy of Eating: Vegetarian Bruschetta! There’s something about sharing an appetizer for dinner. It feels sinful and tastes shamefully delicious. The rustic combination of artisan bread, savory veggies, and warm cheese conjure up images of the Italian landscape. Transcend yourself to a country villa in the hills of Tuscany. Lend a little romance to dinner with finger food that melts in your mouth with a slightly salty finish. 

VEGETARIAN BRUSCHETTA 

Ingredients:

1 baguette, sliced horizontal 

1/2 cup olive oil

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper 

12-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 cup mozzarella cheese

2 green onions, snipped

1 tablespoon pimento, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Slice baguette horizontally and place open face on baking sheet. Spread olive oil on top of baguette. Sprinkle with garlic powder, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Drain artichoke hearts, reserving liquid. Cut artichokes into bite size pieces and add back into the liquid. Add mushrooms to liquid. Mix well to coat. Divide artichoke/mushroom mixture between the baguette halves. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and bread is crunchy. Cut into diagonal slices. Garnish with green onion and pimento. 

Incredible Ham Potato Casserole

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Joy of Eating: Incredible Ham Potato Casserole! As the days grow shorter and the night chill sets in, gather around the table for this hearty harvest meal. It can be made ahead and popped in the oven at a moment’s notice. When it comes out with the cheese bubbly and the topping crisp, serve it in the same vessel to keep it hot. By adding smoky Virginia ham chunks and chopped vegetables, this main dish is easy-to-follow and goes a long way. The crunchy topping gives it a nice finish. Plus, leftovers are a bonus!

INCREDIBLE HAM POTATO CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

3 cups ham chunks

1 green pepper, chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 tablespoon pimento, diced

30-32 ounces frozen southern-style hash brown potatoes, thawed 

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup cream of chicken soup, condensed

16 ounces sour cream

1/2 cup butter, melted

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients. Mix well and pour into a greased 9″x13″ casserole dish. Add topping. 

Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups corn flakes

Instructions:

Gently mix corn flakes with butter and spread over top of casserole. Bake in oven for one hour. Serve family-style. 

Cornbread Cornucopia

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? A Burst of Flavor: Cornbread Cornucopia! This is the perfect accompaniment to any bean dish. It’s delicious hot and savory when eaten later warmed up in the microwave. 

CORNBREAD CORNUCOPIA 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 cups wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups milk

1/4 pound smoked sausage link, pre-cooked and diced

1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded 

1/4 cup pickled jalapeño peppers, sliced

1 tablespoon pimento, diced

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Sift cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sea salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl. Blend beaten eggs and oil; add milk. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients stirring until just blended. Fold in meat, cheese, peppers, and pimento. Pour into an 8″x8″ pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick oil. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm with butter. 

Festive Breakfast Pizza

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Festive Breakfast Pizza! Whether you prepare a holiday brunch for invited guests or gather ’round the table in your pajamas, this recipe is a winner. Simply because, everyone loves pizza! You now have an excuse to eat it for breakfast, even if you’re “Home Alone”. It has baked eggs, it has shredded potatoes, it has crumbled sausage, and gooey cheese all together over a golden deep dish crust. So there you have it. Bring out the holiday movies, set up the TV tray, and eat pizza for breakfast. Permission granted. 

FESTIVE BREAKFAST PIZZA

Ingredients:

1 pound pork sausage, ground

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper 

1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning*

1 green pepper, chopped 

2 ounces pimentos, diced

1 cup hash brown potatoes, shredded 

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 

1 tube prepared pizza crust

5 eggs, beaten 

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage until cooked and crumbly. Drain well. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, white pepper, and Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning. Microwave chopped green pepper on HIGH for two minutes. Combine diced pimentos, green peppers, and sausage. Mix well. For a deep dish pizza, roll out pizza crust and press into an iron skillet bringing dough up the sides of the pan. Layer with sausage mixture, hash browns, and cheddar cheese. Whisk eggs and milk together. Pour over the pizza. Top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes or until eggs are set and crust is golden. 

*I receive no recompense for recommending Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning. 

Three Bean Pasta Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Three Bean Pasta Salad! Yippee for meal prep. This tasty salad is one you can make ahead on the weekend for a delicious lunch at work. The dressing gives it gourmet flavor similar to the corner café, without the cost of an Uber. Add a few gluten-free pretzels or pita crackers to satisfy that munchtime craving. The slightly sharp buttery flavor of provolone cheese works well with the pasta. I know what you’re thinking…..would a bottle of wine be appropriate? Probably. Just not at work. 

THREE BEAN PASTA SALAD

Ingredients: 

4 ounces uncooked shell pasta

15-ounce three bean salad, drained and chilled

1 tablespoon pimento, chopped

4 ounces provolone cheese, cubed

2 scallions, white part only, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons garlic wine vinegar 

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon natural honey

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

1/4 cup olive oil 

Instructions:

Cook shell pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cool water; drain well. Combine shell pasta, three bean mixture, chopped pimento, and provolone cheese cubes. Gently toss. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine scallions and garlic wine vinegar. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Add Dijon mustard, natural honey, and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until well combined. Pour dressing over pasta salad and serve slightly chilled. 

Jalapeño Cheddar Pops

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Time To Eat: Jalapeño Cheddar Pops! Combining dairy and spices make pimento cheese a distinctly tangy and earthy choice for balancing out the heat of a jalapeño pepper. By roasting them in the oven, a slight smokiness emerges as though these dark green jewels were cooked over an open campfire. A word of advice: Always make more than you think you need. Otherwise you may miss the boat, so to speak. After all, who wants to be the one left holding an empty plate as you watch them disappear.

JALAPEÑO CHEDDAR POPS

Ingredients:

16-20 medium jalapeño peppers, lengthwise strip removed, hollow out pepper with ribs and seeds removed

8 ounces pimento cheddar cheese spread

4 ounces prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a grill pan with nonstick oil. Set aside. Divide the pimento cheese evenly between the cavities of the jalapeños. Wrap each jalapeño pepper with a strip of prosciutto. Arrange filled jalapeños on the prepared grill pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the peppers are tender. The cheese will be melted and the prosciutto will turn crispy. Serve warm.

Three Bean Pasta Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Three Bean Pasta Salad! Yippee for meal prep. This tasty salad is one you can make ahead on the weekend for a delicious lunch at work. The dressing gives it gourmet flavor similar to the corner café, without the cost of an Uber. Add a few gluten-free pretzels or pita crackers to satisfy that munchtime craving. The slightly sharp buttery flavor of provolone cheese works well with the pasta. I know what you’re thinking…..would a bottle of wine be appropriate? Probably. Just not at work.

THREE BEAN PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:

4 ounces uncooked shell pasta

15-ounce three bean salad, drained and chilled

1 tablespoon pimento, chopped

4 ounces provolone cheese, cubed

2 scallions, white part only, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons garlic wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon natural honey

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions:

Cook shell pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cool water; drain well. Combine shell pasta, three bean mixture, chopped pimento, and provolone cheese cubes. Gently toss. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine scallions and garlic wine vinegar. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Add Dijon mustard, natural honey, and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until well combined. Pour dressing over pasta salad and serve slightly chilled.

Olive Cheese Spread

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Olive Cheese Spread! Olives aren’t just for martinis, you know. In fact, their slightly sea salt flavor seduces the tongue with the spicy sweetness of a pimento hidden inside. The buttery cream cheese embraces everything like a barefoot hug that sways to the music. Sounds a little bit like a party, doesn’t it? Permission granted.

OLIVE CHEESE SPREAD

Ingredients:

8-ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/2 cup finely chopped pimento-stuffed Spanish olives

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Instructions:

Combine softened cream cheese and butter. Mix well until smooth. Fold in finely chopped olives. On a sheet of waxed paper, form cream cheese mixture into a log. Twist ends to secure. Chill 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll cream cheese log in chopped pecans. Garnish with olive slices and fresh chives. Serve.

Mealtime Crab Cocottes

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Fab Foodstuff: Mealtime Crab Cocottes! Seafood can be my obsession and I’m not afraid to be a glutton of it, especially if I’m visiting a locale that is a coastal destination. In my defense, how can anyone resist signs and billboards openly declaring “Best Seafood in Town!”? But eventually one returns home to a land-locked State where seafood is as scarce as hen’s teeth. So when the cravings continue, I head over to the local supermarket in search of a packaged substitute. Maybe it’s the succulent crabmeat or perhaps it’s the French butter, but I have to admit this recipe isn’t half bad.

MEALTIME CRAB COCOTTES

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/4 teaspoon seafood seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

8 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat

8 ounces imitation crabmeat, flaked

1 tablespoon pimento, diced

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon ground paprika

1-2 tablespoons French butter, melted

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat bottoms and edges of two ramekins with nonstick oil. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, seafood seasoning, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper. Mix well. Gently fold in lump crabmeat, imitation flaked crabmeat, and diced pimento. Divide crabmeat mixture evenly between ramekins. Top with Panko breadcrumbs. Sprinkle paprika over all. Drizzle melted butter on top. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbly. Serve with artisan bread and side salad.