If you like pickled things, and spicy things, and also cheese, then Aunt Darla's Smoky Pimento Cheese might be for you. This is another recipe from The Red Truck Bakery Cookbook by Brian Noyes (see previous recipe from this cookbook here).
One of the ingredients for the pimento cheese is quick pickled onions, which is another recipe in the book. I have made the pickled onions from this cookbook many a time, and they are one of my favorite things to eat. The onions are extremely easy to make, but must be done at least four hours in advance of making the pimento cheese. Personally, I think they taste the best once they have sat at least 12 hours (or overnight) in the fridge.
To quickly recap the pickled onions recipe: the homemade pickling spice mixture may take some preparation ahead of time, as the spices may not be those readily available in your pantry. I usually make a double portion so I have some leftover mixture for the next time I want to make a batch. Also, the recipe calls for red onions, but in a pinch I have used a mixture of red, yellow, and sweet and though slightly different tasting, the recipe still mostly comes out the same.
If you are reading this and think you will hate pickled onions because you hate any type of onion and raw onions in particular, be aware I despise raw onions (they are actually a migraine trigger for me), but I love these. The end result is nothing like a raw onion.
First I boil the pickling spices and vinegar per the recipe, and while that is going, I use a mandolin to make extremely quick work of the onion slicing.
The last step is to put the onions in a jar, and strain the liquid over the onions, then let sit in the fridge. The best part is these can last for a month in the fridge (if you don't eat them all up before then).
Once those are ready you can begin making the Smoky Pimento Cheese. The first step is either roasting peppers yourself or buying a jar. I chose the latter option, then followed the recipe to chop them up and strain the liquid.
Then everything went in the food processor except some cheese components. The photo below shows what the pickled onions will look like after they are done pickling.
Then you add more cheese to the cheese, and mix it in a big bowl.
This was delicious. Both of these recipes get five out of five red trucks in our opinion. If you want to try the Pickled Onions or Smoky Pimento Cheese recipes for yourself, check out The Red Truck Bakery Cookbook by Brian Noyes.
Red Truck Bakery Cookbook: Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie (with chocolate in a pretzel crust)
The Nordic Cookbook: Cardamom Cake (Kardemummakaka)
