Recipes

Midwest Relish Plate

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Published: 

Midwest Relish Plate
Portions
6 - 8

Ingredients

For the crackers:

  • 1 sleeve (approx. 36 crackers) soda crackers
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • Salt & pepper

For the pimento cheese:

  • 1 cup cream cheese, room temperature
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 cups grated old orange cheddar
  • ½ cup diced roasted red peppers
  • 2–4 tablespoons diced pickled jalapenos
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the pickled carrots:

  • ¼ cup pickled jalapeno juice
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Pepper
  • 1 ½ cups thinly sliced carrots

Suggestions for the relish tray:

  • Ranch or blue cheese dip
  • Cubed cheddar, Swiss, and/or provolone
  • Olives
  • Pickled green beans
  • Pickled onions
  • Bread and butter pickles
  • Celery stalks
  • Pepperettes
  • Wavy cut potato chips

Directions

  1. For the crackers, heat your oven to 400ºF.
  2. Lay the crackers out onto a sheet pan in a single layer and brush with the melted butter. If you have any butter leftover, evenly drizzle over the crackers. Season with salt if not using salted top crackers and a bit of pepper. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown then set aside to cool completely.
  3. For the pimento cheese, add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar, roasted red peppers, jalapenos, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper to a large bowl and beat well with a hand mixer to combine. Transfer the pimento cheese to a serving bowl and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
  4. For the pickled carrots, in a small pot or pan, combine the pickled jalapeno juice, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and garlic powder and season with pepper. Heat until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour the pickling liquid over the carrots and set aside until cooled to room temperature. If needed, add a splash of water or more vinegar to fully submerge the carrots. The carrots will be lightly pickled by this point, or you can store them in the fridge for up to 1 week for a stronger pickle-y flavour.
  5. To assemble the relish tray, lay everything out as you would for a charcuterie board.