Crisp celery sticks and pimento cheese are a staple of Southern appetizer trays.
Celery sticks and pimento cheese go together in the southern United States like salt and pepper. Pimento cheese, for the uninitiated, is a cheese dip made with several shredded cheeses, mayonnaise and pimentos. This cheesy concoction is found on appetizer trays and filling sandwiches across the South. Present it with celery sticks as a treat for your own Southern celebration.
Instructions
Stuffed Celery Sticks
1. Fill the plastic bag, halfway, with pimento cheese. Twist the top of the bag closed so the cheese is squeezed into one of the bottom corners of the bag.
2. Cut a piece of parchment or wax paper into a 15 inch by 4 inch long strip. Place the parchment strip into the bottom of the loaf pan, along the length, letting the excess drape over the handles of the pan on either side. This will help you to pull the stuffed celery sticks from the pan.
3. Lay the celery sticks with the cavity facing up to completely fill the bottom of the loaf pan in a tight formation so all the sticks remain upright.
4. Cut the corner of the plastic bag off to create a piping hole for the cheese to flow through.
5. Squeeze the bag to pipe the cheese into each celery stick cavity until all of the celery has been stuffed.
6. Gently lift the two overhanging edges of the parchment paper to lift the celery sticks out of the loaf pan. Deposit the parchment paper onto a flat surface.
7. Grip each celery stick at its ends with your fingers and move the stick to a serving platter.
8. Arrange the stuffed celery sticks in concentric circles on the platter with the sticks placed like the rays of the sun. Serve extra pimento cheese in a bowl at the center of the platter, if desired.
Individual Servings
9. Fill shot glasses halfway with pimento cheese, about 2 tbsp. of cheese in each cup.
10. Stick one or two celery sticks into each shot glass, upright in the cheese.
11. Serve each guest a shot glass at a table setting or place the shot glasses on a buffet table for the guests to pick up their own individual serving of celery and pimento cheese.
Tags: pimento cheese, celery sticks, parchment paper, appetizer trays, bottom loaf, celery stick, Celery Sticks
