the impending finger food panic

and a pimento cheese dip to sooth your post-vaccine anxieties.

It’s happening. The vaccination numbers are hopeful. People are loosening up to the idea of post-vaccine travel. Making lists of who they’ll visit. What they’ll see first. Social events are starting to drizzle back onto the calendar. Yet many of us are still weary of the risks of gathering.

The burning question for me is what will people be comfortable eating when they do come together again? What will happen to our beloved finger foods? Will our germ-conscious brains insist upon individual servings? Will sharing popcorn at the movies become passé? How about snagging a spoonful of ice cream from your friends’ cone? Will the serving spoon industry crumble from the weight of individually plated casseroles?

Even before the pandemic, we knew the perils of mixed nuts in bars or the butter mint dish at diners, but rarely did we think twice about the dip at a house party or sharing a spread of appetizers among friends. So as we emerge like the cicadas I hear are coming straight for my alley patio, what can we salvage from this finger food landmine? Can dips find new homes in sauces, salads or sandwiches? Can things be reformatted for individual consumption with out reeking more triple-packaged snack havoc on the environment?

What I’m looking most forward to is getting elbow deep into a plate of heaping nachos while screaming at a game and taking turns shoveling hummus into my mouth between discussions of when we’ll meet again. My secret hope is that by the time we reach heard immunity we’ll burst into a fit of gathering so quickly that you won’t have time to mix the dips fast enough.

Sure, I could share in the human experience with others while consuming foods designed to be eaten in isolation, but what’s so compelling about sharing food is the way it centers connection versus individual consumption. This may sound like a tall order for cheese dip, but it could be the social salve that heals us after a long year apart.

pimento cheese

Food writer Anne Byrn said that pimento cheese is just three things: cheese, peppers and possibilities. Recipes call for both home roasted and jarred red bell peppers. (Pre-pandemic) Party guests have unanimously preferred the jarred peppers, so grab those from your pickle aisle.

Pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose which makes it hard for cheese to absorb moisture or flavor. It will be worth shredding your own cheese, I promise.

what you need

5 ounces of jarred roasted red peppers, diced

4 ounces Vermont cheddar, shredded

4 ounces extra sharp cheddar, shredded

1 shallot, grated or finely minced

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Smoked Mayonnaise

1/2 cup unsweetened mayonnaise, preferably Duke's

1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

what to do

In a large mixing bowl, combine red peppers, both shredded cheeses, shallot, and Worcestershire sauce.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, paprika, vinegar, and cayenne.

Using a rubber spatula, fold mayonnaise into the large bowl, until mixture is completely coated. For the best results, refrigerate at least one hour and up to overnight.

Serve on a Pullman loaf with a green salad or as an appetizer with crackers and fresh vegetables for scooping.

• Reading - Deacon King Kong by James McBride which incidentally includes much about cheese

• Listening - Dark City Beneath The Beat (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

• Watching - The Sting (1973)