I’m not from the south.  Originally, anways.

I’m born and bred Midwesterner, that was planted in the south for a few years…Memphis, Tennessee and Florence, South Carolina.

I drank so much beer and whiskey in Memphis that I really don’t have a lot of food memories…with the exception of Huey’s and an old man who made barbeque in the back of a gas station outside of the city.  Best Barbeque in Memphis, no lie.

After Memphis, I traveled on east to Florence.  1 hour west of Myrtle Beach.  Yup, it was that awesome.

Florence isn’t known as any kind of food mecca…But the best shrimp and grits I’ve ever had came from Florence’s Red Bone Alley.  Lots of cheese, ham, green onions…Oh.  Em.  Gee.

I was in Florence for 6 years, but it didn’t take very long to learn that southern parties require two things:  Salmon Mold and Cheese straws.

Salmon molds…I remember the first time I saw one and tried really hard not to wrinkle my nose.  Salmon brings back God-awful memories of my grandmother making salmon patties for my grandfather’s lunch.  Barf.  Sometimes the salmon mold was shaped like a fish.  I’m sure that these ladies spent $$$ on these fish mold pans…but they really shouldn’t have bothered.  Not for me anyways.

Cheese straws…Ahh, now here’s something that I can pull my chair up to on the appetizer table.  And often did, without much shame.  They absolutely melted in my mouth, and there wasn’t much need for a real meal…just bring out some more cheese straws.  Every new southern bride wants the perfect cheese straw recipe for her…what’s the term?  Culinary Trousseau?

My SIL and BIL are in my old stomping grounds on vacation right now.  Well, they’re in Charleston…my most favorite-est city ever, and, while sitting here in freezing – cold Illinois being just a tad jealous of all the awesome food they will be eating, I thought it might be nice to make some awesome cheese straws.

So let’s do it.

There’s tons upon tons of cheese straw recipes out there…this one came from an old cookbook collection I was given when I got married.  From a family that lived in Columbia, South Carolina.

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 stick butter, 2 tbsp finely chopped nuts, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp hot sauce, 3/4 cup flour.

Trust me on this one…use the good stuff.  Buy some super-awesome butter, get some big money cheese…when there’s not many ingredients, it’s really important to use the good stuff.

I also have an egg flying standby…if the dough is too dry, I can add the small egg to help bring it together…It’s just a little feller.Whisk together the flour and salt…Mix together the cheese, butter, hot sauce and nuts…Stir in the flour…add the egg if necessary (it was necessary…too crumbly).

Combine into a nice dough…There’s a number of techniques for shaping this dough…you can use a cookie scoop and then flatten in to disks, you can use a cookie press into straws…

I don’t have a cookie press because I break things…but I have this wunderkind:I have no idea what this thing is called…and I’m not sure why I have this one because I’ve broken 5 of these.  I’ll probably break this one before the day is over.  It comes with different tips, I used the wide star tip…And now they look like churros, right?  I’ll keep that in my little file for later…

It was super-hard to push these through the star tip.  The dough is thick…so instead of using the pump knob, I just pushed the plunger with my hand.

Bake at 325 for 20 minutes…And try not to eat them all at once.

I sprinkled with paprika, just for fun.

Joey wanted to try some “Jesus Straws”.

I put some paprika on some of them…Joey informed me that not everyone likes “that brown stuff on their Jesus straws.”

So you make some!

Southern Cheese Straws    Print me, Baby.
Adapted from Sharing our Best, recipe contributed by Larry and Patsy Simpson

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup flour
½ tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened
2 tbsp finely chopped pecans
¼ tsp hot sauce.

Preheat oven to 325
Whisk together flour and salt, set aside.  Mix cheese, flour, hot sauce, pecans and butter until a paste forms.   Add flour mixture, stir until combined.  If dough is too dry, add a small egg to bring the dough together.
Push the dough through a cookie press, or roll into small balls and flatten into disks.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

I miss the south sometimes…I miss my friends terribly, the weather was so nice.  And the food.  Oh, the food.

But nothing beats living across the street from my parents.