Horseradish Bacon Cheese for Burgers

Really. Is there anything better than a burger? Sizzling hot, seared and seasoned to perfection, cradled in a soft white bun with crisp green lettuce and sweet red tomato, piled high with melting cheese? Spring hasn't sprung until that first burger of the new season goes from grill to table to my mouth!

Actually, the cheese I was craving to top off my burger wasn't American or cheddar or even provolone, it was that good old Southern favorite - pimiento cheese. But there wasn't a jar of pimientos to be found in the house. I did, however, have a brand spanking new unopened bottle of horseradish. And there was bacon! (Truth be told, there is always bacon...it's a Dinner Plan-it staple!)

Now that the beginnings were there for a twist on the classic, I added sharp white cheddar, smooth, creamy Havarti, grated onion, just a smidge of mayo - well "smidge" compared to the mountain of mayo that normally goes into pimiento cheese...and a great big pile of horseradish. I was aiming for HORSERADISH bacon cheese! That goal was accomplished.

Smoky, zippy, salty, tangy, smooth and creamy...what a burger topping! Have some left over when the grilling is done? Spread Horseradish Bacon Cheese for Burgers on crackers or scoop it up with celery or carrot sticks or how about grilled Horseradish Bacon Cheese sandwiches. Who knows? Pimiento cheese might have just met it's match.

Horseradish Bacon Cheese for Burgers

• 5 slices of thick-sliced bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 4 oz. white cheddar, grated
• 3 1/2 oz. Havarti cheese, grated
• 1 T. onion, grated
• 3 T. horseradish
• 2 T. mayonnaise, Hellman's preferably

Using the shredder disk of your food processor, shred the cheddar, then the Havarti into the bowl. Remove the shredder disk and place the blade in the bowl. 

Add the bacon, onion, horseradish and mayo to the bowl and process until the cheese is smooth, creamy and spreadable.

Grill your burgers as you normally would and pile the cheese spread on top. Put the burger onto a bun with lettuce and tomato...maybe a little sweet onion and there you have it. Enjoy!

NOTE: Why does this spread use less mayo than pimiento cheese? It's the creamy Havarti and horseradish that makes it really smooth and spreadable without all the mayo...and cuts down on the calories...but then again, let's not think about calories. There is all that bacon. Sigh.

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