Cheese Pudding for Presidents Day

It really isn't necessary to have a special meal or dish for Presidents Day, but since I just happen to have one, with a great story along with it I thought I would share. To be honest I'm pretty tired of the whole George Washington Cherry Pie thing.

In the 1920s the Lynn Hotel in Hodgenville, Ky, owned and operated by the Wimsetts, was a family-style hotel which drew Sunday dinner crowds from a wide area of Kentucky. In addition to Kentucky country ham with red-eye gravy, fried chicken, fresh vegetables, and homemade ice cream, there was always the traditional Hodgenville casserole known as cheese pudding. In recent years the Hodgenville Woman's club has served it on many occasions and always at the annual Lincoln Day celebration, which draws many famous people to the town. When it was served to the late Vice-President Alben Barkley, he asked for a second helping. A few years later when President Eisenhower was served cheese pudding, he requested not only a second helping but the recipe as well. The recipe has been published in several periodicals and in the Senate Cookbook.

Cheese Pudding

1 cup soda cracker crumbs (saltines)
2 cups medium white sauce
4 eggs, hard cooked, grated
1 (7-ounce can pimientos, grated
1/2 pound American cheese, grated ( Velveeta)
Buttered crumbs

Mix cracker crumbs with white sauce; stir well to be sure all are moist. In a buttered casserole place a layer of crumbs, a layer of eggs, a layer of pimientos, and a layer of cheese. Repeat layers. (If cracker crumbs are not well moistened add a little milk). Top with buttered crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Thank you Kentucky Federation of Women's Clubs 1976 for your Kentucky Hospitality Cook Book., and this wonderful recipe.

COOK'S NOTE: All this grating that's going on can be done in the food processor.