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When I visited Columbus, Ohio for the first time in 2009, I started my culinary excavation at a locally-recommended diner called Cap City. On the outside, it looked like a very traditional run-of-the-mill diner you'd see anywhere. On the inside, it was like being transported to a chic European bistro.
Already intrigued by the surprising interior, I scoured the menu and came a cross a very interesting appetizer consisting of potato chips, Maytag blue cheese, alfredo sauce and scallions. Needless to say, I was confused, but my curiosity was piqued.
The waiter brought out what seemed to be a mountain of crispy potato chips drizzled with a creamy alfredo sauce, and topped with the pungent Maytag blue cheese.
It was heaven. It was slightly warm and packed a great crunch. I was immediately hooked.
Now that potatoes are essentially a no-no on a ketogenic diet, I had to find a different base to provide that familiar crunch and was also low carb. Enter pork rinds.
To assemble, just pile a mound of pork rinds on a plate and drizzle with as much alfredo sauce as you'd like (it's best warm, in my opinion). After, top with Maytag blue cheese (traditional, other brands would work). For a deeper depth of flavor, I drizzled a very tiny amount of white truffle oil over top. Be careful with truffle oil; a little goes a long way!
I thought it might be a little silly to make a recipe out of this as it is mostly just assembly, so instead I decided to include a homemade alfredo recipe that is not only low-carb, but also gluten-free!
I'm honestly not a fan of pork rinds by themselves, but when mixed with other things, I quite like them. Thanks to my Columbus experience and new lifestyle of eating, this is and will be a major favorite in my keto repertoire.
Macro/Nutrition: For ⅙ of the Alfredo sauce recipe, this come out to roughly 280 calories, 2 carbs, 2 NET carbs, 27 grams of fat , 0 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein per serving!
Maytag Blue Cheese Pork Rinds
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 oz parmesan cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat cream cheese on low until melted.
- Gradually add in heavy cream, continuously stirring.
- Once those are combined, add cheese and spices.
- If mixture is a little too thick, add water in small amounts to thin it out.
Sylvia
OK, am I missing something? You call these Maytag Blue Cheese Pork Rinds, but I don't see any Maytag Blue Cheese (or any blue cheese) or pork rinds in the recipe...
Dom Geracia
Hi Sylvia-
The recipe is for the alfredo sauce, you just pour it over the pork rinds and add the cheese after! Although, I should look into making pork rinds -- that could be a fun recipe!
Dominic
Rae
You said you're not a fan of pork rinds. Have you ever had them fresh/home made? I thought pork rinds were nasty until a friend of mine made some at her home and they were Amazing! Prior to that I had only had the kind that come in a bag at the grocery store.
Some people just don't like them at all and that's fine, but if you haven't had them fresh I really encourage you to try them before you write them off completely =)
Dom Geracia
I have actually grown to love them since I wrote this post, haha! I did have them fresh before and it was a total game changer.
They brought them to our table warm and they were still crackling. So good!