Pimento Cheese

I can't recall the first time I heard about pimento cheese, but I think I made a face.   Maybe because the only thing the word "pimento" makes me think of is that horrible deli product "pimento loaf".  My friend Josie and I were having lunch together one day and she had brought some pimento cheese and had me try it.  I mean, I remember liking it.  I think I compared it to an Austrian/Hungarian spread called liptauer.  But I never went out of my way to have it again.

A few weeks ago, I was having a play date for Evie's classmates.  The morning of the play date, I decided since 10 Southern women were about to come to my home, I needed something southern to serve them.  What else could do the trick besides sweet tea and pimento cheese!

When I set it out, I took a cracker and had some.  OMG.  I could not stop.  I was convinced that I could probably eat the entire bowl myself.  There were leftovers after the play date, but I quickly edited my dinner menu for the night so we could have pimento cheese burgers for dinner.     And for a play date the next week, I bought more pimento cheese.    I started to think, why am I buying this?  I could easily make it!  I started looking around the internet and it seems that while there are slight variations on the recipe here and there, the classic recipe is pretty standard.   Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, cayenne, tabasco, salt and pepper.   Josie substitutes half greek yogurt in hers.  (Also, check out some of her variatons, such as poblano and pepperjack.) Some people use pickles or relish in it.  But across the board it was pretty much the same.  So I went shopping with these 8 ingredients in mind and just came up with levels of seasoning that worked best for me.

And now I've got my husband and best friend hooked on it.  And Liam loves it, too. Pimento cheese is great on crackers, sliced bread (pimento cheese sandwiches are a real thing down here!), on a burger, in a grilled cheese, in mac and cheese or on fried green tomatoes.  The list goes on and on.  It is ridiculously easy to make and is a crowd pleaser.  It keeps for up to a week, covered in the fridge.  Although, I can't speak for storing it.  It doesn't seem to last long around my family and our house guests.

Pimento Cheese  

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (use a block of good, sharp cheddar.  This is not a good time to use the pre-shredded bags)
1 cup shredded monterrey jack cheese
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 seven-ounce jar of diced pimentos (you may not want to use all of this.  I started at 4 ounces and gradually added more because I didn't think it was enough.)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
a few shakes of tabasco, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients.   Mix well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.  Transfer to the refrigerator and allow the flavors to come together for at least one hour.

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