The Secret to Amazing Pimento Cheese

“The food in the South is as important as food anywhere because it defines a person's culture.” 
-Fannie Flagg

Let me tell you about my love affair with pimento cheese.

Pimento cheese was something that I thought was really nasty until high school and packed lunches opened my eyes forever to this wonderful, Southern concoction. I am always amazed when people say they have never had pimento cheese. You don't know what you're missing.

Luckily, my wonderful boyfriend, Don, shares my love of pimento cheese. Our passion for the stuff is probably unrivaled by most other couples. So hoping for an easy dinner tonight, I suggested pimento cheese sandwiches.

Now, my mom and granny's basic recipe is simple:

1 small jar pimentos
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese
Some mayonnaise
Paprika to taste

This is the easiest recipe possible, but people are always putting their own variants to it. I like the simple version, but tonight our local Kroger in Macon did not have a single jar of plain pimentos. This is a problem that I oddly run into frequently down here that I never experienced back in Tennessee. Maybe Tennesseans just love their pimentos more.

I got a jar of sliced olives with pimentos, but I correctly predicted that even after separating the pimento out, it would not be enough, so I also grabbed a jar of roasted red peppers to slice up and throw in. Since the two of us are vegetarians, and thus understandably COMPLETELY OBSESSED with cheese, we picked up two varieties from the bagged cheese section and then headed over to the specialty cheeses to pick up something special. We grabbed some smoked provolone, and boy, am I glad we did.

The final recipe looks like this:

1 small block smoked provolone cheese
1 bag sharp cheddar cheese
1 bag colby jack cheese
Half a jar of roasted red peppers
Small jar of pimentos (you can separate them from olives if you can't find a jar)
Cholula hot sauce to taste
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
Paprika
Salt and pepper

Combine your two shredded varieties of cheese in a large bowl, and then grate in the smoked provolone.
Pour in a dash of the juice from the pimentos, and drain the rest. Add pimentos to the cheese bowl.
Pour in a dash of the juice from the red peppers, and drain the rest. Finely chop about half of your red peppers from the jar and add.
Put in as much hot sauce as you like. The mayo will cut the spiciness a little, so keep that in mind.
Add about a cup and a half of mayo, and stir it all together. Add more mayo if it is not sticking together.
Add paprika, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix again so that all of the ingredients are spread evenly. You don't want to mash your cheese into too fine a consistency.

Enjoy with white or wheat bread, on toast, or on crackers! Also great melted over a delicious veggie burger.

It will keep in the fridge for several days, and will tend to taste better on day two when everything has been marinating together. :)

Enjoy!