Pimento Cheese

On sesame Melba rounds

Yesterday, I asked my Twitter friends if they had a good pimento cheese recipe. I got great responses, especially for Samma's pimento cheese.  You have to go check out this recipe. It's next on my list. I'm snowed in, and didn't have any jalapeños. 

So after sifting through many recipes, I decided to make Bobby Deen's (you know....Paula's son ) Pimento Cheese recipe. Like ALL recipes, I made some changes. Here's my version.

Pimento Cheese

Ingedients:

• (1) 8 oz block of Sharp cheddar cheese      *NOT pre-shredded
• (1) 8 oz block of Monterey Jack cheese      *NOT pre-shredded
• 3 oz of cream cheese (room temp)
• About 1/3 cup mayo or more if desired
• 2-3 teaspoons of jarred pimentos, (drained & smashed with a fork)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated onion
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of salt (more or less according to taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
• Fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

• With a hand grater, grate both cheeses into a medium sized bowl. 
• Add cream cheese and mayo. Lightly blend.
• Add pimentos and onion.
• Add salt, garlic powder, and desired amount of fresh cracked pepper.
• Thoroughly blend.
• Chill for a few hours. It has a firmer consistency.
• Serve as a sandwich or on crackers or vegetables. The possibilities are ENDLESS!

*I am the queen of "sneaking" fruits and vegetables into my family's food. Guess what I did yesterday? I shredded some carrot & put into the pimento cheese. You should try it. It adds a nice sweetness & crunch. Shhhhh. Don't tell them. 

Here it is on wheat bread.