I'll be honest. Before moving to the South, the only thing I knew about pimentos was that it was the joke part of the "loaf" and that whatever the heck it was, I wasn't touching it with a 10-foot pole.
Then I moved to Georgia. I'd heard talk about the mysterious pimento. I learned that they were red. And oh! So *that's* what that stuff is inside the green olive!!! That's where our relationship ended. I never really felt the need to deepen my relationship with the pimento. Until this past Christmas.
My dear, sweet, adorable neighbor brought me over some homemade pimento cheese as a little Christmas gift. I smiled brightly and gave her a hug... so touched by the fact that she'd thought of us at Christmastime. Of course, being the good Belle that I am now, I had her jar of homemade blueberry jam complete with Christmas fabric topper all ready to go! She had suggested using it to make a grilled cheese sandwich. I have to admit, that piqued my interest. If loving a grilled cheese sandwich is wrong, well then I don't want to be right.
I walked back into the house and told Big Daddy "Ashely gave us some pimento cheese. What is it?" You see, he's southern. He knows these things. I opened the lid... I eyed it curiously. It looked like a big orange blob with red polka dots. I sniffed it cautiously. Smells like cheese, I thought. I might even have poked at with a cheese spreader a time or two. I knew I had to try it so I could at least tell Ashely, "Thank you so much for the pimento cheese. It was the best pimento cheese I've ever eaten." You see, a good Belle finds a way to be polite without lying. It would have to be the best since I'd never had it before. You like that? I'm slick that way...
Anyway, we broke out the crackers and spread it on. Oh. My. Word. Good stuff!!! I think it lasted 2-3 days between the crackers and the grilled pimento cheese sammiches. Well, I've been dreaming about it since Christmas and meaning to try to make some on my own. Monday was the day.
I called Ashley and asked for the recipe. She laughed at me. Really, she laughed. Y'all. It's cheese, mayo, pimentos, and hot sauce. There were no measurements to give. That's enough to set this anal retentive, uptight Yankee into a tailspin. I wanted the cheese. My monthly friend is heading up the driveway this week, and I NEEDED the cheese. I know you girls get it.
For all you non-southern, uptight folks reading this... this is about what I came up with:
About 6 oz sharp cheddar cheese
1 small jar pimentos, drained.
1/3 c. mayo (Dukes, please)
Hot sauce to taste.
I was a little hesitant with the hot sauce since I don't really like things too spicy and I thought it might get hotter as it sat. And it did. I added what I thought was quite a bit, and it was enough to give it just a little kick but not enough to linger. Feel free to add more.
Shred the cheese, add the mayo and stir. Add the drained pimento and stir some more. Add the hot sauce. Stir. Repeat until desired intensity. I let it sit for a little bit, and I think it helped meld the flavors. It's also gotten better over the past few days.
Spread on crackers and enjoy with some sweet tea (that "recipe" coming up soon too, y'all. I think I mastered that southern staple as well!). I'll make Big Daddy a sandwich this weekend and update this post.
Southern food mastered:
Peach Cobbler
Sweet Tea
Pimento Cheese
Up next on the docket:
Chicken and Dumplin's
Banana pudding
My mom used to make her pimento cheese with velveeta. That was her go-to cheese. I prefer cheddar myself (bless her heart and God rest her soul). She made the best cooked banana pudding, though...none of that cool whip and sweetened condensed milk fluff. Dumplins are easy. Stew a whole chicken until the meat is falling off the bones. Strain off the broth and remove excess fat (or not). Pick the meat off the bones and set aside. Make a dough from plain flour, a dash of salt, and water. Coat a cutting board or waxed paper with flour. Roll dough out as thin as you can and cut into strips. Bring the broth to a boil and drop the strips in, one at a time, so they don't stick to each other. Stir occasionally. After you've added all the dumplins you want, add the chicken meat and let it simmer until it reduces a bit. Add salt and pepper to taste near the end (if you add it early, go lightly or it will be too salty after it simmers down).
ReplyDeleteThanks! I might try the chicken for Sunday dinner this week... :)
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