Pimento Cheese
You can't claim to be a true Southern foodie unless you can make — or at the very least know where to get — a good pimento cheese spread. (Atlanta favorite Home Grown pimento cheese can be found at Kroger, Target, and on Amazon Fresh.) This roasted red pepper and cheese spread can be used as a dip for crackers, chips, and veggies, as a spread on toast points or biscuits, or even as a deviled egg filling. It doesn't matter how you eat your pimento cheese spread; what matters is that you eat it. Cook like a genuine Georgian by trying my recipe for Hickory Smoked Pimento Cheese Stuffed Deviled Eggs (recipe below).
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened, ½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (Optional), ¼ teaspoon onion powder, 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (Optional), 1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimento, drained, salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the cheddar, cream cheese, pimento peppers, mayonnaise, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper and jalapeño (if using), and several twists of black pepper.
- Beat the mixture together with a hand mixer, your stand mixer, or by hand with a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula
- Beat until the mixture is thoroughly combined
- Taste, and add more black pepper if desired, and/or salt for more overall flavor (I usually add a pinch of two). If you’d like your pimento cheese to have more of a kick, add another pinch of cayenne. Blend again.
- Transfer the mixture to a smaller serving bowl. Serve your pimento cheese immediately, or chill it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Pimento cheese hardens as it cools; let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature to soften.
