If store bought pimento cheese gives you the willies, raise your hand. My hand is high in the air. I do not like the taste of that orang-y spread slathered on between two pieces of sandwich bread. Blech.
With that fear, I believed I did NOT like pimento cheese.
Period.
I judged it harshly, by it’s fake counterpart.
When in reality… Pimento cheese is a very yummy food!
Yeah, Really!
I happened upon the realization by accident.
It was a church work day, our food supply had dwindled to little. I was racking my brain as to what I could bring to help feed a bunch of hungry workers.
I gathered a little of this and a little of that and had nothing of real substance.
I remembered that I had a good bit of shredded cheese in the fridge and thought to myself, I’ll bet I could make something with that.
I had about 2 cups of shredded cheese
1/2 block of cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
sprinkle of black pepper
1 jar of pimentos
Mix all ingredients til spreadable.
This pimento cheese is not smooth, but it will spread. You will see the bits of cheese, the pimentos, flecks of pepper… It is a very nice mix.
I spread some on sandwiches and put some in a bowl with crackers and veggies.
It was a hit.
And you know what?
I like pimento cheese now.
And it’s really, really good with BACON!
Make it yourself!
Know what you put in there, it makes a WORLD of difference!
I had never heard of pimento cheese before I met my husband. It isn't exactly a California thing. 🙂 I didn't even know you could buy it pre-made. They don't sell it in California, so I've always made it for my husband from his mom's recipe. Yours is a bit different…I'll have to try it out for him one of these days. (Oh, and if you like spicy, try adding some finely chopped jalapenos. One of our favorite restaurants here sells a jalapeno-pimento cheese sandwich that my husband just loves!)