Pimento Cheese

During college I traveled to Florida with some of my sorority sisters for spring break. A trip where my path crossed with a born and raised boy from Kentucky. Two months later I found myself on a bus to Louisville for a Kentucky Derby weekend. In spite of being a sorority girl, nothing in my prior experiences prepared me for the rituals and revelry of the Derby. Nothing. Somehow I managed to survive the slippery slope of one of Kentucky's most significant cultural events (being a little naive turned out to be a bit of blessing). Little did I know driving in a police escorted motorcade to a brunch at the Governor's Mansion and sitting in boxed seats at Churchill Downs wasn't exactly the way everyone experienced the Derby.

And then, of course, there were the Derby parties. At one of those parties I had second or third taste of a Mint Julep and my first taste of pimento cheese. More specifically a pimento cheese finger sandwich made with soft pillowy white bread. I am not sure if it was the pimento cheese on white bread or the need to have something in my stomach after a long day of drinking, but I was immediately smitten with one of the South's iconic dishes. Why Pimento Cheese, sometimes referred to as the caviar of the South, never really worked its' way into the North with the same affinity it has in the South remains a mystery to me. It wasn't the only thing I was smitten with that weekend.

After this love at first bite experience it would be years before Pimento Cheese came back into my life. During the five plus months I lived in Mississippi I may have consumed more than my fair share of Pimento Cheese. If it wasn't served at a social gathering it was sold in just about every grocery store. However, the pimento cheese sold at the grocery store didn't really compare to the ones homemade. Sort of like most chocolate chip cookies sold at any one of the bakery-cafe chains across the country don't really compare to the homemade versions. And just like a great homemade chocolate chip cookie, a great pimento cheese seems to be all about the ingredients one uses.

As the first week of May and the Kentucky Derby approaches, I found myself craving the taste of Pimento Cheese. There are as many Pimento Cheese recipes out there as there are ones for chocolate chip cookies, with each recipe claiming to be the best, most authentic, traditional version of this Southern staple. So after reading recipe after recipe there were some consistent themes. First, Pimento Cheese must be made with pimentos not with roasted red bell peppers. Pimentos are a variety of the heart shaped chili pepper and are a little sweeter than the red bell pepper. I can't seem to visualize Southern cooks standing over a grill roasting red peppers back in the early 1900's and for some reason I am not sure grocery stores were selling jars of roasted red peppers back then (but I could be wrong on both counts here.) Regardless, I needed to find a recipe calling for the use of pimentos, not roasted red bell peppers.

Having grown up on Hellman's mayonnaise I have long considered it to be best jarred mayonnaise on the planet. Like me, there are quite a few Southern cooks and chefs who are equally as passionate about jarred mayonnaise. Particularly when it comes to their Pimento Cheese recipes. Spoiler: They aren't recommending Hellman's. Rather they are recommending Duke's mayonnaise. Described as having no added sugar and more egg yolks giving it a richness more closely associated with homemade, this mayonnaise gives Hellman's a run for it's money. So I knew I needed to get my hands on a jar of Duke's mayonnaise if I was going to make an authentic'Southern Caviar'.

Finally, after going back and forth deciding which recipe to make I decided to go with one developed by a chef from Charleston, South Carolina. Hoping of course that a recipe from someone born and raised in the South would have the right amount of authenticity to it. With recipe and ingredients in hand, I was finally ready to make some homemade Pimento Cheese.

This is a one bowl recipe. The grated cheese, chopped and drained pimento, thinly sliced green onions, mayonnaise, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and a dash of hot sauce are gently mixed with a spatula until just combined. The entire mixture is then refrigerated for at least two hours or overnight to allow the flavors to develop. And after the first bite of this Pimento Cheese recipe, it tasted better than I remembered. It had the right amount of creaminess, the right amount of 'bite'.

Pimento Cheese has often been served on white bread, crusts removed of course. However, this is where you can break with tradition. Crostini, sliced bread sticks, pita chips, crackers, and celery all perfectly compliment the flavor of Pimento Cheese. If you have never had this below the Mason Dixon Line cheese spread, you are missing out on one of the more endearing Southern food traditions. Besides, what else would you serve on Kentucky Derby weekend? 

Recipe
Pimento Cheese (recipe inspired by one created by Sarah O'Kelley, a chef from Charleston, South Carolina)
Post updated May 2019.

Ingredients
2 cups (8 ounces net weight) sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1/2 to 3/4 generous cup mayonnaise (in keeping with the Southern tradition, recommend Duke's mayonnaise) 
1/2 cup (4 ounce jar) pimiento peppers (drained and chopped)
1/4 cup green onion, both green and white parts), thinly sliced (about 3 - 4 onions)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dash of hot sauce (Tabasco or Cholula Hot Sauce)
Sliced baguette and sliced celery sticks (and/or white bread with crusts removed)

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine. Note: Start by adding only 1/2 cup of the mayonnaise. Continue adding until it reaches the desired consistency.
2. Allow the mixture to chill at least 2 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to marinate.
3. Serve with crackers, pita chips, sliced bread sticks, crostini, (white) bread with crusts removed, and/or celery sticks.

Notes: (1) Recommending using a 3 to 5 year old aged cheddar. (2) Traditionally the Pimento Cheese is served on white bread (crusts removed) finger sandwiches The original photos on the post showed that presentation. However, I prefer serving it in a bowl surrounded by slices of a baguette and celery sticks.

One of the many benefits of having lived in different places is developing an appreciation for different foods. The diversity of regional and ethnical foods is also one of the benefits of traveling. From local 'dives' to the high end restaurants, there is no better way to experience a city. I can still remember the taste of the barbecue from a restaurant (or rather a kind of a shack which was really a gambling place that just happened to serve food made in one of the tiniest of kitchens I have ever seen) some of my co-workers took me to when I lived in Mississippi. We drove to one of the parishes in Louisiana late one night (my concept of a parish was strongly influenced by my Catholic upbringing, a concept that my peers found rather amusing) to experience what they claimed was the best barbecue in the South. Everything about the 'restaurant' including the drive down a long dirt road in the dark made me a little anxious. All I could think was this was going to be some of the best food or some of the worst (if we first didn't get arrested for being in a place having what seemed like some illegal gambling going on.) But any worries I had about a police raid completely disappeared after tasting the barbecue on my plate. Nothing since has ever compared to that barbecue. 

And then there are some regionally made foods I believe you need to grow up with to truly love. I was never able to appreciate the calamari made the Rhode Island way as my palate just seemed unable to make the transition from the calamari I was accustomed to eating here in the midwest. For me, something about the vinegar and sweet cherry pepper topping seemed to detract from the deliciousness of the calamari. My east coast friends could never understand why I didn't love 'their' calamari. 

One thing for certain is I wouldn't have known whether this would be a food I would love or not unless I first tasted it. I have always wondered why someone would outright dismiss trying something new without at least first tasting it. I am not talking about extreme, bizarre or exotic foods here, I am talking about the foods most of us have been exposed to our entire lives, but are prepared 'differently' from the way we have eaten them. You never know when you are a bite away from something that could possibly be the most incredible/scream-worthy/euphoria inducing/addictive food unless you try it. For me, the worst thing that can happen is tasting something so over-the-top/amazing and then never being able to taste it again. If only I knew how to get back to the 'place' at the end of that long dark dirt road.