"Paminna Cheese"

If you grew up in the South, you might have taken a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school, but it was just as likely to have been a pimento ("paminna") cheese. Pimento cheese sandwiches are to the Masters at Augusta what mint juleps are to the Kentucky Derby and strawberries are to Wimbledon. I love pimento cheese and always have. It got me through braces, when my lunches most often consisted of a thermos of cream soup and a pimento cheese sandwich sans crust and cut into bite-sized pieces that I could squish up in my mouth instead of chewing. (Thanks, Mom!)

I occasionally cook lunch for around thirty co-workers, so when the temperature hit the mid-seventies this week and I was on for lunch, I figured the best way to celebrate Spring was to introduce them (mostly mid-westerners and Yankees, with a couple of Brits) to pimento cheese. I served the sandwiches cut into triangles on a big lunch tray.

It was a hit.

Of course.

Pimento Cheese
(enough for about 10 sandwiches)

8 ounces Colby or Colby Jack cheese, fresh grated (2 cups)
8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, fresh grated (2 cups)
(Fresh grating is important. Pre-grated cheese has a little bit of a coating that keeps the consistency from coming together. Plus block cheese is cheaper.)
1 cup mayonnaise (Duke's; but outside the South, Hellman's is best)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (4-ounce) jar chopped pimientos, undrained
Freshly ground pepper to taste (don't overwhelm it)
Couple of dashes of hot pepper sauce (Texas Pete - we're talking flavor more than heat, here)

Combine mayonnaise, pimentos, lemon juice, mustard, onion, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and hot sauce.

Stir sauce into well-mixed grated cheeses, and serve (though I like it better the next day).

Make sandwiches (I like them with pickles, sweet or dill). Top hamburgers. Fill celery. Spread on crackers. Make grilled-pimento-cheese sandwiches (yum!). Bake it in a small casserole until it's bubbly and browning and serve it with corn chips ("Southern Queso"). Get creative. Whatever you do, enjoy!