Pimiento Cheese

Back in junior high, my best friend brought pre-packaged pimiento cheese for lunch every single day.  To put it nicely, that stuff looked like your neighbor's cat grabbed a mid-afternoon snack of carrot sticks, lemon Skittles, and rancid tomato sauce and then...

I guess I'll spare you.

Suffice it to say that it did NOT look appetizing, and I told her as much.  Almost a decade and a half later, I can still remember my visceral reaction when she tore off a corner of her sandwich and offered it to me.  "Try it, it's delicious," she protested, her mouth full of the offensive goop.

No, thank you.

Now that I'm old(er) and wise(r), I know that pimiento cheese isn't meant to be some tri-colored glop manufactured on heavy machinery and stuffed into vacuum-sealed packaging.  Last weekend, Mom and I whipped up a batch of this delicious homemade pimiento cheese.  The freshly shredded cheeses and chunks of red pepper were hard to resist.  It was a delicious topping for Bagel Thins, a great dip for kettle-cooked potato chips, and a wonderful sandwich filling.  (But I think my favorite way to eat it was straight out of the bowl!)

We opted for the suggested combination of cheeses, although you can mix and match to suit your preferences.  I hope you enjoy this pimiento cheese as much as I did.

Serves 20-25
Recipe adapted from Food.com

INGREDIENTS
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 oz jar of pimientos, with juice
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS
1.  Add cream cheese, mayonnaise, and pimientos to a large bowl and stir to combine.
2.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Adjust seasonings to taste.
3.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.