Three Cheese Pimento Cheese!!

A few things are truly Southern:  fried chicken, deviled eggs and Pah-Men-Toe Cheeze to name a few.  I don't even like Pimento Cheese, Carolina Caviar, PC, or whatever you call it, just don't call it store bought! Well, I didn't like it until I tried the Pimento Cheese at Little Rock's Capital Bar and Grill.  It is truly divine!

CBG Pimento Cheese

And yes, those soda crackers are made in-house as well! It's the best $7 you'll spend in the River Market.  I've tried at various times to re-create it, but I can't.  Their's has a kick to it that I can't quite put my finger on yet.  Rumor has it that theirs has a splash of pickle juice in it...

So, I did what I usually do, and I scoured the internet and a few cookbooks and came up with my own recipe (again).  Tonight though, I suspected I was on to something so I actually kept track of what I was doing.  For you I present:

Kat's Three Cheese Pimento Cheese

4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temp
1/4 cup Hellman's mayo
4 oz. shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
4 oz. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp. roasted peppers

With a hand mixer whip the cream cheese and mayo until creamy.  Add the remaining ingredients and fold in until thoroughly mixed.  Let chill for 2 hours, or even better, overnight.  Serve with bread crisps, celery, or your fixins of choice.  It really is this easy.

This is also fantastic made into a grilled cheese sandwich or added to a grilled burger, as the Capital Bar and Grill well knows because those are also on their menu.

Here are the REAL tricks----you have to actually grate your own cheese at home.  DO NOT, under any circumstances, buy and use pre-shredded cheese.  You won't get the correct texture and that store bought stuff has some coating all over it that will contaminate the recipe and make it disastrous, of this I am certain (and no, I would never even think of trying this at home.)

You can certainly tweak this--add a dash of Worcestershire Sauce or perhaps some green olives (I'll do that next time), but please don't desecrate this by using pre-shredded cheese.  And use SHARP cheddar cheese.  You could even use all cheddar cheese and nix the MJ cheese.  Some folks will tell you to add grated onion, but anyone who knows me, knows that I would NEVER, EVER recommend this.

Get creative and post your adjustments/comments below.  But most importantly---enjoy the savory taste of fresh home made Pah-Men-Toe Cheeze any time you wish!

Until next time, ENJOY LIFE, LOVE, and FOOD!