Pimiento Cheese anyone?

[Maximus1966]

I've gone crazy over Pimiento Cheese lately, or as they say in the South, "puminner cheese."

My favorite recipe so far (good with any real cheddar):

16 ounces aged white cheddar
1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Grate the cheddar by hand. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir lightly to mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Serve with crackers

If you have it in your area, Dukes is by far the best mayo.

 

[greenaccord02]

From my wife:

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.

You can throw some jalapeno relish in there too, for some kick.

 

[Johnny]

1 lb. block of yellow american (Wisconsin) cheese
2-4 oz of chopped pimientos with juice
4 to 5 tablespoons of Miracle Whip (to taste)

Cut the block of cheese in to strips and run them through a hand operated meat grinder. Mix it all together.

 

[rainman49]

Down South, we say "puminner AND cheese." Or, when my younger brother was around 8, he thought they were saying "minners and cheese." That's stuck around in our family since.

 

[Maximus1966]

greenaccord, your recipe sounds very appealing. I'll have to give it a try.

 

[benjamming]

Mother's Everyday Pimento Cheese - Epicurious is what we use with Hellman's light mayonnaise.

yield: Makes about 3 cups
active time: 25 min
total time: 2 1/2 hr

If you really want to make this pimento cheese the way my mother does, and you happen to own a hand-crank meat grinder, run the two cheeses once through the fine blade of the grinder into a mixing bowl. Mother simply used to grind the pimentos with the cheeses, but now she prefers to mash them with a heavy fork on a plate until they break up into tiny pieces.

She uses homemade mayonnaise but also endorses Hellmann's (a.k.a. Best Foods).

Ingredients

1/2 lb extra-sharp Vermont white Cheddar
1/2 lb extra-sharp aged New York (orange) Cheddar
1 (7-oz) jar pimentos, drained and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
cayenne to taste
2/3 cup mayonnaise

Preparation

Finely grate cheeses into a large bowl. Stir in pimentos, black pepper, cayenne, and salt to taste with a fork. Then stir in mayonnaise, mashing mixture with fork until relatively smooth. (It should be flecked with small pieces of pimento.)

Scrape spread into a crock or jar and chill, covered, at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop.

Serve pimento cheese with crackers or use as a filling for finger sandwiches.

Cooks' note: Pimento cheese keeps, tightly covered and chilled, 4 days.