Pimento Cheese

Pimento cheese is one of those Southern dishes that sounds disgusting, looks even more disgusting, but tastes delicious.  I refused to eat it for the first 25 years of my life, only to regret all of those missed opportunities once I finally tasted it and realized it was heaven in a bowl.  Normally we only have this during the summer, but it made its way onto the menu for this year's Christmas Eve appetizer dinner.

Ingredients:

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Miracle Whip
2 to 3 tablespoons smashed pimentos
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Pimento cheese is very simple to make.  Shred a cup of sharp cheddar cheese and a cup of Monterrey Jack cheese.  Mix the cheeses and add 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, two tablespoons of Miracle Whip, two or three tablespoons of smashed pimentos, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Some people add cream cheese, but that's frowned upon in my family.  Others add grated onions.  We don't.  All is just a matter of preference.

When we make this in the summer, we usually eat it as a sandwich spread.  Mom and I usually eat it by itself on a sandwich, but some people add sandwich meat and vegetables.  Tonight we're going to class it up, however, and serve it in a pretty little bowl with a side of crackers.