I wasn’t born in the South. But, I’ve put in almost 30 years here, so it’s bound to count for something, right? Well, if you ask me, I feel pretty Southern. I think pearls go with almost any outfit, I’ll eat fried chicken and biscuits any day of the week, and I honestly believe God made the sky Carolina Blue for a reason. Which is why, with some guilt, I feel I must admit… up until last week, I had never had pimiento cheese. Gasp.
My sister brought some over the other night for one of the family dinners I was hosting (the one where we had to use paper towels for napkins). She had swung by the Fresh Market and picked out some hummus and what she had heard was some great pimiento cheese spread. So, I thought, now’s the time. I hadn’t been avoiding it. It’s just that whenever pimiento cheese has been an offering (say at a party or picnic), there’s always been something else that looked better. But, what the heck. I tried it. And to be honest, it was OK. If anything, maybe a little to pimento-ey for my taste.
But not to be out-done by what I know to be a Southern favorite, I took matters into my own hands and looked into this whole pimiento cheese thing a little bit further. What I came up with was something that really, you ALL should try, regardless of where you hail from. From the food kitchen of Southern Living, I present to you, my dear readers, the sandwich of all sandwiches:
The Grilled Pimiento Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 (4-oz.) jar diced pimiento, drained (based on my experience with the Fresh Market pimiento cheese sample, I reduced the pimientos by 1/3)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon finely grated onion
- 2 (8-oz.) blocks sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
- White bread slices
- Mayonnaise
Preparation:
Stir together 1 cup mayonnaise, diced pimiento, Worcestershire sauce, and onion. Stir in shredded sharp Cheddar cheese. (Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week, if desired.) Spread 1/4 cup pimiento cheese mixture on 1 side of a white bread slice; top with another bread slice. Lightly spread both sides of sandwich with mayonnaise. Repeat with remaining pimiento cheese mixture for desired number of sandwiches. Cook, in batches, on a hot griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese melts.
Makes 11 sandwiches. Simply make the quantity that suits your needs. The cheese will keep for up to a week in the fridge. Trust me, you’ll want more of these.
This looks WONDERFUL!