Southern Flavors, The Quest for Great-Grandmother's Pimento Cheese

I grew up in Connecticut, but apparently have been a Southern girl at heart since birth. I love everything about the South – from the southern belle charm to the redneck in a pickup truck – all the stereotypical images we Yankees have of this foreign land are a lullaby to me. And living here in the North Georgia Mountains is a dream.

There are very few Southern belles here – most of the women I’ve met who have lived out their lives here still live off the land in one form or another – hunting, fishing and growing their sustenance. It is this heritage of self-sufficiency that thrills me most. It is my aspiration. The simple – back to basics – southern Appalachian life tickles me, allowing me to wake each day to new adventures.

The simplicity of the region can be summed up in its food as well. From the preserved and pickled produce packed in mason jars that weave a colorful history in kitchen cupboards throughout the south to family recipes passed down from generation to generation...recipes for chow chow, deer meat [don’t be calling it venison ‘round here], squirrel stew, or home-brewed fruit wines - there are offerings here that no one up north or out west have ever heard of.

But one southern staple has found its way to high-end restaurant menus across the country – and that’s Pimento Cheese. We serve it at our own restaurant – Danny’s interpretation of the delightfully pedestrian spread served up with pickles and crackers.

And now, it would appear that I am on a mission to find out other home-born recipes for the common southern cheese spread. Personally, I never heard of pimento cheese with in my Yankee, Protestant upbringing. Port wine cheese spread yes, but never anything the likes of this.

I’ve come to understand that the basic recipe has few ingredients: sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, salt and pepper, blended to either a smooth or chunky paste. But that’s where the basics end. Everyone has their own little secret add-in from cream cheese, Velveeta cheese, Louisiana-style hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, paprika, jalapeños, onions, garlic, and dill pickles

Friends tell me they grew up eating pimento cheese sandwiches served up on squishy-soft white bread. Now it’s served up in restaurants topped on burgers, mixed into grilled cheese sandwiches or as a condiment on appetizer plates.

I’ve been sampling restaurant variations every chance I get on roadtrips through Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. It’s one of those quests – along with great barbecue – that has captured my soul these days.

But I would love to get some classic southern pimento cheese recipes passed down from generation to generation to get a better understanding of its roots and its regional variations. Anyone have their own recipe to share?