Smokey Pimento Cheese

Hey, y'all!  Let's talk for a minute about me and cooking.  I don't claim to be a chef, and, honestly, I don't cook that often during the school year.  My husband would still say I'm a good cook though because when I do cook, it's normally pretty good.  At Christmas, my husband and I volunteered to cook lunch for his family.  We decided that soup would be something really easy to cook, and when thinking of something to go with the soup, we both automatically thought of pimento cheese.  I scoured Pinterest for a pimento cheese recipe, and man did I ever find some.  Tons of them!  I finally found one I thought would be good, and I tweaked the recipe a little to make it my own.  Y'all, it was the BEST pimento cheese in the history of EVER.  So today I want to share with you my Smokey Pimento Cheese Recipe.

This pimento cheese will make you want to slap your grand-mama.  It's that good!  It tastes like it has bacon in it, which comes from my secret ingredient.  And, no, it's not bacon.  So let me give you the low down on how to make your own...

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
• 8 oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
• 8 oz. Smoked Gouda (shredded)
• 12 oz. Jar of Roasted Red Peppers (diced)
• Three Tablespoons Mayonnaise
• One Tablespoon of Liquid from Red Peppers
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• Sea Salt

Directions: 

Use a mixer to combine the softened cream cheese with the mayo, roasted red pepper liquid, salt and pepper.  (I just eyeball the salt and pepper.) Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a sturdy wooden spoon to mix the cheddar and smoked gouda cheese a little at the time with the cream cheese and mayo mixture.  Last, mix in the diced pimentos.

Recipe adapted from Damaris Phillips's Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich Recipe.

Be sure to use smoked gouda because it is the secret ingredient to the yummy bacon flavor!

 This pimento cheese is great on crackers, but my favorite way to eat it is to make a grilled pimento cheese sandwich.  It can also be used on top of a hamburger, in an omelet or in grits.  (Yes, pimento cheese grits are a thing, and they are a VERY good thing.)

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