Pimiento Cheese (With '2-4-6 dressing')
My
mom was known far and wide for her pimento cheese. I tried for years to
duplicate it when she was still alive, but it was hard for her to
impart that knowledge on us because she never used a recipe. Finally,
with the help of internet research, I cracked the code of the cooked
dressing! I made the pimento cheese for Mom a few times while she was
in the nursing home, and it made her very happy.
While having lunch from a food truck in Asheville a few years ago, we
discovered smoked gouda makes awesome pimento cheese too! I couldn't
wait to try it! Nowadays, it's a regular part of my arsenal of recipes!
Dressing ingredients:
2 eggs
4 TBSP vinegar
6 TBSP granulated sugar
Add:
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese (or other similarly-textured cheese), shredded2 large jars of pimentos
Prepare the cheese and pimentos:
Empty 2 8 oz bags or 1 16-ounce bag of shredded SHARP cheddar cheese (or a lb of cheese that you’ve shredded or course-grated) and two large jars of diced pimentos into the bowl of a food processor.For the dressing:
Beat all ingredients together with whisk. Cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly, until mixture looks like a custard. Remove from heat, and remove the upper pan from the water bath so as to stop it cooking. Don’t cook too long, or you will have scrambled eggs.Add the warm dressing mixture and process until desired texture is reached. Chill before serving. Can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks. (If it lasts that long!)
NOTE: We have exchanged Smoked Gouda for the cheddar cheese to create a wonderful new flavor. Also, I recommend mixing one of the jars of pimentos in the cheese mixture and processing until smooth. Then, add the other jar and mix well, leaving the visible pieces of pimento in your cheese spread.