Grandma Lucy’s Pimento Cheese
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Today I’m bringing you a much beloved recipe from the South. From what I read and hear, it isn’t nearly as popular outside of our little geographic region as it is here, but folks in these parts consider it a staple in every home!
Long before the days of snack cakes and convenience foods, Pimento Cheese sandwiches dominated minds when it came to a “quick bite to eat” or a “little lunch”. They were cheap and delicious on plain old white bread, although I serve mine on wheat these days.
I remember going to Grandmama and Grandaddy’s house and finding one or both sitting at their kitchen table having a pimento cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. They’d always ask “Ya want some puh-men-ah cheese, baby?”. I never refused.
I’ve wanted to get this recipe up on here for a while and asked Grandmama how she made her pimento cheese so I could bring you the taste I remember so well. She immediately said “Oh, now if you want the best pimento cheese, you gotta use Velveeta.”
What better time to bring you this than during my time serving as a Velveeta Kitchenista? I hope you’ve been visiting Velveeta It!’s facebook page this month as myself and four other Mom bloggers present a new Velveeta recipe each day but if you haven’t you can still breeze on over there and catch up on all of the wonderful tips and recipes that have been shared so far! Just visit www.facebook.com/velveeta and be sure to drop a howdy to me there this Thursday when I’ll be hosting Tasty Traditions Thursdays!
You’ll need: 16 ounce block of Velveeta, Pimentos, and a little Mayo.
Grate your Velveeta. Now Velveeta is a little on the soft side so I found an easy way of doing this. You remember play-doh? Just get your grater out and place the block of Velveeta against it and press into the grater. It comes out the other side quick and easy as can be and ends up being a lot less work than grating a block of cheddar.
Dump in a jar of drained pimentos. I used the small jar which is about 2 ounces.
Add about 1/2 cup of Mayonnaise. You can add more to taste if you like.
Stir that up well.
Grandmama doesn’t salt and pepper hers so I didn’t either. I found it to be utterly sublime as is but feel free to salt and pepper (and even garlic!) yours if you got a hankerin’ to.
Serve on a sandwich or crackers.
These are a standard at every party, too. There is nothing like little finger pimento cheese sandwiches with the crusts trimmed off to add an air of tradition to a gathering!
Did you eat pimento cheese growing up? Do you have a different recipe or a special Pimento Cheese memory?
Tell me about it in the comments!
Ingredients
- 16 ounce block Velveeta
- 2 ounce jar Pimentos drained
- 1/2 C Mayonnaise
Instructions
- Push Velveeta through a grater until all is grated in a bowl. Add Pimentos and Mayo. Stir well. Salt and pepper if desired. Serve on loaf bread.
Today’s quote is one of those that kinda hits you in layers. Hope you enjoy it!
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
St. Francis of Assisi
Mawmaw made pimento cheese using Velveeta, but she melted it in a double boiler and added evaporated milk. I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t match what she did….and nothing tasted as good as Mawmaw’s pimento cheese.
This is a very old recipe, it is like a spread. A large block of Velveeta, can Pet milk, large jar chopped pimientos, 1 tablespoon mayo, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Melt it all together in a double boiler and pour into a bowl to refrigerate. I place a paper towel over the top of the bowl to collect the condensation while it cools. You may want to add a little more sugar to your taste.
My mama made her pimento cheese w evaporated milk, as she got older. Don’t know why, and I was never around when she made it, but I surely did love to eat it when I came home! I have tried to reproduce hers, but never thought about using Velveeta! Or perhaps half Velveeta and half cheese. She kept it in an old mayonnaise jar in the frig, because it had a wide mouth. Yum! Wouldn’t I love to sit across from her at the table and ask her how she made hers! Memories.
I have added chopped (fine) jalepenos to my pimento cheese. I have also at times added sweet relish.
Ohh, I bet that is good!!!
I’ve been trying different recipes and are all too fancy. A friends mom use to make it and I always loved it. Will try this and see it like my memories of hers. I had a deep fried deviled egg with the pimento cheese filling at a restaurant in Ft Walden Beach Florida last year. Yum!
Let me know if this recipe is close to what you are looking for or not, I have a few others if it isn’t. 🙂
I like this one.
Pimiento Cheese
MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS
1 pound block of cream cheese
½ cup of diced pimientos
1–2 cups Duke’s mayonnaise (to taste)
1½ pounds shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Heat cream cheese in a microwave at half power. Once softened, place cream cheese in mixing bowl, and add pimientos and 1 cup mayonnaise. Mix until there is a smooth consistency, with very few chunks of cream cheese remaining. Add cheddar cheese, paprika and cayenne pepper, and mix well. If desired, add more mayonnaise to make the pimiento cheese smoother and easier to spread. Keep refrigerated for up to a week.
My mother’s recipe is similar to this, but she adds sweet pickle relish and uses Miracle Whip (I’m a mayo girl). She cuts the Velveta into 1″ cubes and mixes all the ingredients in a food processor. Delicious!
Oh my goodness, Robin, that sounds wonderful!
That’s exactly what my mother’s recipe was. It tastes totally different if you don’t use Miracle Whip! I know because I tried.
I would make my boyfriend these on our school lunch breaks. I was 16 and he thought my “special sandwiches ” were my own invention. Lol
Mom made them for the church ladies. Great memories!
My grandmother also put relish in hers, but she used mayonnaise. I make it every year for the holidays, I have to wing it because I wasn’t smart enough to copy her recipes. Comes out ok but just not the same. One of these days I’ll find a recipe that’s close
I grew up in Maine (you can’t get any further north than that!) and I remember my grandmother sharing her pimento cheese with me from when I could barely walk. My grandmother and her whole family as far back as I can go were born and raised Maine yankees. So I’m not sure how she came across delicious pimento cheese, I’m just glad she did! Now that she’s gone, I’ll have to make my own, but she put some chili powder in hers.
And what a blessing to have her recipe!!
Almost the same as my mothers but she melted the velveeta and added just a tiny bit of cream so it turned out real creamy! Yum. Can taste it now!
I make mine the exact same way except I add a small amount of apple cider vinegar. Makes a great grilled cheese sandwich.
I have never thought about grilled pimento cheese sandwiches yumm!