Active Time

　　25 min

　　Total Time

　　2 1/2 hr

　　If you really want to make this pimento cheese the way my mother does, and you happen to own a hand-crank meat grinder, run the two cheeses once through the fine blade of the grinder into a mixing bowl. Mother simply used to grind the pimentos with the cheeses, but now she prefers to mash them with a heavy fork on a plate until they break up into tiny pieces.

　　She uses homemade mayonnaise but also endorses Hellmann's (a.k.a. Best Foods).

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 3 cups

　　1/2 lb extra-sharp Vermont white Cheddar

　　1/2 lb extra-sharp aged New York (orange) Cheddar

　　1 (7-oz) jar pimentos, drained and finely chopped

　　1/2 teaspoon black pepper

　　cayenne to taste

　　2/3 cup mayonnaise

　　

Step 1

Finely grate cheeses into a large bowl. Stir in pimentos, black pepper, cayenne, and salt to taste with a fork. Then stir in mayonnaise, mashing mixture with fork until relatively smooth. (It should be flecked with small pieces of pimento.)

　　

Step 2

Scrape spread into a crock or jar and chill, covered, at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop.

　　

Step 3

Serve pimento cheese with crackers or use as a filling for finger sandwiches.

　　Cooks' note:

　　Pimento cheese keeps, tightly covered and chilled, 4 days.