Pimento cheese, or “Carolina Caviar,” as it was sometimes referred to where I grew up, is kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s the perfect snacking cheese — spreadable, mildly spicy, and salty. On the other hand, one can never just dip their hand in a single bite of pimento cheese and stop. I know this from firsthand experience. I may have also fallen asleep with streaks of dried pimento cheese smeared across my face in a cheddar-induced haze. This is why I don’t make it often. This is also why I’ve stopped setting it out on my coffee table, right in front of my napping sofa.
This past Easter seemed like a good reason to make a big batch, though. The moms on our quiet little street all got together and planned a neighborhood-wide egg hunt, and we all agreed that the price of admission was a side dish. Pimento cheese is a surefire party pleaser, and this way I could make sure that my family didn’t absentmindedly consume a whole bunch of it on our own (see: nap/cheese issue, above). Today’s recipe is my basic, go-to recipe, adapted from the Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook, and above I’ve listed some of my favorite add-ins to make your pimento cheese uniquely yours.