Even though it was sunny outside, the ground had barely thawed from the winter, leaving a muddy mess. I really wanted the kids to wear their Easter outfits, but fancy leather sandals were out of the question. On went the rubber boots. The kids were very excited about it. Rain boots means muddy places, which means high-footed stomping. They win, mom loses.

While the kids stomped around outside waiting for the Easter bunny to arrive, I headed inside to char my red bell peppers under the broiler in my oven (to see an example of how black your red bell pepper needs to be in order for this recipe to work, check out my photos here).  It’s important to char the bell peppers so that the skin is extra-black on all sides. It means the bell pepper is getting cooked thoroughly, so that, once peeled, the flesh is sleek and soft the touch, like the surface of an otter (I don’t know why it reminds me of that, it just does). Secondly, the char also imparts just a hint of smokiness, which really adds depth to the pimento cheese spread. Without the bell pepper, all you have is a variant of a sad little cheese dip. No one likes sad cheese.

This recipe produces my absolute favorite pimento cheese. The sweet bell peppers mitigate the saltiness of the cheddar well, and the cream cheese/mayo combination adds just the right amount of creaminess. If you’re looking to really wow your guests, there are a few ways you can punch up your pimento cheese after you’ve already made your basic batch of pimento cheese according the recipe I’ve posted below.

First and foremost, if you don’t have kids coming over, mix in a shot of bourbon. The booze elevates the pimento cheese so that it’s similar to a port cheddar with a decidedly Southern kick. I also almost always add two tablespoons of minced fresh chives for a lighter onion twist to the cheese. Other times, I’ll blacken a jalapeno under the broiler at the same time I’m charring the bell pepper and chop up the two together to mix into the cheese base so that there’s a grassier spice mixed in with the sweetness of the bell pepper. A tablespoon of sriracha hot sauce has also been a big hit among our guests in the past, and sometimes I’ll make extra bacon to chop up and put into my pimento cheese (although I’ll note that adding bacon means you need to eliminate seasoning the pimento cheese with any sort of salt whatsoever, or you’ll have a salt explosion in your mouth when you try to eat it).

I’ll close out this post with a pic of my two little munchkins right before they headed outside to destroy their beautiful clothes, the lawn and their appetites for lunch (vis-a-vis CANDY). This photo represents one of the rare times I was able to get both of them to sit still and smile while they were wearing acceptable outfits (i.e., pants on both). Also, their faces are clean. This is a huge win for me. Naturally, I’m printing this photo on EVERYTHING WE OWN.

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