I only recently was introduced to pimento cheese. It’s apparently a southern institution. I saw it on an episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate a few months back and immediately knew it was for me. I figured it would just be something that I eventually made and tweaked to my liking. A few weeks ago Sarah Sprague, who just started writing for Kissing Suzy Kolber a few months ago, posted a whole bunch of Super Bowl dip ideas. The Smoky Chipotle Bacon Pimento Cheese combined so many of my interests I had to make it for the Super Bowl party.
People in the know seem to be fanatical about using Duke’s mayonnaise, but I wasn’t about to place a mail order for mayo. Instead, I went with a mix of regular mayo and some Miracle Whip. (Side note: I don’t get why there’s so much hate out there for Miracle Whip. I like regular mayonnaise, but Miracle Whip takes it up a notch with an extra je ne sais quoi. Stop hatin’.)
This was extremely easy to make and it yielded a hell of a lot of product. I made it the night before and ended up eating a lot of it before the party on Sunday afternoon. I think the extra time to set up really helped all of the flavors mesh well. We served the cheese with Triscuits. I would recommend getting the unseasoned Triscuits. The ones that we got were tasty, but the taste almost overpowered the cheese. I’m absolutely making this again.
Smoky Chipotle Bacon Pimento Cheese
Ingredients:
- smoked cheddar - 8 oz.
- mayonnaise - 6 oz.
- Miracle Whip - 2 oz.
- bacon - 8 oz.
- cream cheese, softened - 4 oz.
- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - 2
Instructions:
- Chop bacon into small pieces and cook until crispy.
- Grate the cheddar cheese and mix with the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and Miracle Whip until well integrated.
- Chop the peppers into small pieces.
- Add the bacon and peppers and mix well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve with pretzels, tortilla chips, or Triscuits.
