As we approach the start of school, the cooking around here gets more and more indulgent. And, if you are a college-bound student, pretty much the sky’s the limit for what you can request and probably get!

College Girl is obsessed with several foods. Pickles. Steak. Cheese. Actually, pickles with cheese. Sometimes steak with cheese. And always, cheese with cheese. Which is the very definition of pimento cheese, by the way.

There are lots of good Southern recipes for pimento cheese, but basically you need some yellow cheese, some white cheese, some red tidbits and something to spice it up!

And this particular recipe is pretty addictive. College Girl powered through a bowl of it in 2 days. Impressive, considering we had only the baguette shown in the picture. Meaning I forgot to buy crackers. Oops.

The only slightly different thing I did was to roast my own red garden peppers and douse them in red wine vinegar instead of using jarred pimento. It was a nice touch, but really it is ALL about the cheese!

Gather Up:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, grated
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 mild red chiles, roasted, skinned, seeded and diced (about ½ cup)
1 small onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, worked into a paste with kosher salt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Hot sauce, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Toasted baguette, crackers for serving

Mix the red wine vinegar and the diced red peppers together. Mix remaining ingredients together and add red pepper mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate before serving to blend flavors.