The caviar of the South.

I am back to living at the hospital, now in the ICU, but dreaming of our recent weekend away at a lake house filled with seven adults, two babies, and two toddlers that was a blissful mix of rotating naps, lazy meals, and hot summer evenings with an almost full moon and lots of good conversation. And watermelon. There was lots of watermelon.

I was in charge of appetizers for our big meal Saturday night. While I was tempted to make this delicious and simple concoction, I felt the need to match our appetizers to the atmosphere. Or, at least what I thought would be the atmosphere of a lake house with four kids under three and seven adults who haven't spent enough time this summer living in their swimsuits and jumping off of docks into a lake.

This, I think, fit the bill. I was skeptical at first, so I decided to make it earlier in the week so I could try it out. Not being able to restrain myself, I ended up having to make a second half-batch to make up for what I had eaten.  Once I had decided this was the most delicious thing on earth, I obviously needed to know why I had never heard of it before, and of course Wikipedia was there, as always. They say it's the caviar of the South.

Pimento cheese dip
adapted, barely, from Food52

2 cups coarsely grated sharp yellow cheddar
2 cups coarsely grated extra sharp white cheddar
1 cup drained and finely chopped pimentos (also known as cherry peppers - Trader Joe's sells them as hot and sweet cherry peppers)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp celery salt
ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl and taste for extra salt and black pepper. Cover and chill until time to serve. Can be kept in a sealed container and stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. I stored and served mine in small mason jars. Serve with crackers (Ritz are delicious here) and crisp vegetables such as celery, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, or radishes.