The High Muckety-Muck of Pimiento Cheese

A few years ago, J and I had out of this world pimiento cheese sandwiches at The Winds. I have been a fan of pimiento cheese ever since I stayed with my godmother for a week in St. Pete the summer I turned 21. She had a tub of Price's in her fridge and packet of Wasa or Ryvita crackers in the cupboard. I was hooked, although up until then, I had eschewed the stuff. I had been terribly afraid of pimientos as a child (talk about your weird childhood fears) and thought it looked nasty and processed once I was grown. The pimiento cheese I made last night for our dinner in bed resembled the pimiento cheese at The Winds much more than it did Price's. I'd never done it homemade before, but wanted to try it, using Tillamook extra-sharp cheddar because The Winds had. J asked me today to make more. It's so easy and tastes so yummy! We had it on flax and fiber bread, with kettle chips and big fat pickles. By the way, did y'all know that people soak pickles in Kool Aid and actually eat them??? Sounds utterly revolting to me! But then, so did pimiento cheese. Anybody ever tried it? I don't think I'm brave enough but Alton Brown's show was the second time in the last 2 weeks I've heard about this odd food twist, so I am curious. Not curious enough, though, to ruin a jar of perfectly good pickles.

Tillamook Pimiento Cheese

1 lb. extra-sharp cheddar, grated (You can, of course, use other brands than Tillamook. If you are determined to do that, at least make it good. Perhaps Cabot's?)
7 oz. diced pimientos
2 tbsp. grated Vidalia onion (I imagine something like Walla Walla or Bermuda would also work)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Dash cayenne
2/3 c. mayo (I like Hellman's best of the storeboughts)

Mash everything together with a fork, to the consistency that pleases you most. I like mine fairly chunky. Let sit in fridge at least 2 hours, if you can bear it. It tastes good before you let it sit, but nothing to what it will taste if you exercise patience.