Pimento Cheese with Green Olives

I roasted pimento peppers from my garden to make this cheese, but you can also just use the store-bought jarred pimentos. Look for them in the international foods or the olive aisle at your supermarket (you can also use homemade mayonnaise if you really want to show off). I think the brininess of green olives and a splash of hot pepper sauce (Southerners would recommend Tabasco) nicely offset the richness of the cheese and mayonnaise. Check out the list below for ideas on how to use your pimento cheese. Pimento cheese has an interesting history. Sometimes called "the pate of the South," it actually has its roots in the industrialized food era in New York and was originally made with cream cheese and jarred pimentos, two products newly available to homemakers. It became forever affiliated with the South when domestic pimento peppers become a big crop in southern Georgia. And it was Southern cooks who made the recipe what it is today, made with firm cheese and bound with mayonnaise. Regardless of its origin, we're just glad it exists!