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You’re probably looking at this post and thinking, what is WRONG with this woman?! Another pimiento cheese recipe?! Yep, that’s what this is. But, I do love a good recipe with a checkered past. This recipe is, allegedly, a clone of the original Masters recipe. Its posting today is significant because the 2022 Masters Tournament (the 86th edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of the men's four major golf championships held in 2022) is being played from April 7-10, 2022, at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
Pimiento cheese sandwiches are a major staple among the foodstuffs offered at the Tournament, and have been from the very beginning. The sandwiches, with the cheese filling developed by long-time cheese vendor, Nick Rangos, were initially sold for a dollar a piece (now $1.50). When Ramos' contract was not renewed, he refused to part with his recipe, left in a huff, and took that iconic recipe with him to his grave in 2015. Enter replacement, Ted Godfrey, who worked tirelessly to replicate the recipe, only to suffer a similar fate, being replaced by in-house catering in 2013. He took his recipe with him as well. Saving the day was Augusta food blogger, and lifelong Masters enthusiast, Gina Dickson, who reverse engineered the recipe based upon ingredients listed on the package. There is so much more to this story than what I've written here, but it is intriguing, no? Here is her version of a copy of the original.
Masters Pimento Cheese Sandwich Recipe
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1
cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
4
ounces cream cheese
½
cup mayonnaise
(“just don’t use Miracle Whip—that’s a Northern thing”)
4-ounce
jar pimiento peppers, drained and diced
1
tablespoon onion, very finely minced
¼
teaspoon garlic powder
¼
teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼
teaspoon salt
¼
teaspoon black pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
Refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour to allow it to become firm. Serve
on white bread.
