Pimiento cheese ideas needed

[Jenise]

Doing a southern-themed dinner. Need a vegetable appie (we'll have an hour of passed hors d'ouvres while champagne is being poured) and pimiento cheese stuffed into a zucchini round sounds spot on. But it's so plain. How we do elevate pimiento cheeset to the level of classy hors d'ouvres? Any experience?

Berbere!

No experience with PC as anything except a sandwich filling (I'm a southerner). Main thing to make great pimento cheese is to use a high grade aged/sharp cheddar, but you don't want too dry a cheddar because then you end up needed too much mayo or cream cheese.

Possible upgrades- certainly seen with black (or green) olives, etc. Why not a dollop of some kind of roe on top? Or anchovy? Usually when I do canapes if I don't know crowd I do with and without the more controversial toppings (anchovy, caviar, pickled peppers, horseradish, etc)- if a garnish people can see what has peppers, roe, etc

[Robin Garr]

Mix-ins, mostly. Olives. A little bit of some other cheeses to go for a more complex flavor? But I agree with Dale, just a decent grade of "rat cheese" is traditional. A little dry mustard, or kick it up with a dash of wasabi. Or finely dice a couple of jalapeños (or green bell peppers if you don't want the heat) so you get green specks to go with the red specks.

[Jenise]

Berbere!

No experience with PC as anything except a sandwich filling (I'm a southerner). Main thing to make great pimento cheese is to use a high grade aged/sharp cheddar, but you don't want too dry a cheddar because then you end up needed too much mayo or cream cheese.

Possible upgrades- certainly seen with black (or green) olives, etc. Why not a dollop of some kind of roe on top? Or anchovy? Usually when I do canapes if I don't know crowd I do with and without the more controversial toppings (anchovy, caviar, pickled peppers, horseradish, etc)- if a garnish people can see what has peppers, roe, etc

I like Robin's idea of the red and green specks. Of course, could accomplish that with an herb too. But...caviar! Now there's a luxury ingredient that would suit the occasion. Could do two versions: caviar on one, and maybe a lardon of bacon on the other for those who don't care for caviar. Both are the kind of elevating I was in need of. Oooh oooh oooh.