T's Tee-Hee Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

• servings: 6 to 8 sandwiches

Ingredients

8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons diced pimentos

2 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise

1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and grated

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

12 or 14 slices good white bread, or crackers, bagel chips, or melba toast rounds for dipping

Directions

Combine the Cheddar, cream cheese, pimentos, mayonnaise, egg, and dill in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly.

Spread on half of the slices of bread and top with the remaining bread slices.

Alternatively, spoon the cheese into a serving bowl and arrange crackers around it.

Notes

Dolly says: "My assistant Teresa doesn't claim to be a cook, but she does fix a few things that I love, and she always brings me some when she does. She made up her own recipe for pimento cheese and brought me some to try. I loved it. Later, when she was telling a friend about, I found out she was supposed to use cream cheese, not Cheddar cheese! She made it creamy with mayonnaise, which held it all together. It may not be classic pimento cheese, but I don't care, I love it. It's great on toast, bagel chips, soda crackers, and, of course, between two slices of good white bread. Because it was born out of a mistake, I call it T's Tee-Hee Pimento Cheese."

The Lunch Lady: I have a little apartment next door to my office in Nashville where I often work. There's a patio area between the office and apartment, so we built a ledge outside the back door of the apartment where my assistant Teresa, who I affectionately call T, will leave my mail, things that I need to sign, and other business when I'm in and out of there. I use this apartment as a home base when I'm working downtown in the studio and need a break, or to chagne clothes if I'm doing interviews at the office. I will often eat lunch there if I'm working in town, so sometimes I will call and ask T to bring me a sandwich and maybe some soup. When she returns, she'll just leave it by the back door and call me and say, 'Lunch on the ledge' or 'Soup on teh stoop.' And then hang up.