Smoked Pimiento Cheese Crostini

New Year's Eve again. Black-eyed peas soaking. The ritual unchanged. Two thousand twenty-four — the year Amber married James, the year Clay met Sarah, the year I learned to make gazpacho and ramp pesto and the year I managed the bronchitis instead of letting the bronchitis manage me. A good year. A year that added more than it took, which is the only measure that matters.

Made the peas New Year's Day. Same as every year. Collards. Cornbread. The trinity. Connie and I at the table. She said resolutions. I said better brisket. She said you said better biscuits last year. I said biscuits are done, they're perfect, brisket is the new project. She said when are you done. I said when am I done with what. She said improving. I said Connie, I will be done improving when I am done breathing and not a minute before. She said good. She picked up her fork.

Midnight: champagne for her, bourbon for me. She said we're going to be fine. Same as last year. Same as every year now, since the diagnosis. She says it and I believe it and the saying and the believing have become their own tradition, their own black-eyed peas — not because they guarantee luck but because the saying of them holds us together the way the eating of the peas holds the year together. We're going to be fine. Amen.

The black-eyed peas and collards are the anchors of the day, but every New Year’s table needs something to carry people through the waiting — the hours before midnight, the slow warm-up before champagne and bourbon and the words we say to hold each other together. This smoked pimiento cheese crostini has become that thing for us: Southern to the bone, easy enough that it doesn’t compete with the main event, and just satisfying enough to keep Connie from asking when dinner’s ready. If brisket is the new project, consider this the proof that the smaller things — the bites, the appetizers, the in-betweens — are already pretty close to perfect.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 8 (about 24 crostini)

Ingredients

1 French baguette, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 jar (4 oz) diced pimientos, drained
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh chives, thinly sliced (for garnish)

Instructions

Make the crostini. Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and brush each lightly with olive oil. Bake for 8–10 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until golden and crisp. Remove and let cool slightly.
Mix the pimiento cheese. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cheddar, softened cream cheese, and mayonnaise. Stir until well blended. Fold in the drained pimientos, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Rest the spread. Cover the pimiento cheese and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead.)
Assemble. Spoon or pipe a generous dollop of smoked pimiento cheese onto each crostini. Arrange on a serving platter.
Garnish and serve. Sprinkle with fresh chives and a light dusting of smoked paprika. Serve at room temperature or with the cheese still slightly cool from the fridge.

Nutrition (per serving)

Smoked Pimiento Cheese Crostini — The Year We Kept Getting Better