Unless you're either a fan of Paula Deen or a southerner yourself, foods like fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese might seem a bit foreign to you. And southerners are known for using what they have on hand to make a meal. Fried green tomatoes became a staple of southern cuisine because green tomatoes aren't that tasty unless you fry them. But the dish turned out impeccably and it shows up on nearly every menu across the southeast.

You've likely heard of pimento cheese as a staple at the Master's Tournament each year. Again, another relatively unknown food across the rest of the country. Recently, I was at Mr. Friendly's, a restaurant in Columbia, S.C. where I ordered fried green tomato and pimento cheese stacks for an appetizer. I was then motivated to give this dish a try at home.

Make sure that your local, farmers' market fried green tomatoes are ripe, even though you'll be frying them, because if not the dish will likely be ruined.

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