Posted on Nov 23rd, 2010 in
Featured,
Recipes |
2 comments
As a dinner guest on Thanksgiving, you never want to arrive empty-handed. And for those who are "culinarily challenged," a bouquet of flowers or bottle of wine is an excellent choice to bring your host. But if you want to do something a little extra, that is still super easy, then this is the recipe for you.
I came across this
Cheese Ball recipe in the November issue of
Cooking Light and immediately thought - how darling! A Cheese Ball! When is the last time anyone ever made a good, old-fashioned Cheese Ball? It looked so pretty in the picture that I decided to make a few small adjustments to the recipe and bring it to Kate & Shawn's 6th annual Tapas and Trivia party last weekend. The Cheese Ball was a success! And what made it such a success was the addition of my super secret ingredient.
Do you want to know what my super secret ingredient is? Well, I'll give you a hint. It's bacon. Bacon makes everything better.
The original recipe can be found
here, or you can read my altered version (using Gorgonzola instead of Blue Cheese, plus the bacon) below:
You'll need:
- 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled gorgonzola (or blue) cheese
- 1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons minced pitted Medjool dates (2 to 3 dates)
- 2 strips of bacon
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts, toasted
Directions:
- Cook bacon until crispy, set aside and crumble when cooled.
- Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add crumbled bacon, dates, shallots, lemon rind, salt, and pepper; beat at medium speed until well blended, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
- Spoon cheese mixture onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Form into a ball, using a rubber spatula. Wrap cheese ball in plastic wrap; chill overnight.
- Combine parsley and walnuts in a shallow dish. Unwrap cheese ball; gently roll in nut mixture, coating well. Place on a serving plate. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
a chilled cheese ball
the finished product
Don't forget the crackers!
Leave a Reply
Will be making this for Christmas day. It looks, sounds delicious, especially with your “adjustments.” What type of crackers did you buy to eat with this?
I think I used melba toast or triscuits because I love the crunch, but club or townhouse would be great too!