A Cheese Ball With a Secret

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:

1. Cook bacon until crispy, set aside and crumble when cooled.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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!

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2 Responses to “A Cheese Ball With a Secret”

1. Jen Glawe says:

   December 22, 2010 at 10:34 am

   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?

   Reply
   • Natalie says:

     December 22, 2010 at 10:45 am

     I think I used melba toast or triscuits because I love the crunch, but club or townhouse would be great too!

     Reply