I was recently lucky enough to have my cheeseball recipe featured on nationally syndicated columnist Jan Leasure's website (janleasure.com). Here it is for your holiday enjoyment.
“Killer Six Cheese Holiday Cheese Ball”
1 lb Cream Cheese (room temp)
1 lb Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Cheese
1 lb (brick) Swiss Cheese
1 lb (brick) Monterrey Jack--or--Gouda--or Colby--Pick ONE
1 lb (brick) Mozzarella
8-12 oz Blue Cheese, crumbled is fine
Carefully (you still want to keep your fingers & knuckles, right?) grate all cheeses except cream and blue and set aside. Let cream cheese warm to room temp.
Add--
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T Worchestershire Sauce
2 T Parsley
1/2 T Dill
1 T Paprika
1 medium onion FINELY minched
4 Pieces of bacon finely crumbled
1/2 cup of black olives, minced
1/2 cup of green, stuffed, Spanish Olives, finely sliced
1/4 cup mayonaise
Add in the last two cheeses (cream & blue) and mix all ingredients EXTREMELY well with your hands. The mixing of all the ingredients together so all ingredients are evenly distributed is crucial. Once mixed throughly, form a ball. At this point you can decide to divide the mixture into two, three, or even four smaller cheeseballs.
Gently press down on the top of the ball so the bottom is somewhat flat so the ball will not roll off the serving platter.
Lightly (at less than 150F for only a few minutes, check often) lightly toast ¼ cup of sesame seeds in a shallow pan or cookie sheet, and place them on the outside of the cheeseball. OR—use a ¼ cup of nuts, walnuts and pistachaccios work best, and gently grind them in a few processor for a second or two to break them up into smaller pieces. Roll the cheeseball in the seeds or nuts to coat.
Refridgerate until 1 hour prior to serving, then remove to allow to warm to around room temperature. Serve with sturdy buffet crackers like Captain’s Wafers, thick stone-ground grain crackers, table water crackers, rye toasts, etc. and not saltines that will only crumble.
If you make this to take over to a friend or relatives place for the holidays...make sure you divide it into 3 or 4 smaller cheeseballs, as if you take it all intact--you WON'T get any back. It just disapears.
To all on the forums..HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
ROX
