Ingredients
- Goat Cheese Ball with Chives, Cucumber, and Caramelized Shallot:
- Coating:
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon Maldon salt or flaky fleur de sel
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- Cheese Ball:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 large shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 ounces (1/2 standard package) cream cheese, softened
- 6 ounces goat cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons minced chives
- 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced (about 1/2 cup diced)
- Salt and pepper
- Blue Cheese Ball with Candied Almonds:
- Candied Nut Coating:
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only, plus additional for garnish
- 1/2 cup blanched sliced almonds, toasted*
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted*
- Cheese Ball:
- 1/3 pound creamy, soft blue cheese, softened (we used St. Agur, but other good options are Fourme D'Ambert, Cashel Blue, or Roaring 40's)
- 4 ounces (1/2 standard package) cream cheese, softened
- Honey, for drizzling
- Salt and pepper
- Cheddar and Olive Cheese Ball with Dijon, Lemon, and Dill:
- Coating:
- 1/2 cup (packed) dill fronds, finely chopped
- Cheese Ball:
- 1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese (preferably English farmhouse), finely grated and at room temperature
- 4 ounces (1/2 standard package) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup pitted green olives, preferably nyon, picholine, or arbequina, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- large pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper
- Havarti, Parsley, and Garlic Cheese Ball:
- 6 ounces of Havarti cheese
- 4 ounces (half a package) full-fat cream cheese
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and trimmed
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon horseradish (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
Preparation
Step 1
Goat Cheese Ball:
Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add poppy, sesame, and caraway seeds and toast just until sesame seeds turn golden, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and add Maldon salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Add the olive oil to the same skillet over medium-low heat. Add shallots, season generously with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and deeply golden, about 15 minutes. Do not let brown. Remove from heat and let cool.
Combine the cream cheese and goat cheese in the bowl of a food processor. Blend to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the chives, cooled shallots, and cucumber and pulse 5 to 6 times, or more if you'd like the shallots and cucumber in smaller pieces. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Transfer contents to piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and place in a small bowl. Chill until very firm, about 2 hours, or up to 3 days in advance. (If you are in a hurry you can also put the cheese in the freezer for 1 hour.)
Using your hands and keeping the cheese in its wrapping, gently mold into the shape of a ball. If ball becomes too soft, chill again in the plastic wrap or parchment until ready to serve.
Just before serving, roll the ball in the seed mixture, tossing to coat. Serve with nutty whole grain crackers.
Blue Cheese Ball:
Make the sugared nut coating:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking pan with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a medium bowl, combine light brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and thyme leaves. Add nuts and cooled simple syrup and stir to coat. Transfer nuts to prepared baking pan and spread in a single layer.
Bake, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until nuts are dry and toasted, about 30-35 minutes. To test for doneness, remove a single nut from oven and let cool. If crunchy and dry, nuts are ready. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Reserve.
Make the cheese ball:
Combine blue and cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor. Blend to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Blue cheese tends to be both salty and peppery, so you may not need additional seasoning.) Transfer contents to piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and place in a small bowl.
Chill until very firm, about 2 hours, or up to 3 days in advance.
Using your hands and keeping the cheese in its wrapping, gently mold into the shape of a ball. If ball becomes too soft, chill again in the plastic wrap or parchment until ready to serve. (If you are in a hurry you can also put the cheese in the freezer for 1 hour.)
Just before serving, roll the ball in the candied nuts. Lightly drizzle with honey and sprinkle with additional thyme leaves, if desired. If you have difficulty making the nuts stick to the ball, the ball may be too cold, in which case let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, until the surface becomes a bit more tacky.
*NOTE: Use a combination of nuts if you like, but if you only have one variety on hand, feel free to use just one type.
Cheddar Cheese Ball:
Combine cheddar and cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor. Blend to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add olives, lemon zest, cayenne, and dijon and pulse until olives are quite fine. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional cayenne, if desired. Transfer contents to piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and place in a small bowl. Chill until very firm, about 2 hours, or up to 3 days in advance.
Using your hands and keeping the cheese in its wrapping, gently mold into the shape of a ball. If ball becomes too soft, chill again in the plastic wrap or parchment until ready to serve. (If you are in a hurry you can also put the cheese in the freezer for 1 hour.)
Just before serving, roll the ball in the dill. If you have difficulty making the dill stick to the ball, the ball may be too cold, in which case let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, until the surface becomes a bit more tacky.
Havarti Cheese Ball:
Let the cheeses sit out at room temperature for about an hour to soften. Whir the toasted pine nuts in a small food processor briefly, just until they are cracked into smaller bits. Remove and set aside on a large plate. Blend the the garlic, parsley and horseradish to a paste in the food processor, then add the cheeses. Blend until well mixed. Taste and add salt and pepper.
Let the mixture firm up the fridge then roll into a ball and coat with cracked pine nuts. Serve with whole grain crackers.