Date and Blue Cheese Balls
FMM: We tried the recipe from Epicurius and it wasn't bad, but I like other cheese balls better. I thought this one was better on celery than on crackers. Brian liked it.
I think a good blue cheese ball could be made similar to the Domain Chandon Cheese Spread, which is made with blue cheese, cream cheese, toasted walnuts & fresh herbs. The walnuts could be used to roll the ball in instead of adding them to the cheese.
Cheese Ball
from https://www.davidlebovitz.com/
"Adapted from Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard. You can use any kind of dried fruit to mix into this cheese ball. I stuck with dates, but suspect that dried cranberries or cherries would give it a wintery, festive feel, if you serve it around the holidays. For the hot sauce, I used Mexican hot sauce, but Tabasco, Sriracha, harissa, or another favorite spicy condiment, would work. If you can't find fresh goat cheese, feta would work. (Since feta can be quite salty, add salt to taste.) You won't need all the butter-roasted pecans, but leftovers are great as a snack, or tossed with salads or steamed green beans."
For the butter roasted pecans
3/4 cup (75g) pecans
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus a sprinkle more
For the cheese ball
1/3 cup (2 ounces, 55g) butter
1/4 cup (35g) crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup (40g) crumbled fresh goat cheese
6 tablespoons (3 ounces, 85g) cream cheese
1/4 cup pitted, chopped dates
2 tablespoons minced scallions or chives
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (35g) chopped butter-roasted pecans
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
For the butter-roasted pecans
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. Toss pecans with the melted butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice during baking, until they're toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove them from the oven, sprinkle and toss with a bit more salt. Let cool then coarsely chop 1/3 cup (35g) of the pecans. (The butter-roasted pecans can be made a few days in advance and stored in an airtight container.)
For the cheese ball
1. Put the butter, blue cheese, goat cheese, and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and let come to room temperature. (You can also make this by hand, in a medium-size bowl, using a sturdy stirring utensil.)
2. Add the chopped dates, scallions or chives, hot sauce, and salt to the bowl with the cheeses and butter. Attach the paddle attachment to the mixer and mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Taste, and add a bit more hot sauce if desired. Refrigerate the mixture until chilled enough to handle and shape, about 30 minutes or so.
3. Spread the chopped pecans on a dinner plate. Shape the chilled cheese mixture into a ball and roll it in the pecans. Spread the chopped parsley on the plate and roll the cheese ball in the parsley.
Serving and storage: The cheese ball should be served at room temperature. It can be made a few days ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve. It's best served with plain crackers along with a favorite jam, such as cherry jam or apricot jam, or tangy chutney, such as fig chutney or green tomato-apple chutney.
6 to 8 servings
Blue Cheese with Date Spread (cheese ball)
Recipe courtesy of Sandra Lee
4 ounces blue cheese
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups dates, finely chopped-
Basil leaves, washed and patted dry
Assorted crackers, for serving
In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine blue cheese and cream cheese. Process until smooth and blended. Transfer to air-tight container and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Once chilled, form cheese into 6 even sized balls and roll each blue cheese ball in chopped dates. Serve cheese set on clean basil leaves. Arrange on a platter or cheese board with assorted crackers.
Date & Blue Cheese Ball
https://www.epicurious.com/, Diane Morgan August 2010
"Cheese balls were all the rage in the 1970s, an easy, tasty, fab party food for any occasion. What's old is now retro-chic—this lightened-up cheese ball seduces with the sweetness of dates, the savory bite of blue cheese, a hint of shallot, and a teasing whiff of lemon zest."
8 oz/225 g of low-fat cream cheese (bar style), at room temperature
1 cup/115 g crumbled blue cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp reduced-fat buttermilk
3 tbsp minced Medjool dates (5 to 6 pitted dates)
1 tbsp minced shallots
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 1/2 tbsp finely chopped toasted walnuts
Skinny Dippers:
Crostini, Baked Pita Chips, Baked Bagel Chips, Marbled Rye Toasts, celery and carrot sticks
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, blue cheese, and buttermilk on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the dates, shallots, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and beat until well combined.
2. Transfer the cheese mixture to a large sheet of plastic wrap/cling film and form it into a ball. Wrap the ball in the wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. In a shallow bowl or plate, mix together the parsley and walnuts. Remove the cheese ball from the refrigerator. With the wrap/film still on, shape into a well-formed ball. Unwrap the cheese mixture and roll it gently in the nut mixture until all sides are well covered. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Dip Do-Ahead:
The cheese ball can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate.
Serving size: 2 tbsp
Calories 59; Fat 3.9 g (sat 2.1 g, mono 1.0 g, poly 0.4 g); Protein 2 g; Carb 4 g; Fiber 0 g; Chol 10 mg; Iron 0.1 mg; Sodium 109 mg; Calc 41 mg
Nutritional analysis provided by Skinny Dips
From Skinny Dips by Diane Morgan. Text copyright © 2010 by Diane Morgan. Published by Chronicle Books LLC.
