Port Wine Cheese Spread
from http://pastrychefonline.com/, Jenni Field
"When I was a kid, I thought a port wine cheese ball was the height of fancy. And I still kinda do. Plus, they're delicious. I have made one that tastes almost exactly like what you'd find in stores, only without the artificial colors and gums that can be present in commercial products. If you, too, were a fan of a port wine cheese ball recipe, or even that little tub of port wine cheese spread, you owe it to yourself to give my version a try!
"If you only have one port wine cheese ball recipe in your repertoire, please make it this one. Most of the other “copycat” recipes I’ve seen online either direct you to blend straight port in with all the cheese, which I think lends a harsh edge from the alcohol, or they make a sort of “port Jell-o” made with port and gelatin and then layer that in with the cheese spread. I’m sorry, but: yikes! I humbly submit this third alternative as being The Best. Do give it a try and see what you think!"
For the Port Reduction
2 cups ruby port
For the Port Wine Cheese Ball
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese at room temperature (the orange kind is more traditional)
3 oz cream cheese plus 1 Tablespoon at room temperature, divided use
3 oz half and half (straight from the fridge is fine)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Generous 1½ teaspoons port wine reduction, divided use
For the Nuts
1½ cups pecans
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon hot smoked paprika, or to taste
To Serve
Your choice of finely chopped fresh herbs for rolling (optional)
For the Port Wine Reduction: Pour the port into a small saucepan.
Crank up the heat and boil until reduced to a thick syrup with a volume of about ¼ cup.** Towards the end, watch it carefully. As the sugar content gets more concentrated, the chances of it burning increase.
Once the bubbles go from "watery boiling" bubbles to a thicker, syrupy kind of boil, periodically pour it into a heat-proof liquid measure to check for volume.
Set aside to cool.
For the Port Wine Cheese Ball: Cut the cheddar and 3 oz of the cream cheese into about 1" chunks and place in the bowl of your food processor. Begin by pulsing to get the cheese chopped up in little bits before just letting it run.
Mix a slightly generous ½ teaspoon of the port wine reduction and the salt into the half and half.
Slowly pour the dairy mixture in through the feed tube.
Process until the cheese mixture is very, very smooth, about 2 minutes or so. Taste and add just a tiny bit more salt if you think it needs it.
Clean off the blade of the food processor and eyeball the cheese mixture to divide it into thirds. Place ⅔ of the mixture in one bowl and leave the remaining third in the food processor.
To that third, add 1 slightly generous teaspoon of port wine reduction and the remaining 1 Tablespoon of cream cheese. Process until smooth, scraping the sides of the container and processing some more until the mixture is a uniform purple-y color. You can add a touch more of the port wine concentrate if you'd like it more purple, but I was happy with mine, so I quit there.
In a bowl large enough to hold all the cheese mixture (it makes about 2 cups or so of spread), layer the orange cheese and the purple cheese together in about ½" layers: orange-purple-orange-purple-orange.
Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the cheese and refrigerate until firm.
In the meantime, make the pecans.
For the Pecans:
Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans, the salt and the hot smoked paprika and stir well with a spatula to coat all the nuts in the butter mixture.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are nicely browned, the butter is sort of foamy and the whole thing smells great, about 5 minutes or so.
Let the nuts cool spread out on several thicknesses of paper towels.
Once the nuts are cool, chop them fairly finely and set aside.
To Assemble the Port Wine Cheese Ball: Spread a piece of plastic wrap out on a work surface.
Run a spatula around the inside of your "cheese mold" and then cut it roughly into quarters. Put the four quarters out on the plastic wrap with the orange and purple stripes running horizontally on two of the quarters and vertically on the other two. You don't have to do this step. I just thought it would make the bands of color more interesting once you cut the ball open. Your choice.
No matter how you scoop the cheese onto the plastic wrap, pull the wrap up over the cheese and then smoosh the cheese into a ball shape (or you could make 2 logs or do whatever you want)
Spread the spiced pecans out in a thick layer on a plate and roll the cheese ball in the nuts until it is evenly coated. You may have to press some on with your hands. Just try to get it evenly coated. Wrap in a clean sheet of plastic wrap until serving time.
About 45 minutes before serving, roll the ball in the optional chopped herbs and allow to sit at room temperature for best flavor and texture.
Serve with crackers, pita chips, vegetables or whatever your heart desires. Rejoice in the deliciousness of your retro masterpiece.
Other Stuff to Know
**You will not need all the port reduction for this recipe, but if you try to reduce a smaller amount of port, you'll end up burning it. Add a touch of water to the remaining reduction so it's still syrupy but not so thick. Then you can brush it on berries for a berry pie or just toss berries in it as a topping for yogurt or something.
