So Thanksgiving is either a love it or hate it kinda day in my life. And I'm sure it's the same for a lot of people, right? I mean, family dynamics can be incredibly challenging, and mix that with 17 cooks in the same kitchen, and it's kinda a recipe for disaster. Since having children, our Thanksgivings have been all over the board from amazing to not so memorable. Yesterday took the cake for most amazing Thanksgiving ever.
We spent the day with some of our best friends in the entire world with a beautiful view of Buck Island, laughing, singing, cooking, drinking, and just being overall merry. By the time we sat down to dinner, we had a total of 5 dogs, 4 children, and 6 adults in attendance. The munchkins said these really odd "prayers" before eating, which Zen captured on video (yay!). One of our friends made the turkey and gravy; Zen was responsible for mashed potatoes, stuffing, and corn. J made an appetizer that was pretty bangin', and I did the green bean casserole, desserts, mulled cider, and apps for snacking while we were waiting for dinner.
I was actually pretty impressed with myself. I am not sure why, but it's always surprising when I make a stellar dish. Most especially, though, I was proud that I was able to bake desserts. Baking has always been a challenge for me, so the idea that I'm getting the hang of it is really exciting.
Anyway, this entry is all about cheese. One of my very favorite things to make for a party is a cheese ball. Why? Well, because it's incredibly simple, and it's just about guaranteed to get you a million compliments. I did 3 flavors for Thanksgiving yesterday: Bacon Ranch, Greek, and Taco. So, I'll go through each one and then at the end let you know a very basic equation for making ANY cheese ball you could ever dream up :)
Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball
What You Need:
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
1 brick cream cheese (8 oz)
1/4 c bacon bits
1 packet dry ranch dressing
1/2 c French's fried onions, crushed
What You Do:
*Toss everything except the fried onions in a bowl
*Mix with your hands until all the ingredients are combined evenly
*Roll into a ball shape
*In a ziplock bag, pound out the onions until they are crushed to the texture you like. Then pour it out on a piece of wax paper
*Roll the cheese ball in the onions until evenly coated
*Stick it in the fridge for a couple hours to set up
*Serve with your favorite crackers
Greek Cheese Ball
What You Need:
2 c crumbled feta cheese
1 brick cream cheese (8 oz)
1/4 c roasted red pepper, diced
1/4 c cucumber, diced
1/4 c kalamata olives, diced
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 c pita chips, crushed
What You Do:
*In a bowl, mix the cheeses by hand together until evenly combined
*Add peppers, cucumber, and olives, mix until evenly combined
*Sprinkle in dill and mix until evenly combined
*Roll into a ball shape
*In a ziplock bag, pound pita chips until crushed to desired texture
*Pour crushed pita chips onto a piece of wax paper
*Roll cheese ball in pita chips until evenly coated
*Pop it in the fridge to set up for a couple hours
*Serve with pita chips, pita bread, and/or your favorite crackers...or on cucumbers!
Taco Cheese Ball
What You Need:
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 brick cream cheese (8 oz)
1/4 c black olives, chopped
1/4 c green onion or chives
1 Tbs taco seasoning
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 c tortilla chips, crushed
What You Do:
*In a mixing bowl, combine cheeses. It's just easiest to do this by hand
*Add olives and green onion and mix until evenly dispersed
*Add seasonings and mix until even
*Shape into a ball
*In a ziplock bag, pound out tortilla chips to desired consistency. Pour onto a sheet of wax paper
*Roll cheese ball in crushed chips until evenly coated
*Put in fridge for a couple hours to set
*Serve with tortilla chips or your favorite crackers!
So there you have it! Those are 3 different flavors of cheese balls you can make for your next gathering that are sure to impress. The very basic thing about any cheese ball is combining a brick of cream cheese with another shredded (or crumbled) cheese. So the ratio is 1 brick of cream cheese to 2 cups of shredded cheese. Roll into a ball, and then you can choose your coating. I am not a big fan of using nuts to coat my cheese balls, but of course you can do whatever you want!
As a final note, here are some links to the desserts I did yesterday, as they turned out SO well that it would be a shame not to share them with you!
From my home to yours, Happy Holidays!
xoxo
-Xile
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