Cheese Ball!

You know what's good? A big 'ole cheese ball. Sit down with that and some crackers and you have the happiest person in the world.

But why buy one, when you can make it? With the holidays coming up, it's the perfect time to hone your cheese ball making skills. Impress your friends and family with "I made it myself".

Cheese Holly Ball

8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces blue cheese
4 ounces smoked processed Sharp cheese
2 tablespoons minced green pepper
2 tablespoons minced pimento
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley


Set cheeses out at room temperature. Blend all ingredients, except pecans and parsley, together. Chill. Shape into a round ball. Roll in pecans and parsley. Chill until serving time, improves with age. Garnish base of dish with holly leaves.
Receive compliments from grateful cheese ball eaters.

One Big Grater

A Cheesy Way to Celebrate the Fourth of July.

Some more great cheese sculpture.

Makin' Friends

So we had just moved to Milwaukee. We had come from the land below the border better known as Chicago. People were giving us alot of latitude. They understood our love for the Cubs. Begrudged our Bears baseball caps.

Our friendly new cheesy neighbors invited us over for a little get together filled with standard Wisconsin fare. When my wife offered to bring some brie...well that got a polite grin and a head nod. We show up at the party and there are cheese curds and white fish; Sprecher beer and California wine. My wife then unviels her baked brie creation and eyes widen in amazement.

The touch of preserves on the top of this pastry wrapped wheel of cheese is beautiful to behold. After the first of our new neighbors dipped into this we were deemed the "best new neighbors - ever." Hopefully we have lived up to that status.

Here's the recipe so you can gain fame and fortune too.

Ingredients

1/2 cup raspberry preserves

1/4 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed

1 13.2-ounce Baby Brie cheese (about 6 to 7 inches in diameter)

1 large egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Stir preserves, berries and rosemary in small bowl to blend. Season berry mixture with pepper. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Cut top rind off cheese; discard rind. Place cheese, rindless side up, in center of pastry. Spoon raspberry mixture onto cheese. Fold pastry on 2 opposite sides over cheese. Brush remaining 2 sides of pastry with glaze. Fold over cheese; press seams to seal. Brush pastry with glaze; place on baking sheet.

Bake cheese until pastry is deep golden brown (top of pastry may split open), about 30 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes. Place baked cheese on serving platter. Surround with crackers, baguette slices, and grapes.

For an added touch we've cut the extra pastry into seasonal shapes (leaves, pumpkins, fireworks) and attached them the pastry after folding it all in.

-Tom

Inspired by Purple

Walked to the farmer's market today and saw this beauty. Purple cauliflower. It was just calling to me. So I'm going to put my own twist on a recipe tonight from Bobby Flay. One wonders, will the dish look purple? Sure hope so! A great way to celebrate the last weekend of summer.

Cauliflower Gratin

Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 cups heavy cream

1 pkg Sargento Bistro Blend (Mozzarella & Asiago with Roasted Garlic)**my twist

6 oz goat cheese, in pieces

salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 400F

Layer cauliflower, heavy cream, and the cheeses in a casserole dish. Bake 2o-30 min until vegetable is soft and sauce has thickened. Let rest 10 min before serving.

Carol Dunne

One talented Cheesehead

True Italian Cheese

This last summer our family went on a vacation to Italy. My family which consists of 5 members went with my mom's sister and her husband and kids (which would be my Uncle and Cousins). We are close-knit bunch and spend most holidays together. After living in a Villa in Tuscany for 6 days, my Uncle wanted to end the vacation with a truly Italian style meal. Good old fashioned lasagna cooked by Penny and her family. The first picture is the Italian lasagna with all its cheesey goodness. The second is a shot of the group of us and Penny with her two boys and husband.
The meal was magnificent. Gooey, melty cheese, that left you in a food coma lasting several days. My cousins know the meaning of good cheese coming from good ol' Wisconsin--land of the cheeseheads. They have had some of the best, and claim that Wisconsin is home of the best. Needless to say, there was no comparison that night. This cheese was out of this world, the meal, the dish, the night--left memories we will cherish forever. This cheesey masterpiece caused us to go up for seconds, thirds, and for some FOURTHS.
It was a wonderful night, a night that topped off our vacation perfectly.

Sargento knows how to keep it interesting

Looking for a great Parm recipe, check out this Sargento web tip I found:

www.youtube.com/user/CheeseAdventurer1

Wish it didn't have such a corporate vibe. Still, it does inspire this cheese lover to throw my can of Kraft dried Parmesan straight into the trash.

c

Mmmm - crispy!!

This is just crazy simple and really really tasty. Perfect for any gathering. When a friend showed me this my jaw just about dropped because it was so easy and so good!

CHEESE CRISPS

Put a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 425.

On the parchment, make little round or oval mounds of your favorite shredded cheese. Try the Sargento Special Edition New York Sharp Cheddar - it's awesome this way.

Bake for about 8 minutes, removing before they get brown.

Let cool for a minute or two and you've got some delightful and kind of amazing little cheese crisps.

Cheese as art

This is hanging in my office. I've received many compliments on my cheese poster.