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Fall Family food

Claire Stabbert - Columnist
Posted 9/26/19

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with my boyfriend's family. Little did I know, his sister would introduce me to so many wonderful fall appetizers that she ended up giving me the recipe to!

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Fall Family food

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I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with my boyfriend's family. Little did I know, his sister would introduce me to so many wonderful fall appetizers that she ended up giving me the recipe to!

We had brie and apple crustinies, a sweet and salty bacon cracker dish, and my ultimate favorite…a cheeseball that looked just like a pumpkin. I am a sucker for a good cheeseball, and I plan on stealing this dish and making it for Thanksgiving that my mother hosts every year. I am a lover of anything savory and do not have much of a sweet tooth, however, if you want the recipe for the brie and apple crostini appetizer, email me. Back to the cheeseball.

This cheeseball had the flavor of my dreams. It had something that while eating, I kept wondering what one ingredient in it was. That ingredient ended up being ranch dip seasoning, of course, but this dish is actually very easy to make, and looks hard.

To make this dish you will need glad cling wrap, a few rubber bands (don't worry, just for presentation), 1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese softened, 1 (8 oz) tub veggie cream cheese, 2 tbsp hidden valley ranch spicy ranch mix, 3 green onions diced, 1 red pepper finely diced (save the stem), and 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided use**.

Begin by finely chopping the red pepper and green onion. You want small pieces not big chunks, and be sure to save the stem of the red pepper, because it is going to be your pumpkin stem! Use a mixer or by hand, and combine both cream cheeses, then begin to stir in the hidden valley ranch mix.

P.S. This cheese ball was not spicy! It just added that kick of flavor this dish needed. Gently stir in your green onion, red pepper, and one cup of your shredded cheese. Next, spread out a large sheet of cling wrap and sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese onto the plastic wrap. Top with the cheese mixture and take the rest of the cheese and top onto the sides and top of the cheese ball so it is completely covered. Wrap it all up in cling wrap tightly (you might need to do two layers).

Next, wrap with 4 rubber bands diagonally around the cheese, resembling indentations like a pumpkin. With the rubber bands wrapped, place cheese ball into the fridge for at least 2 hours. When ready, cut off the rubber bands and carefully remove the cling rap. Add the red pepper stem and gently push it in there. Serve with buttery crackers.

I am telling you, this was such an impressive thing to look at, and turns out it is so simple! Enjoy it during the holidays or for a fall party.

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