Is there anyone that doesn’t love a good cheese ball? In my family, every New Years Eve found us with a counter full of chips, chocolates, Christmas cookies, pretzels, dips…and a cheese ball. Always a cheese ball. They were those yellow ones, covered in slivered almonds.
Those are tasty, of course, and will always hold a special place in my heart, but now that I have made my own a few times…I don’t think there’s any going back.
I started out in the garden, where I have a rather robust Pineapple Sage plant. I had never heard of Pineapple Sage before this year, but it’s exactly what it sounds like. A sage plant with emerald leaves…that taste like pineapple.
After that, I took a few hints from a recipe I found in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Some cream cheese, some butter, handfuls of a shredded cheddar and Monterey mix, plus some green onions from my windowsill.
I wrapped the whole thing in plastic wrap and left it in a round bowl overnight to cure in the refrigerator.
In the morning, it got a good roll around in chopped toasted pecans and more chopped pineapple sage.
It was quite a hit!
Aunt LoLo’s Pineapple Sage and Green Onion Cheese Ball
Makes one large cheese ball, appropriate for a large party. Recipe can be adapted to your tastes, and the size of your group.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. butter, softened
2 c. mixed shredded cheese
2 T. milk
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cracked pepper
1/4 cup snipped green onions
1/4 cup chopped pineapple-sage
Mix with the paddle attachment until the ingredients are well combined. Line a bowl with plastic wrap, letting it hang over the edges of the bowl, and press your cheese mixture in. Wrap your overhanging wrap over the cheese and press. Leave the cheese ball in the refrigerator overnight to cure.
On the day of the party, unmold your cheese ball and cover with:
Toasted, chopped pecans and extra pineapple sage
Serve with crackers.
That looks really, really good!!! :)
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