Getting a Bit Cheese-y

With the Super Bowl upon us (and, living in Minneapolis, it really is pretty much upon all of us), it's time for some appetizer-y finger foods. And, I'll admit it: for me, planning for any group event that isn't a sit-down meal means that there should be an abundance of finger foods.

Having a brunch? I love to have a couple of "breakfast casseroles" but also things like scones that can be picked up as you walk past the table. Having a non-sit-down dinner? Along with the foods that need knives and forks, I always make sure there are snacks or sides that can be picked up as you go to the kitchen for another drink.

I don't know why I feel that way - maybe it has to do with the fact that my parents used to host Bridge nights, and so the food always had to be portable and easy to work with while guests' hands were also holding cards.

At any rate, let's get into the non-meat of this post:

So, what kind of cheese-y leftovers do we have in the fridge that I'm trying to work my way through? Here's a sampling:

The "Dimock Cheese" is from a small creamery in Dimock, South Dakota, where we've been watching cheese get made since I was a little kid!

The other fun thing about this post is that I get to get out the food processor that we almost never use.

We do not have video of me trying to remember how to get the lid on so that it works… Honestly, why can't these things be intuitive?

As I mentioned in the video, the one thing that all of the online recipes seemed to have in common is that they combined 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1 cup of shredded cheese. I was going to start shredding and measuring, until I noticed this on the bag o' cheese:

Oddly enough, I didn't use any of the pre-shredded cheese during this post.

Starting with the blue cheese, I trimmed the edges (we've had it for a while), and then weighed it.

Then I added some of the Habanero Jack.

Because these are both soft cheeses - and because we didn't have much Jack left at this point - I added the rest to the stack.

I figured that the soft cheeses would do fine together - I was right.

Into the food processor to see what we can do with soft cheeses and softened cream cheese.

I ground up the other cheeses, first (figuring that this was the best way to remove lumps)…

…then added in the cream cheese.

I really thought they'd just mush up into a wad. I was kind of amazed by how it came out.

At this point, when I opened the lid, I realized why so many recipes call for things like nuts or green onions or something with color and texture.

Is it mashed potatoes? Is it frosting?

The smell, though, as I scooped it out of the processor and into a bowl was definitely blue cheese.

Next up? Figuring out what to do with the Pepperoni cheese…

Okay. First, I washed out the food processor and set it to dry, then I looked at the cheese a little more closely.

The Pepperoni cheese includes a mix of "Italian herbs" - listed on the package as primarily Oregano, Basil, and Garlic. Since I was going to be adding this to the cream cheese (and, thus, mellowing the flavor), I decided to add in some of each of those - as well as a little Parmesan. And - just for kicks - a little extra Pepperoni.

I chunked up the cheese, first, before dropping it into the processor.

Then I let it whiz around for a bit, and got this:

Finally, I tossed in some quartered pieces of pepperoni and the cream cheese and herbs.

When I removed the lid from the processor, I could still see some pepperoni chunks - and the herbs were really fragrant.

Again, I scooped it out into a bowl, and then set it outside in the porch (high temp on the day I made these was predicted to be about 30, so the porch was kind of fridge/freezer temps), so that it could also set up enough to be worked with.

Once they were firm enough to not just be mushy (technical terms abound!), I was ready to move on to shaping them.

For the Buffalo-blue log, I opted to add some nuts to the exterior (for texture, as well as the kitsch factor), so I tossed a large handful of pecans (taken from the freezer) into the food processor and pulsed them a few times until they seemed like they'd easily stick to the cheese.

I scooped the cheese from the bowl onto some plastic wrap, which I used to help me shape it into a log without getting too much of it on my hands.

I put some nuts on the plastic, then rolled the log around and pressed the nuts in a bit so that they would stick.

A quick, tight wrap in the plastic, then I put it back out in the porch to re-solidify.

Honestly, it never got much harder than a block of cold cream cheese.

For the Pepperoni, I decided to go for a ball, instead of a log. But the overall tactics were the same: I put some of the herbs and garlic onto a sheet of plastic, shaped the chilled cheese into a ball…

…and then rolled the ball around until it was mostly covered.

No, I didn't coat it in pepperoni. I did seriously consider it, but wasn't sure how it would look after the meat started to dry out…

A tight wrap in the plastic (I must admit, this got much smaller and more compact as I worked with it), and the Pepperoni ball went out into the porch to chill with the Buffalo-blue log.

So, how did they turn out?

The one thing I found with this is that some bites were more "blue" and some were more "Buffalo." I suspect this was because I only let it set up for a couple of hours. The Pepperoni ball - which had a longer time to "cure" before being cut into - turned out to be a little more mellow, and with a more consistent flavor.

That being said, I think this could easily be either a last-minute appetizer or a make-ahead. And - touchdown - it also opened up a certain amount of space in our cheese drawer!


Oh - and a post-script note to anyone else out there who wears a wedding ring (or any ring, obviously) and also cooks:

The cheese mixtures tend to get into every nook and cranny. And while that may be a tasty little snack for later, it doesn't look all that good.


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Are there any semi-retro foods that you like that you think I should try out? I'm not sure I'd be willing to work with aspics, but other than that, let me know and I'll see what I can do!