Date, Pecan and Bacon Cheese Ball with Curried Peach Preserves
by Vivian Howard on Nov 21, 2014
Yes I know the cheese ball is cliche. I believe however that like the pig in a blanket and the baked potato, cheese balls are so cliche they’re cool. Socially acceptable or not, put this thing out before your holiday meal and people will hover over it like a it’s a crystal ball.
- Servings
- 1 large or two small cheese balls
- Course
- Appetizer
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions (both white and green parts work here)
- 1⁄4 cup high quality blue cheese (such as Maytag)
- 1⁄4 cup fresh goat cheese
- 1⁄4 cup + 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- 1⁄4 cup chopped dates
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 cup roughly chopped pecans + 2 tsp. butter (melted) and 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1⁄4 cup bacon crumbles
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
-
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Also remove the blue cheese, butter, goat and cream cheeses from the refrigerator to soften them.
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Toss together 2 teaspoons of melted butter, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 cup of pecans on a baking sheet. Spread the pecans out in a single layer and roast for about 8 minutes. Once you begin to smell the pecans, remove the nuts from the oven and allow them to cool.
-
Using the method that best suits you, cook your favorite bacon till crisp. Let it cool and crumble it up. You should end up with about 1/4 cup of bacon crumbles.
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In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the ingredients, except the bacon and the parsley. Paddle it up till homogenous.
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At this point you’re looking at a pretty loose cheese spread. So in order to form this stuff into a ball, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so. Once it’s stiff enough to hold up, form your ball and roll it in bacon followed by parsley.
