I just discovered this not-really-a-recipe recipe and I can already tell it's going to be in the regular rotation for cocktail hour treats. This pungent cheese spread comes together quickly and will make you seem like a gourmet cook, even if you've never made an appetizer before. It's the perfect accompaniment to a Classic Manhattan, scotch on the rocks, or a good strong red wine.
And, I'm not gonna lie, we've been spreading it on bread, adding tart sliced green apples, and making grilled cheese sandwiches this week. YUM!!
8 oz of cheese*
2 cloves of roasted garlic or 1 clove of raw garlic, minced.
1 tablespoon of chopped chives or finely minced shallot or red onion
1-2 tablespoons of room temperature butter
Splash of white or red wine
*You can use any good quality cheese you have on hand, cheddar, parmesan, gouda. I suggest mixing a few kinds together. We are loving sharp cheddar, a little parmesan and some blue cheese as a mix. Gouda with Emmental is a good combo. Brie and Muenster work well. Play sharp and mild or smoky and salty against each other.
Grate any harder cheeses and cube or crumble softer cheeses.
Toss the above into a food processor or if you don't have that a blender will work. Add a splash of white wine (or red wine if you're working with stronger cheeses or only have that on hand).
Blend until smooth. You want it to look like a smooth spreadable Brie or cream cheese. If it's too thick or grainy, add a little more butter to smooth it out.
That's it. Put it into a nice crockery bowl and serve it with crackers, slices of baguette or veggies for dipping. Keeps in the fridge for a week, bring to room temp for serving.
Play around with different combos of cheese, wine, or even beer! Try adding some chopped parsley or cracked black pepper. Spread some baguette slices and warm in the oven before serving. And, definitely use the leftovers as a sandwich spread. You'll thank me for that one.