L'il Smoky the Cheese Ball

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Josh has been out of town, I was planning our housewarming, we're about to go on vacation, yada yada yada. You know how it goes. But speaking of our housewarming I wanted to share a recipe that I made for it. I was just looking to do a general snack smorgasborg, so the menu went something like- assorted cheeses, pepperoni, assorted crackers, baguette slices, pita wedges, two types of hummus, assorted crudites, ranch dip, Ruffles, tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, cold pesto pasta salad, pretzel nibs, mixed nuts, flavored potato chips, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and some cupcakes from Stephanie. The one new recipe I decided to try out for the party was Amy Sedaris's cheese ball, L'il Smoky. I loved the kitsch factor of a cheese ball, and I loved the quirkiness of it being an Amy Sedaris recipe. I did have to encourage people at first to give it a try, our generation not really having a large exposure to cheese balls. But once people gave it a shot it turned out to be the hit of the party. There was just a tiny little nub of cheese and nuts left at the end of the night. I'll definitely make this recipe again for future entertaining.

Amy Sedaris's L'il Smoky Cheese Ball















2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups shredded smoked Gouda, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp. milk, cream, or half-and-half
2 tsp. A-l steak sauce
2 cups crushed walnuts or pecans
crackers for serving

• Place Gouda, cream cheese, butter, milk, and steak sauce in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; mix until well combined. Transfer mixture to refrigerator; let chill overnight.
• Roll cheese mixture into a ball. Place nuts in a shallow dish. Roll cheese ball in nuts to fully coat. Serve with crackers. If preparing in advance remove ball from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

My notes: I made a half-size ball and it worked out well for our party of about 25-30 people. I served it surrounded by Wheat Thins, but it was just as good with the other crackers options on the table. The smoked Gouda and steak sauce combine to give it a great flavor. One of our vegetarian friends remarked that it tasted almost meaty, and I assured her that it was due to the cheese/sauce combo. No meat involved!

P.S. If you click the recipe title link you can watch a hilarious video of Amy on Martha Stewart making this cheese ball!

Photo via Martha Stewart