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

Fishy Delishy

Last week Josh informed me that we were the recipients of some fresh little trout fillets from his Dad's recent fishing trip. My brain was buzzing with ideas. It occurred to me that the best thing I could make would be something that had been haunting me since I learned of it on this episode of Mexico One Plate at a Time- Ceviche. I searched through several recipes online, and remembering what I also saw on the episode, I came up with a general recipe. Josh forgot the fish that night, which was quite depressing after juicing 7 limes, but when he brought it home the next night I cut it all up in preparation. It was amazing to see the fish actually cook in the lime juice! I'll post my recipe below, and after some comments about how I came around to my personal version of this delicious Latin appetizer salad.

Jessica's Trout Ceviche
Recipe from me!











1/2 to 1 lb. fresh trout fillets, cut to 1" pieces
Juice of 6 or 7 limes
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded & diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 small onion, diced
1 small avocado, diced
1 1/2 Roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 jalapeno, seeded & ribbed, minced
Plenty of cilantro, well torn or chopped
Coarse salt

• Cover trout in lime juice in a plastic container with lid or Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours, allowing juice to cook fish.
• Drain and discard juice from fish. Toss all vegetables and cilantro together. Add fish and mix. Salt to taste. You can serve immediately, or refrigerate to allow flavors to mingle. Serve with tortilla chips, tortillas, or crackers.
  

My notes: A lot of the recipes I came across involved mixing a sort of dressing from olive oil & red wine vinegar. I did mix this dressing up, but I didn't like the taste of it, so I didn't use it. If you're interested in trying it that way, just mix equal parts oil & vinegar. The recipe I referenced the most used 1/4 cup of each. Also, the cilantro is a personal preference kind of thing. I love cilantro, so I used plenty of it. And I ended up using quite a bit of salt, because I over-soaked the fish a little bit and it helped temper the strong lime flavor that resulted. But overall I enjoyed this dish immensely. Josh liked it, but a big batch of fresh raw veggies, especially onions and peppers, really isn't his thing. It is however my thing, and thusly I ate the majority of it. I served this ceviche for dinner along with some tortilla chips, veggie quesadillas and Dos Equis with lime. Heaven.

Comfortably Rushed

So I still haven't had a shower yet this morning, but I've gotta get this entry posted to make it in under the Blog Party deadline. The theme of this month's Blog Party, hosted by Dispensing Happiness is Comfort Food. So, I thought about the foods & beverages that are comforting to me and I decided to go with grilled cheese, tomato soup, and peppermint tea. To fit in the appetizer guidelines I served my comforting sandwiches in the form of strips, and went with Tomato Soup Shooters as an accompaniment.

For the Grilled Cheese Strips I used Monterrey Jack and Extra Sharp Cheddar, with a layer of crumbled feta filling, sandwiched between two
slices of well buttered Sourdough Bread. I grilled them slowly over medium-low heat in my new-to-me cast iron skillet I got from the in-laws. They were cheesey, gooey, and very toasty. Mmmmmm.....


For the Tomato Soup I followed a recipe that I had jotted down while watching Everyday Food a week or two earlier. What follows is the halved recipe I wrote down, to avoid a ginormous amount of leftover soup.


Classic Tomato Soup
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves ???- lots I guess, ha.

1/4 stick butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
Coarse salt & pepper
1/8 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in juice

• Melt butter over medium heat. Add oil & onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and flour; cook, whisking, 1 minute.
• Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with your fingers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Puree 2.5 cups in blender and return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

My notes: I actually pureed all but about a cup of the soup. I like my tomato soup very creamy, so this is an act of personal preference.

For my comforting beverage, as I mentioned above, I chose peppermint tea. I love peppermint tea! It's so soothing when I'm not feeling well, or I've been out on a cold blustery day. It is definitely my go-to mug filler, especially since my stomach can only handle one cup of coffee a day. I can fill my belly with cup after cup of peppermint tea.


So, that's my contribution to the February Blog Party. I hope I did everything right, ha. These blog events are new to me so I usually go over any rules I can find a million times, to hopefully avoid making a fool out of myself and my fledgling blog. As I mentioned in th post below I'll be out of town for a few days, so when I get back I should have a post about the yummy dinner I prepared last night. Incidentally I'm hoping it will be my Waiter, There's Something In My...Pie entry.