Hey everybody! I hope you had a splendid Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones and a menu filled with beverages and food that made you want to never stop eating.
‘Tis the season for another round of that – to stuff yourself with delicious goodies like a stocking hanging from the fireplace. Every gathering needs an appetizer to ease into the journey, and there’s only one that brings everyone together and says happy holidays.
It’s a cheeseball. Have you experienced the iconic cheeseball?
It’s soft cheese molded into the shape of a ball and decorated with different nuts, herbs, or dried fruit. It can be sweet or savory; the options are endless. I’ve heard the cheeseball was considered the outcast of the cheese family, but it’s making a comeback. I can always expect one on the table at a holiday gathering in the south – a true sign of hospitality – so I’m not sure they knew it had gone away.
Legend has it that the cheeseball was born on July 20, 1801, in Cheshire, Massachusetts, as a gift to the newly elected President Thomas Jefferson from Elder John Leland, a Baptist preacher.
Leland got all the folks in town to contribute milk—only from Republican cows, no Federalist milk allowed—to make a large chunk of cheese. The milk came from more than 900 cows and required a special cheese press to create a 1,235-pound cheeseball. Preaching along the way, Leland transported the ball by wagon to the White House lawn to show his patriotism and appreciation for religious liberty.
The first modern cheeseball recipe, by Mrs. Selmer Ellertson, can be found in the 1944 cookbook, Food of My Friends. It became an easy and frugal appetizer and was popular in the 1950s through 1970s. The cheeseball fell out of fashion after that, and in 2003, New York Times food writer Amanda Hesser wrote, “Cheese balls tend to be associated with shag rugs and tinsel.” Well, who doesn’t love a shag rug and some tinsel, so yeah, it’s back – and its tinsel season!
You can keep your cheeseball super simple or level it up. Anybody can make one – it’s actually a kid-friendly task.
You’ll need cheese of course:
- Cream cheese, sharp cheddar, or goat.
- Add some seasoning - ranch or garlic, smoked paprika
- Then mixes, like onion, pimentos or dried berries, maybe throw in some bacon because it makes things better.
- Shape it into a ball.
- Roll it in some nuts and herbs - pecans, parsley, even pomegranate seeds.
- Chill it to firm up and you got yourself a crowd pleaser.
Go retro and put it in the center of the plate surrounded by Ritz Crackers or serve whatever crunchy partners you want to pair it with. Have you had a Christmas tree cheeseball? Or a reindeer or snowman? Oh, my goodness, they’re adorable. Talk about making an impression – especially on social media!
You can, of course, make a small one for yourself. Sharing is not required. Or just make two – one for you and one for them. If a cheeseball is always on your holiday table, then thank you, and consider a different kind this year, but if not, make one. Or buy one. It will be fine, trust me.
Here’s wishing you a stocking-stuffed, Merry feast – and a fantastic New Year!
