Easy Marinated Cheese

Life in a cubicle can get a bit boring after a while. Luckily, I work with people who appreciate a good "snack day." A snack day is basically a day-long munchfest featuring everything from chips and dip and cocktail weenies to various tasty treats kept warm in a crock pot. After one long day at work I ruminated over what to bring for the next day's snack. I thought of my sister's mother-in-law's fabulous marinated cheese, but I wanted something easier to make and serve. Little did I know that this quickie appetizer would bring me to the cubicle hall of fame. My co-workers affectionately call this treat "Karen's Stinky Cheese". It is fragrant and addictive and I hope you will like it too.

Marinated Cheese
2 10-ounce packages of sharp white Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Slice the cheese into cracker sized servings and place in plastic container. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour over the cheese. Let marinate overnight. Serve with crackers.

Saltines or bland "water crackers" work the best, as they let the flavor of the marinade shine. Be sure you eat some of this before anyone comes around. Once the intoxicating scent fills the air, you won't have any left!

Grandma Harvey's Cheeseball

When I was a child, my sister and I would spend Friday nights huddled in the den, watching a small black and white TV. Sometimes my mom would join us upstairs to watch something special - like a Dracula movie. The snack of choice for Friday night was pretzels and dip. Mom rarely purchased prepackaged foods. She stuck to a very tight budget and mixed her own dressings and dips. Her idea of dip was this sublime concoction of cream, blue and cheddar cheese handed down from my Grandma, Louise Harvey. We also made this into a cheeseball.

Not too long ago I was looking through one of my favorite cookbooks Square Meals: America's Favorite Comfort Cookbook by Jane and Michael Stern, and I found an almost exact duplicate of this recipe. It turns out that Grandma Harvey probably found this recipe in a booklet with her Osterizer blender back in the 1950s and made a few modifications. The addition of ¼ cup of milk to this recipe makes it a dip. Leave the milk out and you have cheese ball.

Grandma Harvey's Cheeseball
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 small onion, grated
2 tablespoons parsley, softened in water
ground nuts (pecans)

Combine the cheeses, Worcestershire sauce and onion in a large bowl. Form into a ball and roll in parsley and nuts. Refrigerate overnight and serve with crackers. Add ¼ cup of milk for a softer consistency. Be sure to find yourself a nice aggressive blue cheese for this recipe. I prefer to use Maytag Blue Cheese. Those crumbled tubs available in the grocery store are a bit too wimpy and the flavor falls flat even after sitting overnight.