Got a party coming up that you’re supposed to bring something, and have no ideas what to make? Sounds like you need something quick and easy, that’s still going to look and taste good. I got ya covered. This is a variation on the standard cheese ball, but shaped into a Christmas tree. And it’s totally yummy.
Ingredients
8 ounces extra sharp cheddar, shredded
8 ounces medium cheddar, shredded
¼ cup grated onion
½ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup fresh cranberries (for decoration)
Directions
Grate the cheese into a large-ish bowl, then transfer it into a bowl that’s large enough to actually make the whole recipe. Because you’re an idiot and keep forgetting you’ve got a big ‘ol bowl right next to the merely large-ish one.
Grate the onion and add to the cheese.
Add the crushed red pepper and the mayo and mix everything together.
Shape into a cone right on the plate you’ll be serving it on.
Wipe up the plate around it after you’re done forming the cone so that it will look nice when you’re finished.
Remove the stems from the parsley and chop it roughly.
You can use curly or flat-leaf parsley and the flavor will be the same, but the tree will look more tree-like if you use the curly. Press plenty of it into the cheese, then add some cranberry “ornaments”.
Fresh cranberries can be pretty hard, but you’ll still want to make little indentations in the cheese with your finger first, rather than just shoving the berries in.
Serve with crackers.
And that’s it.
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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5 Comments
Love this! You could use small grapes instead of cranberries, then you eat the grapes with the cheese. I love the sweetness of grapes with cheese.
Oh this is such a fun twist! you’re right, very easy to execute but with that holiday flare that makes it perfect for a party
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Briz, that’s some nice looking stuff. Thanks for the pointer.
Wow! That is quite the presentation! Impressive!