A Book Club Miracle

I worked late almost every day this past week (hence the complete lack of posting—blah) with the exception of Wednesday.  Wednesday also happened to be the date of this month’s  book club so the fact that it was my one non-late day was something of a miracle. A book club miracle, if you will. You know what else was miraculous? The cheese ball I made to take to book club!

That’s right I said cheese ball.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of cheese balls, I think of the highly processed versions my mom used to buy from Hickory Farms around the holidays when I was a kid. I did not care for cheese balls back then but I am decidedly a fan of this recipe from Cooking Light (I just so happened to run across it during the Great Thanksgiving Recipe Search 2010).

It’s so easy you can put it together after a long day of work without breaking a sweat. And seriously, cream cheese + blue cheese + shallots + lemon zest + parsley + walnuts = awesome.  Miraculous, even.

Miraculous Blue Cheese Ball with Walnuts
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 8-ounce brick of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1 TBL milk
1 TBL finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper
¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
2 ½ TBL chopped walnuts

1.Place cream cheese, blue cheese, and milk in a bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add shallots, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste. Beat with mixer until well blended.
2.Spoon mixture onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Form into a ball. Wrap and chill overnight.
3.Before serving, combine parsley and walnuts in a shallow bowl or plate.  Unwrap cheese ball and gently roll in nut mixture. Either serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready. Serve with crackers, bread, or veggies.