As long as I can remember, my mom has made a delicious cheese spread. It is a richly flavored, creamy spread for bread or crackers. I have never been able to distinguish the individual flavors of the cheeses, but they work together to make a delightful taste of their own. She usually makes it around Christmas, and we all sit around and eat way too much of it. I always plead for a bit to take home with me and since my mother is very generous, I always go home with a jar of it.
Getting the recipe has been more of a challenge. For years my mother told me that it’s just a bit of this and that and that she doesn’t really have a recipe. Fair enough. But I really wanted to learn how to make it myself so that I could whip it up to serve to guests, use for sandwiches. . . or just hoard for myself.
Well, I finally pinned her down. I don’t know if the children were preoccupied and we were able to have an uninterrupted conversation, or I just was more intent on getting the full story, but I finally got enough information out of her to figure out how to make it. Sort of. It is an infinitely adaptable recipe. You can adjust it to use your favorite cheeses or leftover cheese bits. This version is made with a decent dose of blue cheese so it has a decidedly tangy kick to it. But it is smooth, flavorful, and highly addictive. And conveniently, it is very easy to make.
It can be used as an appetizer, snack, or as a sandwich spread. The children loved it, although if I were making it specifically for a group of children, I would use less blue cheese.
Mom’s Cheese Spread
Makes 2-3 cups
15 minutes preparation time
approximately ½ pound extra sharp cheddar
8 ounces cream cheese
¼ pound Maytag blue cheese
4 tablespoons butter, softened
½ teaspoon garlic salt
approximately ½ cup hot water
Grate the cheddar in a food processor. Remove the cheese and the grating blade and put in the general use chopping blade. Add back the cheddar and all the remaining ingredients, except the water, and blend. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the hot water. Stop occasionally and check the texture. Ideally, all the cheeses will blend, but the spread will retain a bit of texture. You may need a bit more or less than the ½ cup of water.
When blended, scrape the mixture into a storage container and chill until you are ready to serve it. It will last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
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What a beautiful blog Margy! Your photos really capture the amazing spirit of AH---the eggs are beautiful!
BTW, how do you get the double color on some of them? (e.g. the pink or yellow behind the other color?)
Thanks for letting us know about this!
Barbara
Posted by: Barbara Beachler | April 07, 2009 at 12:30 AM