Everything Bagel Smoked Salmon Cheese Ball

This Everything Bagel Smoked Salmon Cheese Ball is the perfect schmear for your favorite bagel with lemon zest, onions and capers. Send out the invites to brunch! 

Cheese balls were one of my paternal grandmother’s favorite things so my mom bought her one just about every Christmas when they were available, I guess for Christmas parties. We didn’t see them for sale the rest of the year. They contained a variety of cheeses and were rolled in nuts. Very festive! 

When I became a grownup, I’d occasionally make her one as well. She wasn’t picky at all. All cheese balls are good cheese balls, a sentiment I now echo. As a kid, I wasn’t such a fan. 

Yep, now I am a big fan of cheese balls for any party occasion. One of the favorite ones I’ve ever made was for Halloween so it was shaped like a pumpkin. My second favorite is spicy and covered in nuts but it’s rivaled by this everything bagel seasoning smoked salmon edition! 

Everything Bagel Smoked Salmon Cheese Ball

This cheese ball was inspired by this savory cheesecake recipe. You can use orange colored cheddar but I think using a natural cheddar makes a prettier cheese ball. 

Ingredients - makes a 1 lb or 454g cheese ball

4 oz or 113g extra sharp natural cheddar

1 tablespoon onion, sliced as thinly as possible then minced

4 oz or 113g smoked salmon

1 tablespoon capers

8 oz or 225g cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning, plus extra for sprinkling

zest 1 lemon

2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

Method

Grate the cheddar. Using a sharp knife, chop the smoked salmon into small bits. 

Add all of the cheese ball ingredients into a large mixing bowl. 

Mash and stir until well combined and homogeneous. 

Scoop the mixture out on to a piece of cling film and use your hands and the cling film to mold it into a ball. 

Place the cheese ball in a round bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour to allow the flavor to meld, but it can be made a day ahead of serving. 

When chilling time is over, sprinkle everything bagel seasoning on the outside of the cheese ball, pressing it in so it sticks. 

Once it’s sufficiently covered, you can even roll the ball around to make it perfectly round. 

Serve with bagels or crackers or slices of baguette. I cut a large wedge to share with my mother-in-law and she ate hers on toast. It's all good. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing cheese ball recipes. Many thanks to our host, Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures. Check out the links below.

• Bald Eagle Cheeseball by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Everything Bagel Smoked Salmon Cheese Ball by Food Lust People Love
• Jalapeno Pecan Cream Cheese by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pineapple Cheese Ball by Our Good Life
• Shaam Savera/Palak Paneer Cheese Ball by Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Jalapeño Pecan Cheese Ball

This spreadable Jalapeño Pecan Cheese Ball is made with cream cheese and cheddar. It’s a spicy, creamy, crunchy, delicious, attractive addition to your party table. Watch it disappear!

Growing up I was not a fan of the cheese balls my paternal grandmother adored. But because she loved them, they always made an appearance at family gatherings around the holidays. I think my mom bought them for Gram from Hickory Farms but I’ll have to get back to you on that.

If you’ve been buying them too, I’m here to tell you how easy they are to make at home. The only challenging part is mixing the ingredients together since this makes a fairly firm ball. Roll up your sleeves and apply a little elbow grease to that wooden mixing spoon and you’ll be fine.

Jalapeño Pecan Cheese Ball

The ingredients below make one substantial cheese ball (about 1.1 lbs or 500g) but I can promise it will disappear in no time. We like to spread it on crackers or toast but you just might find yourself licking the knife when all of those are gone. Choose a dull one.

Ingredients

8 oz or 227g cream cheese, softened

4 oz or 113g sharp white cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups or 150g pecans

2 green onions

1 fresh jalapeño

4 soft sun-dried tomato halves (if in oil, drain and pat completely dry with paper towels)

To serve:

Crackers or toast rounds

Method

Grate the cheddar cheese. Finely mince the jalapeño, green onions and sun-dried tomatoes. Separate out about 1 tablespoon each of the vegetables to be used later when we roll the cheese ball. 

Chop the pecans finely.

In a bowl, use a wooden spoon or stiff spatula to combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, one quarter of the pecans (you can just eyeball this) and the bigger piles of jalapeño, green onions and sun-dried tomatoes until thoroughly blended. 

Form the mixture into a ball.

Cover your work surface with cling film. I find this works best if I wipe the countertop with a clean damp sponge first which helps the cling film stick and stay in place. Sprinkle the reserved minced jalapeño, green onions and sun-dried tomatoes onto the cling film. 

Top these with the remainder of the chopped pecans. Transfer the cheese ball to the middle. 

Dampen your hands with a little water to stop the cheese from sticking to them and then roll the cheese ball around on the pecans and veggies until it’s completely covered. You can keep rolling it, applying gentle pressure until most of the pecans have adhered to the ball. 

Pile any leftover pecan/veggie bits in the middle of your serving plate and, using your hands, pop the cheese ball on top, pressing down gently. 

Refrigerate the jalapeño pecan cheese ball, covered, for at least 1 hour to chill.

Serve with crackers or toasted rounds of bread.

Enjoy!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month so that means it’s time for my Foodie Extravaganza friends to get together to celebrate an obscure food holiday. This time it’s National Georgia Pecan Month! I can’t promise my pecans are from Georgia but this recipe certainly showcases my favorite nut. Check out the links to the other recipes below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Autumn Flavored Rice Pilaf  by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Autumn Pecan Sourdough  by Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Candied Pecans by  Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Chicken & Pecans Sandwich by Sneha's Recipe
• German Chocolate Banana Bread by The Spiffy Cookie
• Jalapeño Pecan Cheese Ball by  Food Lust People Love
• Pecan Chutney by Magical Ingredients
• Pecan Long Grain and Wild Rice (Instant Pot) by Palatable Pastime

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Sincere Pumpkin Patch Spicy Cheese Ball

Extra sharp cheddar and cream cheese can be flavored with a variety of herbs and spices and rolled up ball- or log-shaped for a savory appetizer that will be a welcome addition to any party table. For added interest, roll your cheese ball in chopped pecans or walnuts.

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you might have noticed something.  I didn’t have a single Halloween post until last week’s Muffin Monday.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy Halloween.  In fact, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, when my girls were little, I was chief organizer and instigator of Halloween celebrations in our little neighborhood in the small oilfield town of Macaé, Brazil.

When we lived in Kuala Lumpur, we took part in trick-or-treating by joining another neighborhood’s festivities since no one went door-to-door in our mostly local area. We parked on the route, decorated the trunk of our car and gave out candy.  

But since our girls left home for university and I started the blog, my Halloween decorating and baking has dropped off significantly, although I still join my friends to give out candy if I happen to be in KL for Halloween.  It’s such fun to see the children in costumes.

Trunk-or-Treat - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia circa 2010

This week’s Sunday Supper theme is Halloween Finger Foods and since I don’t have little ones at home, I decided to go savory instead of sweet by making a spicy cheese ball that would be a great addition to any Halloween party table.  Goodness knows there will be enough candy already.

Like Linus from the comic strip Peanuts, I like to think that the Great Pumpkin will come to the most sincere pumpkin patch (or buffet table) and bring gifts for everyone.  He might even be tempted by this cheese ball.  It is most sincerely cheesy.

Ingredients
13 1/4 oz or 375g extra-sharp orange cheddar cheese
8 oz or about 225g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 small bunch chives (Mine was about 1/2 oz or 15g)
1 jalapeño (Mine was about 3/4 oz or 20g)
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon smoked paprika plus extra for decorating, if desired
2 tablespoons plain yogurt

For decoration: One broccoli stalk - with leaves, if possible
To serve: Crackers of your choice or bread

Method
Grate your cheddar cheese into a large mixing bowl. Finely mince your chives and garlic. Cut the stem end off of the jalapeño and remove the seeds, if you want to add just a little spice. If you like spicy food, by all means, leave the seeds in. Mince the jalapeño finely.

Add the softened cream cheese, the chives, garlic, jalapeño, smoked paprika and plain yogurt to the cheddar cheese.

Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

Line a small round bowl with cling film and heap the cheese mixture in it.  Press down with a spatula so the cheese fills the bottom of the lined bowl completely. Cover with the cling film and round out the top with your hands.  It’s like playing with Play-Do again.

Set the covered cheese ball in the refrigerator for several hours so it will stiffen back up.  I ended up leaving mine overnight because I got busy with other projects.

Remove the cheese ball from the bowl but leave it covered with the cling film.  Press the ball into a pumpkin-like shape.  Remember that pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes so don’t get too hung up on complete roundness or perfection.

Use your thumb to make grooves in the ball from top to bottom.

When you are satisfied that it looks like the best pumpkin you can manage, unwrap the cling film and use a soft paint brush to brush a little smoked paprika in the grooves to enhance the look.

Cut the stem off your broccoli, keeping a couple of leaves attached, if possible.  Cut what will be the top of your pumpkin stem at an angle.  Set the stem on top of your cheese pumpkin ball and push it in just a little.   Is that not the cutest thing!?

Serve with crackers or bread, and don’t forget to put out a knife so that folks can cut a piece off and spread the cheese ball.

Enjoy!


Still wondering what to make for your Halloween party? Sunday Supper is here to help with a great list of finger food recipes!

Spooky Snacks and Starters

• Cheesy Ghost Chains by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Cobweb Eggs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Ghouly Pumpkin Butter Biscuits by Our Good Life
• Pumpkin Energy Bites by Caroline’s Cooking
• Spooky Pizza Bites by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sincere Pumpkin Patch Spicy Cheese Ball by Food Lust People Love
• Spooky Snack Mix by Pies and Plots
• Vampire Blood Soup with Monster Grilled Cheese Sandwiches by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Zombie Fingers (Bacon Wrapped Dates) by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Tasty Trick-or-Treats

• Bloody Eyeball Brownies by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Candy Corn Cookies by The Freshman Cook
• Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bites by Hardly A Goddess
• Halloween Chocolate Bark by Life Tastes Good
• Homemade Almond Joy Candy Bars by Bites of Wellness
• Matcha Monster Rice Krispies by NinjaBaker.com
• Mini Frankenstein Cheesecakes by Sunday Supper Movement
• Warm Caramel Apple Dip by Palatable Pastime
• Witches Fingers Cookies by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

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