Ingredients
- 3 cups sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 4-ounce jars diced pimentos, drained
- 1/2 cup chopped chives
- Crackers, sliced radishes, celery sticks, with leaves, purple or yellow cauliflower florets and green onions, for serving
Chef notes
For your next party, give your cheese ball a Southern spin with pimento cheese.
Preparation
1.Place white cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, paprika, cayenne, Worcestershire, onion powder and Dijon in a food processor with 2/3 of the diced pimentos (set the other pimentos aside).
2.Pulse the cheese mixture. Do not overwork it — you still want to see some texture.
3.Remove mixture from the food processor to a bowl and fold in the remaining pimento peppers and half of the chopped chives.
4.Refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes.
5.Form the mixture into 2 softball size cheese balls.
6.Dip the top of the cheese balls in the remaining chopped chives.
7.Place on a platter with crackers and crudité like seed crackers, radishes, celery, cauliflower florets and green onions for dipping.
