The invention of cheese balls is shrouded in antiquity, and may in fact have occurred contemporaneously in several places at once. Cheese balls were referred to in everyday terms during the early 1920s, if not earlier, in recipes published in newspapers, suggesting a much earlier origin.
It’s quite possible that cheese was rolled into balls not very long after cheese itself was discovered.
Sadly, history has not been kind to the cheese ball. Early on, this classic party food earned an ugly reputation it’s been mostly unable to shake. Food writer Amanda Hesser once wrote in the New York Times magazine that “cheese balls tend to be associated with shag rugs and tinsel, symbols of the middle-class middlebrow.” Thankfully, with cheeses of all kinds getting gourmet treatment in recent years, this is one party food that seems ready for an update.
Smoked Salmon Cheese Ball
Ingredients:
- 1 – 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 16 ounces smoked salmon**
- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
- Assorted Crackers
- 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
In small bowl, stir together parsley and pecans. In separate bowl, mix together cream cheese, salmon, horseradish, onion and lemon juice. Shape cheese mixture into a ball. Gently press parsley and pecan mixture over ball to completely cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, surround with cucumber rounds and crackers.
** 1- 15 ounce can salmon, bones and skins removed and 2 teaspoons liquid smoke may be substituted.
Savor! West Virginia 