Cheese Ball Invitational

January 4, 2012 1:50 PM

In December, food blog Cheese and Champagne announced its first ever Cheese Ball Invitational. Today it revealed the six finalists (follow links for recipes).

The contest was inspired by Chow.com's post about the creation of the Turducken of Cheese Balls.

Cheese balls have made a bit of a comeback recently. You can go haute with Martha Stewart, or bloat with Paula Deen. Amy Sedaris is a fan of cheese balls. She's even appeared on Martha Stewart's and Paula Deen's shows to make them.

posted by mudpuppie (10 comments total)

Oh god. I love this and I loathe it, too. Really, the point of a cheese ball is to squash together a bunch of cheap/leftover cheese ingredients, fromage fort-style, turning junk into something edible. Some of these balls...what a waste of fabulous cheese that deserves to be enjoyed more simply.

But then again...its CHEESE. In BALL FORM. I could pretend I'd be able to resist, but I won't. I will certainly make a cheese ball in the near future. Our dear friends the cheese shop owners will hate me. Thanks a lot. No really, thanks a lot.
posted by peachfuzz at 2:34 PM on January 4, 2012

Bourbon Bacon Cheese Ball...

::drool::
posted by Splunge at 2:39 PM on January 4, 2012

This is salient to me. Someone left a capachinno cheese ball mix they received from a vendor in the kitchen here at the office. Conversation around the office has how that doesn't seem to work as a thing; it's still sitting in the kitchen as the caramel corn and chocolate has evaporated.

But these cheese balls really seem to work as things. I hope the ongoing turduckenization of all varieties of food extends into other realms of our lives, like cars and computing and haute coture and dental floss.
posted by Barry B. Palindromer at 3:01 PM on January 4, 2012

That Bourbon Bacon Cheese Ball does look rather tempting, as does the Bourbon Ginger Slush recipe.

I forwarded this to my cheese-loving co-worker, and am hoping it leads to her making some of these and bringing them in for us to try.
posted by mogget at 3:02 PM on January 4, 2012

Honestly, I'm a little disappointed that this had nothing to do with those ANSI Orange Cheez Balls that Planters used to make.
posted by schmod at 3:32 PM on January 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

For a minute there I thought you were talking about the CGA orange which was really more of a brown.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 4:33 PM on January 4, 2012

I... I...

/runs to the kitchen in search of other cheeses to mix into that leftover cream cheese from the holidays
posted by bitter-girl.com at 4:45 PM on January 4, 2012

Up until just now, I thought the term cheese balls referred to cocaine and cheese
posted by mulligan at 9:48 AM on January 5, 2012

Here am I, the lone freak, who does not like cheese balls.

Nossir, I do not. Can't say why. I like both cheese (almost any!!!) and spherical foods (grapes, tomatoes, hushpuppies).

But cheese balls invariably carry a whiff of Cheez Whiz, and a smidgen of "Look! I Kin Too Cook!", no matter what they're made of.

Hoped the pics would grab me. Sigh.

Off to eat some leftover smashed-cheese-ellipsoids from NYE...
posted by IAmBroom at 11:25 AM on January 5, 2012

The winners have been announced. I'm off to try these three. I recommend against the Goat Cheese and Bacon ball as written - it needs some kind of crunch (roll in nuts instead of parsley mixture?). Great post, thanks. I do love a cheese ball.
posted by slmorri at 9:35 AM on January 17, 2012