| Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 120 mins | Total Time: 130 mins |
| Serves: 3½ cups |
Nothing could be simpler to make than this smooth and delectable spread. Flavors blend beautifully and guests will think you spent hours preparing it.
From: My Great Recipes, 1981
INGREDIENTS
| ½ | c | dry white wine |
| 1 | env | unflavored gelatin |
| ½ | c | milk, scalded |
| 1 | T | worcestershire sauce |
| few dashes hot pepper sauce | ||
| 8 | oz | cream cheese, cut into cubes |
| 8 | oz | blue cheese, cut into cubes |
| lettuce leaves | ||
| chopped pecans or walnuts | ||
| crackers, crisp breads, celery sticks or pears cut into wedges |
STEPS
- Pour wine into container of electric blender. Sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand 2-3 mins to soften.
- Add hot milk. Whirl for 2 mins or until gelatin is dissolved and blended.
- Add worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce. Add cheeses, a few cubes at a time, whirling until mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Turn into 4-cup mold, bowl, or loaf pan. Chill for 2 hrs or until firm.
- Unmold on lettuce-lined serving dish. Cover cheese with nuts. Serve with crackers, celery, or pears.
TIPS
- Roquefort or gorgonzola cheese may be substituted for the blue cheese.
My Notes
This recipe combines wine with cheese; a tasting party in one dish. The recommended serving items all pair well with the white. Honestly, I’m a sucker for Worcestershire sauce, and it goes well here to add a piquant memory of anchovies.
Modern recipes have shied away from using gelatin or molding desserts. This recipe is both molded (of course on a bed of lettuce), but also spreads on a cracker. This is due to mixing of the milk with gelatin, and the fine texture from blending everything until it’s smooth. The gelatin allows the cheese to stand on its own without sagging, especially given the added milk and wine.
Gelatin is not the most inclusive ingredient; it’s not vegetarian (or vegan for that matter). You can substitute powdered gelatin for powdered agar agar one to one. It’s a slightly different flavor, but in this dish, the strong cheese and sauce flavors covers the gelatin/agar flavor.
Additionally, Worcestershire sauce traditionally contains anchovies. You can substitute mustard (use a nice one) if you want a similar flavor profile.
Why do we hate molded dishes? With a lot of people, I feel it comes down to two things. 1) Texture and 2) Kitsch.
This appetizer actually has a good texture, but if you were modernizing it, I’d recommend using a shallow mold, possibly a ring mold or the bottom of a bundt pan. Not making the dish as tall makes it appear more “natural” and less likely to wiggle. There’s also more surface area to cover with nuts. (More nuts for everyone!) It also makes the kitsch factor go down if you don’t put it in a novelty mold.
Want to serve this at a party? Here are my tips:
- Use a shallow mold.
- Unmold directly on a serving plate. Parchment paper is a good alternative if you don’t want to dirty the plate.
- Surround with many different nibbles, the more the merrier.
- Make sure to modify the recipe, or let any vegetarian folks know that this dish is not for them.
- Serve with a few small spreading knives, since knives are liable to wander off.
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