The Cheeseball...melt.

Come a little bit closer. This is not the typical grilled cheese sandwich. I realized today that I have a perfect shortage of amazing sandwiches on my blog. How can a bread baking queen (of love and glory) not have about 50 gorgeous sandwich entries? I have one now. This is it. The melted cheese ball... (click on this picture for a full size view...it's totally amazing)...

Next time I'll double the filling for the photo (and myself). Just know that even with a smaller amount and my low fat kick, it was really outstanding. I literally took the gooey goodness of a cheese ball without nuts, and made it into the filling for a grilled cheese sandwich. That complex flavor was the perfect companion for the slices of homemade overnight started bread . I love it with seeds all over the crust. Did you miss that tutorial? ( seeded bread tutorial ).

The cheese ball recipe I got from my sister in law. All too often I will get some of my best recipes from my family and friends. This fact held true. Meet the Cheese ball. Please.

There are two things I loved about the cheese ball. First, it could be used as a spread or as a cheese ball. Second... freaked me out(in a good way) because it has crushed pineapple in the mixture, but it's the perfect combination of salty and sweet. Add to that the crunch of toasted bread and you have a winner. In fact, this is the only cheese ball cool enough to be wiped all over my bread, bagels, soft pretzels, homemade crackers and then grilled on toast. Now that is an honor worth blogging about. Right? The other good news...it has a really small list of ingredients. That can only help endear it to me.

Gwen's Cheese ball

("cheese ball" here is not actually a reference to my brother in law...grin...)
yields 2 average cheese balls

(or one giant mother-of-all-cheese balls...again not my brother-in-law)

2 packages cream cheese (8 oz each)

1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup minced celery

1/2 cup minced red onion

4 oz crushed pineapple (squeezed until all the juice is out and it's almost dry)

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp garlic

Allow cream cheese to soften to room temperature. Pot into a Kitchen Aid with paddle attachment. Combine all ingredients on speed 2 about 2 minutes. Scrape cheese mixture out of bowl and form into 2 rough balls. Put on a plate cover with plastic or a glass dome thingy...(sorry for the technical wizardry of the moment there) and chill in the fridge 2-4 hours before serving. I think it's best after 24 hours.

Grilled Cheese ball melt

Scoop 2-4 T of mixture onto a slice of bread. Spread mixture to edges and top with a second slice of bread. In a lightly oiled skillet, cook the sandwich over medium high heat until center is melted and the bread is toasted (4-6 minutes). Enjoy with a cup of cream of tomato soup. Haaa guess what I am blogging about next? Homemade cream of tomato soup that doesn't curdle. It can be done!

Enjoy.

There you go.