Savory & Sweet Seasonal Treats

Is it just us, or is your December filled with holiday parties to celebrate 2022 and to say “hellllllo” to 2023?  If your friends and family are anything like ours, then we know you are responsible for all things cheesy when it comes to apps, main dishes, side dishes and desserts.  Here are some of our favorite cheesy ways to impress your guests this year.

Pass the Apps

Some of our favorite holiday celebrations skip the main dish, and defer to a plethora of appetizers to curb people’s cravings, and we are ONBOARD.  Who doesn’t love a dinner that consists solely of appetizers?  It can be a bit indulgent, but there is no shame to the “all app” dinner party game.  If you find yourself attending one of these parties, we have a few recipes for you.

One of our favorites (and a tradition in our sales manager’s family), is the old-school Stuffed Celery that we make with a new-school Blue cheese.  Legend holds that the original recipe hails from Musso and Frank, a restaurant in Hollywood, California that opened in 1919.  This recipe featured Roquefort, but we here in Minnesota like to use our St. Pete’s Select cheese.  Follow this link to the recipe for a new take on an old fave.

Another “Old-school hors d’oeuvre with a new-school flair” is our Boozy Holiday Cheeseball.  This holiday cheeseball features our AmGorg, some boozy cherries, candied pecans and a bit of sweet tang from the addition of a honey-flavored goat cheese log.  Now, this writer usually defers to plain flatbreads or crackers for cheese pairings, but when it comes to cheeseballs, the proper pairing is a butter cracker like Ritz.  To find the recipe to our “Holiday Cheeseball” follow this link.

 Finally, we cannot forget one of our biggest fan favorites from this year, our Blue Cheese, Honey, and Fig Dip also featuring our St. Pete’s Select.  Though we love this dip at room temp, we suggest you serve it warmed up with pita chips or a crusty baguette for all your winter parties.  This was such a big hit for us at an event in May; we know it will be at all your holiday gatherings!  Want to sweeten up this dish?  Try subbing in our AmaGorg for a slightly sweeter, less piquant dip.

Ain’t no party like a Raclette party

One winter tradition popular in France and Switzerland is Raclette. Some of you may be familiar with Raclette cheese, which is a traditional melting cheese made in the French or Swiss Alps.  But, did you know Raclette is also a verb?  To “raclette” is to scrape (the name comes from the French word racler which means to scrape) melty cheese on top of other food.  Legend has it, this method of serving cheese originated hundreds of years ago when farmers would heat up a piece of cheese over the open fire to create a filling, warm meal.  Though we may not make a traditional Raclette cheese, you can still “raclette” with our St. Helga’s Swiss-style cheese.  We love to serve this melty cheese over the crispy potatoes, hearty breads, sausage links, cured meats, mushrooms and winter vegetables like Brussel Sprouts, acorn squash and other root vegetables.  Be sure to throw some cornichons or pickled onions on the side; a bit of acid helps this fatty dish.

We also understand not everyone has their own personal Raclette machine, but do not worry!  There are plenty of smaller devices to help get the ooey-gooey consistency without breaking the bank like the Partyclette or the Barbeclette for those who think grilling season is year-round. 😊 

 Cheese ♥’s Chocolate

If you want to keep dessert simple, but still WOW your guests, we suggest serving our Felix Blue cheese with some chocolate and after-dinner drinks.  This will keep the kitchen clean and your guests happy.  We suggest serving with a Tawny Port, a Sauternes, or even your favorite dessert-inspired imperial Stout.  There are plenty of great dessert beers around Minnesota and some of our favorites are the malty, pastry ales like Mad at Midnight from Portage Brewing, the Double Shot Double Black from Bent Paddle and the rotating stouts from Dangerous Man, like this year’s Barrel-aged Blueberry Marple Double Stout.  These are all big beers that will compliment Felix and are excellent for sharing.  Most of these beers sell out quickly, but these suggestions will help you find the perfect Stout for your dessert cheese plate.

Sweet Treats

A cheese plate may be some people’s perfect dessert (cough cough, us), but we understand sometimes people want something to tame their sweet tooth.  One dessert we love is Millionaire Bars.  These delicious treats are bars layered with caramel, chocolate and shortbread.  Being Blue cheese fanatics, we had to put our “Caves of Faribault” spin on these.  Check out two recipes for Millionaire Bars here that feature our Blue cheese.  Love gingerbread?  Try the AmaBlu Gingerbread Millionaire bar recipe.  Sweet and savory your jam?  Try our Millionaire Bars with St. Pete’s Select and Rosemary.