I made us a throwback recipe!
This was one of those "what's moldy" inventions - sorry I don't have a better story for it. After Jay's sister's wedding a few weekends ago, we came home from the beach with some WEIRD food. Like...half a tub of cream cheese but no bagels. Ketchup, mayo, and mustard from hamburger night with nothing to put it on. You know - beach remnants! We were some of the only ones driving and not flying home, and I HATE wasting things (so does my sis-in-law to-be, thankfully), so we packed up the randos and headed home.
And I've been trying to finish everything since.
So, I had a bit of cream cheese, a bit of sliced sandwich cheese, and lemon. Weird, and I didn't want to waste any of it. So, this cheese ball was born! It's like the kind you get at Christmas but...summery? I had some dill leftover from something else, and it seemed like a great light coating for this. I also think pine nuts would be great crushed up as a coating, but I forgot that thought when I made this. That happens pretty much all the time.
Oh well! The end result was delicious and this is SUPER easy. You need cream cheese, provolone cheese (doesn't have to be sliced), lemon, dill, and garlic. 
First, take half the dill and add it to a food processor with the garlic. Pulse them together a few times to start chopping the garlic - it doesn't have to be super teeny, it'll get chopped more when we add the cheese. 
Then, add the cream cheese, lemon zest, and provolone to the dill mixture. 
Pulse everything together for a minute or two - it may take a little bit of time to come together, and you'll have to scrape down the food processor once or twice. The heat from the blade will soften the cheese, so just let it go for a minute and the mixture will combine nicely. 
Now, turn out the mixture in a heap onto some plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. 
Wrap the cheese mixture up totally, and form it gently into a ball as you go - just like clay day in kindergarten! 
Set the cheese ball in a bowl so it won't get a flat bottom (heh) as it chills, then stick this thang in the fridge. It can chill for 2 hours or overnight or 9 days....maybe not nine days. You can definitely make this in advance, though!
When you're ready to serve, grab the rest of the dill, chop it up, and put it on a plate. 
Then, unwrap the cheese ball and roll it gently in the dill, back and forth until the whole thing is well coated.
That's it! Serve this with crackers and you're GOOD TO GO. The flavors on this are REALLY nice, and it's a fun twist on an old-ish appetizer. You'll love it!
Shared with my Weekend Potluck gals.
Lemon Dill Cheese Ball
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces provolone or other mild white cheese
- ½ cup fresh chopped dill
- 1 clove garlic
- zest of 1 lemon
- crackers or bread your choice, for serving
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse half the dill and the garlic clove until the garlic is chopped. Add the cheeses and lemon zest and pulse again for a minute or two until the mixture is almost totally smooth.
- Turn the cheese mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap spritzed with cooking spray. Wrap the cheese in the plastic wrap, gently forming into a ball as you seal the plastic. Place the cheese ball in a bowl to prevent a flat edge, and chill for 2 hours up to 2 days.
- When ready to serve, put the remaining dill on a plate. Roll the cheese ball in the dill until it's totally covered.
- Serve as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Can be made up to two days in advance. Roll in the dill at the last minute and you're ready to serve!
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