Accompanied by homemade crostini or an assortment of crackers along with veggies and a selection of olives, a cheese ball is great for any party and travels well too. Prairie Breeze is a delicious cheddar cheese with notes of parmesan. While this recipe includes it as a shredded cheese, it will take any cheese plate up a notch on its own accord.
This recipe is from one of Wheatsfield’s vendors, Milton Creamery, a family owned farm which is deeply rooted in its Mennonite and Amish community in VanBuren County in southern Iowa. Rufus, Jane and their three sons have been farming in Iowa for thirteen years and making cheese since 2006. The family’s son, Galen, won his first cheese award for Prairie Breeze in the Open Hard category of the U.S. Cheese Championship when he was just 17 years old – a year after taking charge of the family’s cheese making operations. Rufus regularly visits the co-op to sample his cheeses and to meet customers. Stop in sometime and say hi and find out why Milton is one of our favorite creameries.
Milton Party Cheese Ball
Total hands on Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8
- 8 oz quark cheese
- ¾ c shredded Prairie Breeze cheese
- 1 c shredded Colby cheese
- 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp milk
- Parsley, finely chopped
- Pecans, finely chopped
- Optional, dried cranberries or sundried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, parsley, and Parmesan. Remove the refrigerated cheese ball from the plastic wrap and roll in the sun-dried tomato mixture until the cheese ball is well coated. Refrigerate or serve. Resulting cheese ball is approximately 16 ounces.
Place quark cheese in a large mixing bowl and let stand at room temperature until softened. Add shredded cheeses, onion, Worcestershire sauce and milk. Blend at low speed with electric mixer to incorporate ingredients. Increase speed to medium, beating until fluffy, scraping sides and bottom of bowl.
Place in refrigerator until fairly firm, about 2 hours. Shape into a ball or loaf and roll in chopped parsley, pecans and other optional ingredients. To store, wrap cheese ball in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.
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