Cheese Ball Checkers

This is 'cheese ball' in two ways: It's NERDY, of course, and it has the cheesy deliciousness of cheese ball!

I have recently started teaching my son how to play checkers on my computer. Since I don't have an actual game board I thought I would make one that we could eat as a fun and tasty snack! I figured it would definitely be a memorable experience and he might remember the rules of the game better this way.

He's five....and learning quickly but loved, loved, loved being able to eat the 'checkers' after he jumped mine. Of course the rest of the family jumped in after a few moves to munch the 'checkers' and the game board too! It would be a fun appetizer for a party since one can't really disappoint with cheese ball!

You will need the following to make cheese ball checkers yourself:
- cheese ball - recipe follows
- olives - green and black (kalamata)
- triskets or other square crackers
- pumpernickel bread
- toothpicks
- large surface for the playing board

Cheese Ball
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
4-6 thin slices hard salami, diced
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. finely chopped chives

-16 green olives and 16 black olives - you will only need 12 of each for the 'checkers' but you will need a few extra in case you get 'kinged'. Then you can add an extra olive to the top of the toothpick!
-toothpicks

In a medium mixing bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, onion, bell pepper, salami and cheddar until ingredients are well incorporated. Refrigerate 20 minutes.

Once mixture is cold (and slightly firmer) cut into 24 equal sized pieces and roll into balls.

Roll 12 of the balls in chopped walnuts and top with a green olive securing with a toothpick. Roll the other 12 balls in chopped chives and top with a black olive securing with a toothpick. Refrigerate until assembly time.

You don't have to use Trisket crackers and pumpernickel bread (I bought the pre-sliced cocktail bread) for the board but if you don't try and get items of contrasting colors and something that will taste great with cheese ball. The bread slices were larger than the crackers so I used a cracker as a pattern and cut the bread slices to be the same size.

Since a checker board is 8 squares by 8 squares you will need 32 crackers and 32 pieces of bread.

I used a large cutting board to assemble my checker board to make it easy to move but any sort of flat platter or board should work fine. Start with the first row and place every other one, bread, cracker, bread, cracker, etc. The next row would then start with cracker, bread, cracker, bread, etc. Making the classic checker board pattern. Continue until you have an 8 by 8 square.

Retrieve cheese ball bites from the fridge and place only on the first three rows of each side of the board and only on either the crackers or the bread to set up the game. You decide.

Youngest player goes first, of course, and so begins the game! If you don't know the rules of the game of checkers you can google it to quickly learn. I assume most people know how to play the game or maybe I am just getting old!! :)

Again, if you get 'kinged' add an extra olive.

Deconstructed Cheese Ball

Everyone I know, including myself, loves cheese ball, however, it is a bit unattractive in its ball form rolled in nuts. I deconstruct the cheese ball when I want an elegant look which is great for a dinner party.

These cheese ball bites are very easy to make. You will need a sharp knife to dice the veggies very small.

You will need to following ingredients:

1 baguette - sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
4 oz cream cheese - whipped is best for this application
1/4 onion - finely diced
1/4 red bell pepper - finely diced
1/4 orange bell pepper - finely diced
2 oz monterey jack or cheddar cheese - sliced in thin strips
4-5 olives - finely diced
8-10 walnut halves - sliced in thin strips
6 slices salami - sliced in thin strips

There isn't an exact recipe for these. Use what veggies you have (and love) in the fridge. Mix and match what ever you want! I made these for a few people who don't love spice but diced jalapeno peppers would be really yummy!

If you don't want to cut out bread rounds you could also use crackers.

From your baguette cut 1/4 inch slices. Using a cookie cutter or a small rimmed glass cut out rounds. Don't throw away your scraps. Toast them and use for bread crumbs in a later dish!

Smear with cream cheese. I used whipped cream cheese to make it easy to spread but you could use regular. Just make sure it is really soft as to not tear your bread.

Finely dice all of your veggies. If you are using salami and cheese just slice them into thin strips.
Cut slices from walnut halves. You don't need to be exact. Just keep them thin.

Start making thin rows of veggies, cheese, and meat with your diced and sliced pieces.

I did it in this order:
red bell pepper
walnut
olive
cheese
salami
onion
orange bell pepper

Keep in mind what flavors you want the most of and keep those toward the center. The longer the row is the more flavor you will get from that ingredient. You can make these a few hours in advance and keep in the fridge.

Banana Cream Stuffed Strawberries

This is a very quick and easy dessert finger food. They are also great for an after dinner treat and they look elegant so they are also perfect for a party!

My kids love eating strawberries alone but on occasion I stuff them with banana cream cheese for an extra smile!

Banana Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz cream cheese - whipped or regular
1/2 ripe banana mashed
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 lb. strawberries

In a medium mixing bowl combine cream cheese, banana, vanilla and brown sugar. Stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. No lumps please! Fold in strawberry pieces.

Wash and dry 1 pound of whole strawberries leaving on the green tops. Cut one side of the strawberry off and finely dice it. Set aside. Once strawberries are cut in half carefully cut out the center. You can use a knife or a small melon baller.

Drop a spoonful of banana cream cheese mixture into the center of the strawberries. Amount will depend on the size of each strawberry. Be generous. There will be enough mixture to fill a 1 pound carton of strawberries.

Eat and enjoy!