Invite some friends round for a drink and serve this delicious cheese log with your favourite crackers. It can be made a day or two before serving. If you want it to keep for longer, leave out the chives and maybe add some dried herbs. Then it will keep for a week or two.
Try different combinations of fruit and nuts. The photo shows cranberries and pecans, but glacé ginger or diced apricots, or both, with walnuts or pecans is a great combination.
Just before serving I cut the log in half, so what you see in the photo is one of two small logs.
150g dried cranberries (or apricots, dates, seedless raisins, figs, glacé ginger, or a mixture)
125g pecans (or walnuts, pistachios or macadamias, or a mixture)
4 Tbs snipped chives (use scissors)
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
100g cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Place the cranberries and pecans, both roughly chopped, in a mixing bowl with the chives. Mix well. Place cream cheese in another mixing bowl, add the grated cheddar, about half the cranberry and nut mixture and season to taste.
Place a large piece of plastic wrap on the kitchen bench. Tip the remaining cranberry and nut mixture onto the middle in a rectangle. Use a spatula to scrape the cream cheese mixture onto a plate or chopping board, in a rough log shape. Use damp hands to form it into a neater log shape, about 3cm in diameter. Or you can make two smaller logs.
Place the log on the cranberry and nut mixture and roll it around, patting it into the log until it’s completely covered, including both ends. Use a clean piece of plastic wrap to wrap the log and once it’s securely wrapped, roll it on the counter a few times to improve the shape.
Refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge 20-30 minutes before serving with your favourite crackers.
Serves a crowd
