Herbed Cheese Spread

I found this in the “You Asked For It” column in Gourmet, probably sometime in the late 80’s. I remember it came from a B&B, which served a crock of it to their guests right after they checked in. But I don’t keep issues that old, so can’t go back and attribute it properly.

½ lb Feta cheese
¾ lb cream cheese
½ C mayo
1 garlic clove, mashed to a paste in salt
¼ t dried dill
¼ t dried basil
¼ t dried marjoram
¼ t dried thyme

Blend all in a food processor. Yes – it’s that simple. You can play around with the consistency some, based on how long you spin the processor. I prefer this more on the coarse side, rather than creamy. It has a little more character IMOO. This is also the only dish I can think of that is better with dried herbs than fresh. But, I think I’ll test that assumption again this summer.

Two quick anecdotes related to this recipe – (isn’t it cool that this recipe has anecdotes?). First is that I suggested to the head chef at my country club that he should do an amuse bouche prior to the monthly steak dinners. I gave him this recipe. He made it, but brought it out in a small crock, which had been run under a broiler to brown the top. It was great. I’ve always served this chilled or room temp, but like his version too.

Second story – until posting this blog entry, this recipe has lived on a small piece of notepaper for 15+ years. It could easily have been discarded during preparation for a big party, could fall out of its notebook, anything. Fortunately it survived long enough that I memorized it, but I lived a life fraught with risk along the way.