Tis the season to be asked to “bring a finger food.”  I have a love-hate relationship with these types of parties. I love the concept of sharing in the preparation. I love to cook.  I hate that I stress over it. 

BeachBoy’s favorite carry-to-a-party item is bacon chicken wraps, but I’m not a fan of taking the same thing to every party.  I’ve tried to explain it to him, but he insisted they’re too good not to take. 

Long story short, I actually found myself buying a magazine called, of all things, “Southern Lady.”  Yes, you heard me right.  I was standing in line at THE grocery store of the south (Publix), when I noticed a magazine featuring appetizers.   As I flipped through and saw a few that looked good, I caved and paid the ridiculous price charged by the grocery store. 

This weekend, we have to parties requiring a finger food, so tonight I’m getting everything ready. 

The first recipe I tried was good, cheap, and couldn’t be faster, so I thought I’d pass it along. 

Cranberry Cheese Log with Rosemary and Toasted Walnuts

  • 1 pack softened cream cheese
  • 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack
  •  2 cups chopped dried cranberries (This came out to be just shy of a 6 oz pack. You could make it even easier and just round up.)
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (My bush recently died, so I used dried.  Sorry, I didn’t measure.  I just eyeballed it as usual.)
  • 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Mix all bu the nuts.  Chill the mixture.  Form a log and roll in the nuts.

 

This made me wonder:  What if I used fresh cranberries and candied walnuts?  Hmmm….