Photo by Jason Wyche (c)
*FRESH HERBS ARE KEY HERE–the bright green color not only looks really nice but the herbs also brighten the flavor of the feta and lemon. Don’t worry too much about which herbs you use; choose a mixture of whatever green herbs you can find, or use all parsley–you can always find fresh parsley.
ingredients
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups chopped mixed fresh green herbs such as dill, mint and/or parsley
- 4 ounces feta cheese
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 pretzel sticks, 1 dark raisin and 1 small piece red bell pepper, for decorating
instructions
Using a stand mixer or a bowl and a spatula, blend the cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of the herbs, the feta, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Form the mixture into 8 balls in descending sizes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Before serving, roll the balls int the remaining chopped herbs, leaving 1 medium-sized ball plain; this will be the head. Arrange the balls in descending order and place the plain ball on top of the largest for the head. Decorate the caterpillar face with the 2 pretzel sticks for the antennae, half the raisin for each eye, and the tiny piece of red pepper for the nose.
Serve with crackers and crudites, such as carrots and broccoli.
*Excerpted from GREAT BALLS OF CHEESE, (c) 2013 by Michelle Buffardi. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
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