January 23, 2010

Cheese balls - great party appetizers!!


Happy New Year, everyone!! I know its been almost a month since the new year, but better late than never I guess! I have been meaning to share this recipe with you since after Christmas but finally today, I got to make this post on Tasty treats! Yes, things are really hectic over here, I just dont know how to manage my time. Its totally weird that even now, I cant really say that I have adjusted to having to work, spend a chunk of my spare time in commute and still having to be a mom and a wife, all the while wishing to keep my blog going!! I had to skip the Daring Baker's challenge for December becuase I just couldn't figure out a time to do it! All the working food bloggers out there, please give me pointers!! :-)

Anyways, we had a quiet but nice Christmas meal with just the three of us. I had tried roasting Cornish Hens for the first time, along with a few other new recipes, which I am hoping to share with you soon. We had these amazing cheese balls as appetizers. These are very quick to put together, but they would definitely impress your guests in their looks, not to mention its wonderful taste. The texture of the soft, melting cheesy balls add onto the great appeal of these easy appetizers. Make sure to serve them warm, so as to keep the cheese melted.

I found this recipe in the Food Network Magazine at work, in a small ad for Viva Paper towels. The recipe has been shared by Jeannine Williams. I really didnt make any changes to the recipe except for that I didnt have garlic powder (I thought I had it, but it turned out on the day of cooking that I didnt!! - should have checked first!). So ours were probably lacking the flavor, which we absolutely didnt notice, because they were delicious!! The tomato ketchup dip is definitely the perfect accompaniment for these golden-brown fried cuties!



Recipe (Makes approximately 44 balls) :

Ricotta cheese (15oz. container) - 1
Eggs - 2
Shredded Mozarella Cheese - 2 cups
Seasoned bread crumbs - 2 cups, divided
Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
Vegetable oil - for frying
Tomato sauce - for dipping

Method:

Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large pot or deep fryer until the termometer registers 360F.

Mix together ricotta and eggs.

Add mozzarella cheese, 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs and garlic powder.

Roll cheese about the size of golf balls, toss in remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs.

Carefully place in oil.

Fry a few at a time, about 1 minute 30 seconds.

Drain on paper towels (Viva ofcourse!!) and serve warm.

Tips:
  1. We got about 20 big cheese balls (not golf ball sized for sure!!)
  2. Serve warm so that the cheese is still melted.
  3. Coat the balls well, with bread crumbs. If the cheese portion is exposed, it might melt and stick to the bottom of the pan.
  4. I used plain toasted bread crumbs and not seasoned crumbs.
Have a great week ahead!! See you soon with more recipes...

10 comments:

Veggie Hut said...

Lovely!

will it make a big differnce if we omit the eggs?

Cheeers

Jyoti
www.theveggiehut.blogspot.com

Swapna said...

Cheese balls looks really delicious! Happy New Year to you too JZ!

@the_whisk_affair said...

Hi Jyoti,

Thanks a lot for visiting Tasty treats!!

To answer your question, I believe the eggs are the binding ingredient in this recipe. Since the ricotta and the mozarella are of different textures, there should be something to hold them together along with the crumbs. I think it shouldnt be too hard to find an alternative- maybe crumbs and the moisture from the cheese would be enough!?

Tina said...

Happy new year to youuu..Cheese balls sounds great and tempting with beautiful clicks.

Rachel said...

missed your posts and the lovely pics.

Manasi said...

Wish U a happy new year too!! I started my blogging new year late too!
Those cheese balls are so tempting! I have a question... what can I sub the egg with?
I see jyoti has asked the same ques. !! I was thinking silken tofu...

Shabs.. said...

Hi,
Iam a recent folower of urs...loved ur blog and love the pictures....Ur cheeseballs looks yummy....:)...
I love ur blog, it is really good....again...:)
Rgds,
shabs

roma said...

The Cheese balls look perfect! Brown and crisp.

Srikitchen said...

wow! that looks awesome n yummy!

join with us in efm - mutton series going in my blog and for more details, click http://www.srishkitchen.com/2009/12/efm-mutton-series.html

visit my blog when u find time and drop ur valuable comments!

SS said...

just made this..looks and taste great