I have a colorful, festive appetizer to share with you today—it’s a recipe I’ve made the past few years that I absolutely love. Goat cheese “logs” are a pretty common concept—you just roll goat cheese in the “toppings” of your choosing. I’m all about the flavor/texture/color of dried cranberries plus chopped pistachios though. I’ve tweaked this recipe a couple times until I found the perfect ratio of cranberry to pistachio to cheese. Now I can’t get enough of it!
It wasn’t until recently that I even learned to appreciate goat cheese. It has a stronger flavor, but once you acquire a taste for it, your world suddenly gets better. Believe me.
This goat cheese log works beautifully for a pre-dinner snack around the holidays because it’s red and green. All you need are three ingredients: an 8-ounce log of goat cheese, dried cranberries, and shelled pistachios.
Let the goat cheese soften at room temperature for awhile, and chop up the cranberries and pistachios so they’re not quite as large (this helps them adhere to the softened goat cheese). Then you’ll want to put them on a plate and mix them around. Roll the goat cheese around so it’s thoroughly covered in all the little pieces, and the dish is ready to serve!
I always make this ahead of time because it’s so easy to take to people’s houses. You’ll just want to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to keep all the goods together.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. goat cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
Instructions:
- Mix cranberries and pistachios on a plate.
- Roll goat cheese over mixture until thoroughly covered.
- Serve immediately with crackers, or cover tightly with plastic wrap until *ready to serve.
Notes:
*Let come to room temperature if saving for later, as this will help it soften and become easier to slice.
Worth noting: there are more than enough cranberries and pistachios in this recipe to cover the goat cheese, and I did that on purpose. I like to have some extra to have under/around the log when you set it out to serve. It’s just prettier, in my opinion.
Goat cheese fan: yay or nay?
Yay!
Favorite part(s) of Christmas?
Family! I suppose I’m alright with getting and giving gifts as well 🙂
hmmm goat cheese? sounds interesting. I would like to try it. where do you get it?
Goat cheese? We just got it at Walmart.