Gorgeous AND Delicious: Pomegranate Cheese Ball

When it all comes down to it, I'd rather a recipe taste fabulous than look attractive.  But, I love it when you can have both.

This year, I found myself concentrating on working up some new appetizer recipes for entertaining over the holiday season. And one of my favorite recipes just happens to be both attractive AND delicious.

In fact, when it comes to looking festive, this cheese ball always steals the show. 

The cheese ball itself is based on the flavors in one of my own personal "guilty" pleasures -- the Merkt's Swiss Almond cheese spread. Turns out its easy to make, and (no surprise here) the end result is even more delicious than the pre-made version. 

And then I went a step further and completely one-upped them on the presentation by coating the cheese in a swath of bright red fresh pomegranate seeds.

Both beautiful and delicious, it’s the perfect addition to pre-dinner snacks or a full-belly appetizer spread.

Get the recipe: Pomegranate Cheese Ball

©BURP!

Rosemary's Smoky Baby Cheezy Mac

For me, macaroni and cheese is the epitome of comfort food. But, it seems I can't resist playing games with my basic recipe. Admittedly, sometimes my experiments flop. But, sometimes I happen upon something that's worth repeating.

The other night was one of those nights. It was on Friday, and both Peef and I had just finished a pretty hard week at work. The weather was rainy and cool. And we didn't have any plans, except snuggling up on the couch with some dinner and a good movie. The perfect sortofa night to slip into a steamy bowl of rich and creamy mac & cheeze.

Of course, one look at the kitchen counter showed me that we really needed to eat up a few cherry tomatoes. I knew I had a head of roasted garlic to use. And a glance toward the garden reminded me that the rosemary really needed a bit of a hair cut. So, I started to throw things together.

...
And so, Rosemary's Smoky Baby Cheezy Mac was born. You can thank Peef for the name.

This is one adult macaroni and cheese. Rich, dreamy, creamy, and herby. The rosemary really played well with the sweetness of the roasted garlic. And everything bowed before the slight smokiness of the Swiss cheese... which fell in love with the sweet wonder of the roasted cherry tomatoes. It's everything you'd want in late summer comfort food.

Make your own Rosemary's Smoky Baby Cheezy Mac

©BURP! Where Food Happens