Kick off the holidays with this festive Christmas Appetiser – an Italian Cheese Log! It’s like an antipasto platter in dip form packed with minced salami, olives, peppers, green onions, a hefty dose of Italian seasonings, AND topped with sun dried tomato.
Terrific easy, make-ahead economical alternative to expensive cheese platters – and bursting with the holiday cheer!!!
A FESTIVE CHRISTMAS APPETIZER IDEA!
Bringing on some Christmas cheer with this festive Italian Cheese Log!!
It’s a far cry from your usual cheeseball with a handful of token flavourings. This one is jam packed with flavour…. loaded with Italian flavours!!
The secret ingredients in this are finely chopped salami and sun dried tomato. Taking the time to mince the salami really makes a difference because then it’s all throughout the cheese log – nobody wants to be that person who takes a giant scoop of dip only to find it’s completely devoid of salami!
As for the sun dried tomato – well, I contemplated putting it in the cheese log, but I simply couldn’t resist how great it looks when piled on top. Add a few sprigs of rosemary, and it just looks so fabulously festive – it’s a perfect Christmas appetiser for sharing!! 🎄🎄🎄
WHY YOU NEED THIS IN YOUR LIFE!
It would be so easy to ramble on and on about how great this Italian Cheese Log is, but you don’t need that. So let me just get right down to why you’ll love this!!
✅ Looks fabulous – a great Christmas appetiser made for sharing!
✅ Tastes incredible – packed with flavour!
✅ Easy
✅ Make ahead – keeps for up to a week*
✅ Makes loads
✅ But can also be scaled down
✅ Economical alternative to expensive cheese platters
✅ Adaptable and versatile! Skip the salami to make it meatless, change up the add ins!
* Subject to shelf life of salami
AN ANTIPASTO PLATTER – IN CHEESE LOG FORM!
I just love the colours in this. Even making it brings on the holiday cheer – look at all those colours! ↑↑↑
We’ve got salami, olives, chargrilled peppers (I like to use the jar with mixed colours – yellow and red – just for extra colour), cheese, and a nice hit of freshness from minced green onion.
Add a good dose of Italian seasonings – I like to make my own simple mix here but you can absolutely substitute with an Italian seasoning mix – then simply mix it all together, scrap into a loaf pan or freeform it into the shape of a log and refrigerate.
The refrigeration time is to firm it up so it can be turned out onto a platter and also to give it time for the flavours to meld. It’s terrific made on the day, but it’s even better the next day… and the next… and the next!
QUICK FESTIVE LOOK
Decorating it is my favourite part – the beauty of it being that it’s so easy!! I literally just dump an entire jar of sun dried tomatoes over the top – oil and all.
The oil is infused with flavour and it’s part of the overall eating experience. So with every bite, you have crisp salty crackers, the soft flavour packed Cheese Log, some extra pops of flavour from sun dried tomato AND juiciness from the sun dried tomato oil.
Ahhhh, it’s the perfect bite!!! 😇
If your people are more civilised than mine, then consider serving this Italian Cheese Log with small cheese knifes to spread onto crackers.
But if your people are like mine, you’ll skip the cutlery and just let everyone dive in with their hands, grabbing crackers and dunking it straight into the cheese log.
Yep, it’ll get messy. All that effort you go to, prettying it up and they are going to annihilate it.
And that’s totally ok. That’s what sharing food is all about, right?? Especially during the festive season! 😂 – Nagi x
MORE CHRISTMAS APPETISER IDEAS!
CHRISTMAS APPETISER – ITALIAN CHEESE LOG!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Christmas Appetiser: Italian Cheese Loaf
Ingredients
Cheese Log:
- 500g/ 1 lb cream cheese , softened (Note 1)
- 1/3 cup sour cream (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp EACH thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, black pepper OR 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp EACH garlic powder, salt, red pepper/chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
- 2 cup cheddar or other cheese , freshly grated (Note 3)
- 280g / 9 oz roasted peppers , drained and finely chopped
- 180g / 6 oz salami , finely chopped (Note 4)
- 3/4 cup green olives , finely chopped
- 1/3 cup green onion , finely minced (3 – 4 stalks)
Topping/serving:
- 220g / 7 oz sun dried tomato strips with OIL , roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley , finely chopped (or chives)
- Rosemary sprigs (decoration)
- Jatz or other crackers , for serving
Instructions
- Spray a loaf pan with oil then line with cling wrap with overhang.
- Mix Cheese Log ingredients together. Taste and adjust salt if needed (bear in mind saltiness of crackers you are serving with).
- Scrape into loaf pan and level surface, pressing to remove air pockets. Smaller pan = taller loaf.
- Cover with cling wrap overhang and refrigerate for 4 hours+ (up to 1 week).
- Turn out onto platter, peel off cling wrap.
- Top with sun dried tomato and pour over oil. Garnish with parsley and rosemary sprigs to give it a festive look.
- Best to serve closer to room temp than fridge cold. Serve with crackers! Knives for smearing optional – it’s soft enough to scoop with crackers.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Cute Christmassy photos of Dozer is all part of the Christmas tradition. Except…… he fell asleep mid photo shoot! 😂
Love, love, love ❤️🧡💛 the new website. It’s much easier to use and search for recipes. The presentation and photos are fantastic. Well done!!
Nagi, I love your new website, looks much cleaner & bright! This Italian cheese log is a very creative idea for the holiday, I wish I could come up with ideas like you! Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Hi Nagi,
Can I suggest if you could use a brighter & cheerful color on the panels and keep all the fonts in the page the same ‘format fonts’ for easy to read. (…especially for old folk like me!!) Overall it looks good! ….Just need a little touch up to make it sexier! 😉
The new design & color do give the highlights to your photos and make Dozer looks better handsome!
With Love, from Canada.
You folks out there have a good Christmas! 😘
YN
Congrats Nagi on your new website. Merry Xmas to you and Dozer.
Love Love the new website so easy to find my favorite recipes
What a fabulous recipe, full of wonderful flavors and looks festive too. I’ll certainly be making this for the whanau (family) Christmas Eve. Thanks so much for yet another stunning recipe and a great looking website. Vickie
Hi Nagi,
Your new website design looks amazing! Just like your recipes.
Hi Nagi. The new website looks great, photos seems much sharper and brighter and I like the new look (although I didn’t actually find the old one hard to navigate!). Some of the photos don’t seem to load properly – particularly the one pot section, and in the vegetarian section are all the fish recipes too! Maybe move these to a newly created “fish and seafood” section? Love, love, love the fact that Dozer has his own page! He is beyond gorgeous! 😍.
Greetings Nagi from New Zealand . Love the larger pictures in the new website and also the search box coming up straight to search for one of your great recipes (am making your mango cheesecake for Christmas Dessert). Rhondda
your new website looks fabulous Nagi!! Will definitely be trying some of the Christmas recipes very soon! xx
You got me! Fabulous food, you, and now a WHOLE page of Dozer gorgeousness – love the new look (loved the old one too, but this is cleaner. Plus – a page of Dozer!!! 🙂
Great Recipe- but wow your website has gone from a slow Morris Minor to a Ferrari- Much easier to find what you are after- Congratulations and Merry Xmas.
Love the new website. So many recipes, so little time!
Love the new website! Way better than the previous
Love your recipes. Looking forward to trying the log for Christmas. Will be making your maple glazed ham for Christmas. Was a hit for my daughter’s wedding day breakfast. Merry Christmas!!
Wow – I didn’t think it was possible but your website is totally amaze-balls!
This cheese loaf recipe looks so easy and delicious. Will definitely be making this for our Xmas buffet. p.s Dozer looks gorgeous
Oh my goodness!! All my favorite recipes at the tip of my fingertips at the colourful new website saying “Cook Me!! Me!! OR ME!!😀
Great website update. Easy to find what I want, whether it’s a cuisine type or protein. Love it.
Hi Nagi, I’m still exploring your new website. The first thing I’ve noticed is that it doesn’t jump around anymore when the ads are coming online. Great! Your website has become my go to whenever I want to try something new (very often)…..to the extent that my husband often asks “is this a Nagi?”. Being past owners of a Golden Retriever we love the Dozer photos….now we have a dog vicariously through your website!!
Loved the look of the new website! Glad you’re still including Dozer as part of it! I think you know if you didn’t there would be an uprising!