The Covered Dish - Creamy Pineapple Cheese Ball

With the return to weekend football and Monday night games I am running what I call ‘my favorite’ cheese ball. I’ve made this spread so long I cannot remember where I got the recipe. It’s the combination of ingredients that make this cheese ball so refreshing on the palate. Like most cheese spreads it will taste multiple times better if it is made a day before serving. This gives the flavors time to mingle, blend and settle. Because the recipe uses 2 blocks of cream cheese you could actually make 2 cheeseballs. One for the office to enjoy and one for the event!
Peppers, the recipe calls for green peppers and truly they do fit the dish best. However; there are going to be a few guests, like myself, who cannot handle raw green peppers. This is usually due to ‘reflux’ issues. So, let’s see if we can’t work our way around this issue.
Peppers fall in the ‘mildly’ acidic column, and the color will also change the acidic content. Green peppers are higher in acid then their red, yellow and orange cousins.
Therefore; the first tip would be to switch out the green pepper for the sweeter reds and yellows. Another thought might be to saute the green peppers before using them in the recipe. Which route would I choose? Probably make a switch to the sweeter peppers. I’m not sure the saute of the green peps will be enough to keep some reflux issues at bay.
Once again, this can be made earlier in the week for the ‘weekend’ parties. A wonderful benefit for those with busy schedules. It is going to be a fairly firm cheese ball so if I were not using crackers, I think I’d reach for a Frito chip. If you want to take the body to a softer spread consider adding a little bit of mayonnaise into the spread.
When the peppers and the pineapple join together with the cheese it’s a unique, refreshing flavor. If I were grilling this might be a nice opener for a main entree of pork steaks or a tenderloin. Man, I’m getting hungry just writing about this recipe, and it’s a cheese ball!
We are already big steps into the fall season. Today I had pumpkin flavored coffee when I went through our local coffee house. Last weekend I had my first apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. It’s during this time frame that I start making plans for early winter and beyond. Sweet breads like zucchini, pumpkin and apple can fill our freezers for family and friends. While many are busy cooking through the month of December, I’ll have mine prepared and watching Hallmark movies. One thing many of us look forward to is the first pot of homemade chili. I must say until the temperatures turn back I’m not quite ready for this ‘all-time’ favorite.
Enjoy the cheese ball at one of your gatherings, Simply Yours, The Covered Dish.

Creamy Pineapple Cheese Ball
2 (8 ounce packages) softened cream cheese
1 (8 ounce can) drained, crushed pineapple
1 green pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
Could add a tiny bit of green onion or sweet onion, keep very fine.
1 small package chopped pecans
This could make 2 medium-size cheese balls. After mixing all the ingredients except the
pecans, mold them into balls. Roll the cheese balls in the chopped pecans. Or, put the
spread in a container and cover the top only with chopped nuts. If you need to keep this
nut free I’d garnish with small pieces of green onion tops or fresh herbs.