by Dale Mackey
Most of us who make or grow food for a living began because we love eating, and we love feeding others. We took our passion for good food and made it into our life’s work. It’s fun and inspiring, but it’s also a lot of hard work, and sometimes it can be hard to muster the energy and enthusiasm to cook for our loved ones and ourselves when we spend our working hours cooking and preparing for others.
I think it’s important, though, that we continue to make delicious food for ourselves in our homes, to remember why we started our food businesses in the first place. So when I’m not making pies, I like to make simple and easy treats that don’t involve a ton of prep time.
Soft cheese is one of my favorite foods, and while I’ve never delved deep into cheese making, I found that you can make a super easy (and super tasty) marinated cheese with greek yogurt just a few ingredients.
Marinated Cheese Balls
• 17 oz greek yogurt (I like Fage brand)
• chopped fresh herbs of your choice
• 3 bulbs garlic, thinly sliced
• sea salt and pepper
• olive oil
• splash truffle oil (optional)
Place cheese cloth or fine mesh strainer over a bowl and let yogurt strain for thee days in the refrigerator. After three days, form yogurt into golf-ball sized balls, squeezing out extra liquid as you form cheese balls. Place in a large jar with herbs, garlic, salt & pepper. Cover with olive oil, add a splash of truffle oil and let sit for at least 24 hours before serving (can marinate up to three days). Eat on bread or crackers with antipasto.
Dale Mackey owns and operates Dale’s Fried Pies in Knoxville, Tennessee and co-founder of The Central Collective. When she’s not making pies and planning events, she spends most of her free time reading and writing.