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! 😂
Great new website Nagi, well organized and easy to navigate ….. Congratulations !
Merry Christmas Nagi. You are the bomb. Love the new website. You are a life saver when it comes to cooking.
If like it! It’s easier to find more recipes.
I love the new website!!! My favorite is your videos! And I’m so excited to make your prime rib for Christmas. I’ll send you a photo. Congrats! And happy holidays.
In the few minutes I have checked out the new format, the comments have gone from 731 to 739.
great site nagi( i thought the other was also great) 😉
This recipe as well as many others looks delicious.
Love the new website it looks very streamlined and is simple to use. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
I will admit, I went immediately to Visit Dozer’s portion of your new site. But, I will say that I have been very happy since I discovered your website, blog?
Every single recipe I have made has been loved by my family, & I have prepared many of them. Thank you…good food & entertainment. Two of my favorite things!
Love your recipes and your website is da bomb, too. The pictures are beautiful and so appetizing, your comments are funny and sincere, you explain and break-down recipes to make them fun to recreate. Can’t wait to try the log. You are my kitchen inspiration. Thank you.
Great new layout! Just a giant “thank you” to you for your wonderful recipes…..
I’ve been a long time follower of your site and return time and again to many of your recipes. I especially appreciate the videos, perfect for us visual learners. Format is nice, but content will always bring me back for more.
I can hardly wait to make it . It is my favorite food-CHEESE. Love the new website.
Love the new site and this recipe….my partner will probably make it DINNER, not an appetizer! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I love getting your recipe emails. I’ve tried some and now they’re our family’s favorites!!!
The looking of this Italian Cheese Log is just great. I cannot imagine how tasty it is.
And your new web site is definitely an improvement over the former one, especially having large and bright pictures of your recipes. Great job and Merry Christmas!
Love it
What timing! I was looking for something to take to my office Christmas party next week and this fits the bill perfectly….Love the new website….the photos had my mouth watering! Thank you, Nagi!! Merry Christmas to you, Mom and handsome Dozer!
So happy to discover your recipes — love how you make it easy to follow and make it taste so good — I am a nisei from Honolulu so enjoy the Asian flavors— and love that dog!!!!
I’m not a fan of cheese logs. They all seem to lack something to my palate. But this recipe? YUM!! Those ingredients turn your Italian cheese loaf recipe into something special. I’m so making this for the holidays. Thanks, Nagi! PS – enjoying the new website design. And, as always, love seeing sweet Dozer puppy.
Love the new look and how easy it is to navigate! I also love that Dozer has his own section now.