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! 😂
Definitely making this for holiday parties! The website is terrific! Easy to navigate and has everything anyone could want. Love the page for Dozer!
I love the new design of the website! Navigating for new recipes very easy.
Congratulations on the new website, it looks great! It feels fresh and everything seems to be working well. Although I prefer cats 🐱 I really enjoy Life of Dozer.
Any thoughts to add Instapot recipes?
Your new website layout is fabulous! This recipe looks so yummy! Just like all of your recipes.
Website is easy to maneuver….like to quick links to specific recipes (One Pot Meals as example) I especially love the ability to print the recipes so I can go back to them instead of using the phone in the kitchen 🙂
Looking really very inviting! And look at those colors- so beautiful ! Bodacious too! Can’t wait to make it on Christmas !!!
Loved the new colour palate for the website! It’s much easier to read your post as the writings are bigger and space out! Will definitely try this recipe to impress 😉 families!
I love the new, sleek look!!! And I must say, my favorite part is the recipe index on the menu drop down. Makes it soooooo easy to narrow down what I’m looking for 🙂
Like the new website. Easy to browse by type.
Merry Christmas Nagi and Dozer and Mom too! Love your website, fabulous recipes and gorgeous photos. My favorite though, is emails from you. Each one is like a visit from a friend. Your cheeriness and enthusiasm is infectious and always makes me smile. Your Italian cheese log recipe is at the top of my Christmas Eve menu. Do you recommend a neutral flavored cracker to serve with it? One last thing…. Am I the only one who can’t tell what your new logo signifies? I just can’t tell what it is. Oh, and where is the Dozer button? I can’t find it viewing your site on my phone.
Love the new interface! Much easier to navigate. Also love the detailed menu options. 👍
The new layout is nice and clean and easy to navigate. Glad to see you’ve kept the notes which are almost my favourite part of your recipes. I love understanding the recipe before I start. For example I love this Italian log but need a no-pork version for a xmas party. Or maybe the corn dip……
Hey Nagi I’m not sure if my comment was sent to you.
I noticed that you have an asterisk on website. Is it necessary if we don’t have one? I realised I missed it and that may be a reason why my post didn’t send through ?
love your new website!
One of the more quirky recipes . I am a fan of the site and have used many to great success.
Yay! Great new website. So much easier to find recipes now as categorized! And love your mom’s recipes too (I lived in Japan). Until discovering her recipes I really struggled for that authentic tast!
we having a christmas eve dinner,this log will be perfect for an appetiser with a nice glass of white wine.thanx for the recipe. merry christmas to you & Dozer.PS love the new website don”t have to miss a recipe now.
New site is great, I like being able to browse and the quick and easy button is great for mid week cooking.
Your site is my go-to for lots of foodie ideas and the videos make it so much simpler when I cook myself. Pity I cant cook as quick as you do in the videos 🙂
Hi Nagi, I have enjoyed many of your recipes, especially the soup recipes.
Really like the new website, easy to read.