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! 😂
The new website is beautiful and so easy to find any recipe!
Awesome new look Nagi! I love the clean and simple vibe. It is a tough choice though whether to dive into the yummy recipe, or click the Dozer button… 🙂
OMG! Nagi I am loving this new design website. It’s gives me an easy fresh cozy feel.
Well done!
Hugs ….😊🌻
Firstly, this recipe arrived at the perfect time as we’re having friends over this weekend. Secondly, I love the new website. Very easy to hop back and forth between pages. And I love the colour you chose – purple is my favourite. The flower and Japanese script is super classy. Very well done. Of course, now I’m drooling after looking at all those fabulous photos of delicious food!!
Nice layout, easy to see multiple recipes in a row! thank you!
Yours is the first website I go to when I’m looking for something (anything) to make. I have tried several recipes and my family has not been disappointed. I love the new look! Any website that is easy to navigate is a friend of mine! Beautiful photos of the food too! Looking forward to trying some of your party recipes for the upcoming holiday season!
I love the new website design. I especially love the “Quick and Easy” button.
It looks very good. I have been using your recipe a lot. Thanks for sharing with us. Xxx
I must try this one for family Christmas this year!
Great new website! Love the new look! And a Meet Dozer page is awesome!
Will definitely try this recipe at my next wine and cheese night.
Your new site is easy to navigate and I love you recipes they have taste and exactly as you present them to us. Thank you.
Your new site is well thought out and easy to navigate. Had a quick look through and see lots of delicious recipes I am planning to try. I use your site for special occasions and also for something different during the week. Love the variety.
Hi Nagi,
This is so festive and perfect for a Christmas party! I’m a veg, so will need to omit the salami. Any suggestions for spices/herbs that will help enhance the flavour sans meat?
Website-wise, it looks great! Very crisp and fresh. Two minor critiques: everything is A LOT bigger which makes it a bit of a pain for physically cooking, as I’m having to swipe up and down much more frequently to follow the recipe (with goopy hands at times). I also liked the old nutrition chart. I found it quicker to read.
I haven’t noticed any glitches. Congrats on the new website!
Cheers,
Becca
Thanks for this Christmas recipe. I needed a new one for a party this weekend.
Love the new site. Easy to maneuver. I usually print your recipes. Saves on my phones battery life.
Thx again!
This recipe looks totally decadent. I really love your recipes and your approach to food. The new website looks GREAT! Easy to use. I tend to print off your recipes, so I REALLY like the new print format. Thanks! Now send me that knife!!!
Love the website. Makes finding a recipe so easy.
Photography is great!
Hi Nagi & Dozer! I’ve been a quiet follower for a while! Every time I make your recipes, they taste BOMBASTIC.
I’m loving the new website design! It looks super fresh!
Love the new design especially the collections. Makes it
easier to find what you are looking for and much more colourful.
Looking forward to trying this recipe for Christmas and love the new site. I found your site only a few weeks ago but love your recipes and attention to detail. Thanks Nagi
Your new web-site design is amazing and so are all of the recipes on your site that I have tried. I had the chicken stroganoff just last night. You are so much appreciated!
This recipe looks great, looking forward to trying it.
The new website is good, makes it much easier to find recipes and go back to favourites
Loving the new site.. will definitely be trying some nice new recipes from it.. happy Christmas
I love your new website! I think the categories will be very helpful looking for recipes. I’m making prime rib (first time!!!) for our Christmas dinner this year. I’ll be following your recipe. 🙂 Can’t wait!