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Recipe Spotlight

My Favorite Appetizer Is a Goat Cheese Log

It's easy and elegant. I want everyone to love a goat cheese log as much as I do. 
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Published Apr. 6, 2022.

My Favorite Appetizer Is a Goat Cheese Log

You can tell when the test cooks at ATK are working on something special. People on other teams start doing laps. It’s always under the guise of stretching their legs or refilling their water bottles or doing some other small task. It doesn’t matter what they do. It just matters that it takes them past the test kitchen. 

I did laps when Cook’s Country Senior Editor Matthew Fairman was developing a handful of recipes for cheese logs. When his team was finished sampling his latest versions and giving their feedback, I descended. 

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The cheddar cheese log, pimento cheese log, and chile cheese log are all great. My favorite, though, is also the simplest and easiest: the Goat Cheese Log with Herbes de Provence. In the years since the recipe was published, I’ve made it a half dozen times. It was a hit at a New Year’s party. People loved it at Thanksgiving. Sometimes I make it just because I want to have cheese and Triscuits for dinner. 

It’s equal parts goat cheese and cream cheese, which you whir together in a food processor with a little olive oil, garlic, and pepper. You form the mixture into a log, give it a quick chill in the freezer to firm it up, and then roll it in herbs. 

Goat Cheese Log with Herbes de Provence

A cheese log for every occasion—and no broken crackers.
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I was recently telling coworkers about this cheese log and pulled up a link to the recipe. I experienced a whirlwind of emotions: excitement, surprise, embarrassment, sadness, loyalty. Why? Because this fantastic recipe has just one comment. It is three years old. It is from me. 

I love this goat cheese log. Don’t let me be the only one. This weekend, make my favorite appetizer. I’m sure it will have your friends and family “stretching their legs” so that they can be the first to grab a bite.

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