Pumpkin-shaped Cheddar Cheese Ball

Instead of having a boring tray of cheese and crackers out for our party, I wanted to do something different.  Food Network Magazine had this recipe which was shaped like a pumpkin.  How unique but easy to do?!  But that recipe made nacho-flavored cheese, which didn't fit in with the rest of the dishes I had planned, so I set out to find a cheese ball recipe that better suited my menu.  I came across this one from Cooks.com, which seemed simple enough.  Of course, I have no idea what "cheddar cheese food" means.  My guess is that they meant Veleveeta which if you look on the Kraft web site it was originally advertized as a "Cheese Food".  I decided to nix the Velveeta, and went with regular sharp cheddar.

The trick for this is to have it at room temperature.  I left it on the counter for a few hours until it was malleable.  Then threw everything in my standing mixer and set it to 4 and let it beat away and mix everything together.  The original recipe called for 2tsp of garlic salt, but if I ever make this again I'm only using 1tsp, as I found it a bit too garlicky.

To make it look like a pumpkin, you cut out the stem of a green pepper, make a little notch in the top of the ball and press the pepper top into it.

Cheddar Cheese Ball (slightly adapted from Cooks.com)

Ingredients
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (at room temperature)
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 tsp. garlic salt 
A couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce 
Nuts, chopped

Directions

- Mix real well until all blended

- Put into small mixing bowl that has been lined with Saran Wrap and chill overnight

- While in wrap, form into a ball

- Before serving, roll in nuts

- Serve with crackers of your choice