For those of us for whom God created blue cheese, this spread is going to be seriously up your alley. It is so delicious, that you might seriously wonder if some benevolent deity didn’t have at least some input into its creation. This spread is just that scrumptious!

So in adhering to my full disclosure policy, this dish is really just my take on an Epicurious recipe for Date & Blue Cheese Ball. The main gist of the recipe is all Epicurious. I just took the liberty of changing a couple of quantities, removed walnuts from the ingredient list, adjusted the preparation instructions, and prefer serving it in a lovely serving dish rather than forming it into a ball. But the thanks and credit still belong to Epicurious.    

Of course, I already knew that I loved the combination of blue cheese and dates because of my recipe for Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates already on this site. But as with every dish, I like to change things up a bit just for the shear fun of it. And creating a creamy blue cheese and date spread held a great deal of appeal. (Plus I am trying to stay away from bacon. I know – good luck with that!)

I whipped this up last Friday to take along to our friends Paul and Vivianna’s home. Great fun that evening sharing wonderful food with wonderful friends. There is just nothing finer than the combination of great friends and great food. Thanks again Vivianna and Paul for another fabulous dinner.

So next time you need an easy to prepare appetizer to serve to family or friends, make this delightful spread. It is just so, so good. And you can make it ahead. In fact, it’s even better if made a day or two ahead. How lovely is that! Enjoy

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

5 oz. blue cheese, roughly crumbled

3 T.  buttermilk

1 T. minced shallots

pinch kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

2 T. minced fresh Italian parsley

8 pitted dates, roughly chopped, plus 2 more chopped for garnish   

 In the bowl of a food processor, whirl the cream cheese, blue cheese, and buttermilk until smooth and creamy. Add the dates, shallots, salt, and pepper and whirl just until the dates are finely chopped. Do not over whirl. Add the lemon zest and pulse a couple of times or until the zest is evenly distributed.

Scoop the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or up to 2 days.

Before serving, decorate with remaining 2 chopped dates and minced fresh parsley. Serve with crackers.