Clucking Good – How to Make a Turkey Out of Cheese

So here’s the deal. I asked my friend Alicia what I could bring to her annual “Doha Family” thanksgiving event. She said Nothing. Then I offered to bring cheese.

Then the ante started to ratchet up several notches. I googled “thanksgiving + turkey+ cheese” the results were alarming. I’m talking about cheese laid out int he shape of a turkey. then I stumbled upon a cheese ball fashioned into a turkey.

“Do it,” said Alicia.

So the challenge was on. I don’t think anyone actually believed I could do it. About three hours in on Friday with a raging hangover and runny cheese, hell I thought I couldn’t do it.

But I persisted. My main fear was ending up as one of those “Pinterest Fails”  on Buzzfeed and as it turns our, fear is a great creative motivator.

The recipe was simple. For the body I combined cream cheese, some labaneh and grated cheddar with fresh herbs (dill, parsley, oregano), two cloves of minced garlic and cajun seasoning. Mix them together with a spatula, cover and chill for at least three hours.

For the “feathers” I toasted flaked almonds. Once seat, I fashioned it into a ball and rolled in the almonds.

The head I cheated and bought a crottin (a ball) of goats cheese already covered in pepper. The fan of wings is made from rice crackers, its little feet from kumquats (yeah I am a genius) and its eyes and beak from nuts.

Here’s a tip – do this as close to serving as possible. I had some structural integrity issues en route to the venue. Let’s just say there was some propping up required.

And the folks at the Thanksgiving event? They were speechless.

Serve with crudites, crackers and a sense of humor.