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Enjoy this story from our archive, originally sent to TT members on .

Honey, Pass the Spread

A cheesy spread for entertaining

Any soft cheese can be worked into this spread.

Colby and Megan Garrelts opened Rye in Leawood, Kansas, intending to create a restaurant that their friends and family could frequent on more than just special occasions. Veterans of such fine-dining restaurants as Chicago’s Tru, the couple did a 180 by focusing Rye’s menu on Midwestern-inflected, homespun dishes. Many of the recipes were even born in the Garrelts’ home kitchen. This three-cheese-and-herb spread is one of them. They make theirs with Green Dirt Farm’s cottage-like sheep’s-milk cheese, but we used sheep’s-milk ricotta to great results.

Three-Cheese Herb-and-Honey Spread

Recipe adapted from Colby and Megan Garrelts, Rye, Leawood, KS

Yield: 6 servings

Cook Time: 45 minutes

  • INGREDIENTS
  • 1 head garlic

    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

    ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

    ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving

    4 ounces fresh goat's-milk cheese (chèvre), at room temperature

    ½ cup fresh ricotta cheese (preferably sheep's-milk), at room temperature

    ¼ cup cream cheese, at room temperature

    Honey (preferably wildflower), for serving

    Roughly chopped fresh herbs (such as basil, chervil, tarragon, dill or parsley), for serving

    1 small loaf sourdough bread, thickly sliced crosswise and lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

1. Roast the garlic: Preheat the oven to 350°. Cutting crosswise, slice off the top third of the garlic and discard. Set the bottom two-thirds of the head on a 12-inch sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle the olive oil over the exposed garlic cloves, then season with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Wrap the aluminum foil loosely around the garlic and bake until the garlic cloves are golden-brown and a paring knife easily slips into a clove, about 45 minutes. Remove the garlic from the oven and unwrap. Set aside to cool slightly, then squeeze the garlic cloves from the head. Remove 6 garlic cloves and add them to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (reserve the remaining roasted garlic in an airtight container for up to 1 week).

2. To the stand mixer bowl, add the goat’s-milk cheese, ricotta, cream cheese and the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt. Beat on medium speed until combined and there aren’t any large garlic pieces, scraping down the mixer bowl as needed, about 1 minute. Scrape the cheese mixture into a medium bowl and use the bottom of a spoon to make a well in the center. Drizzle the cheese with honey, then sprinkle with more pepper and the fresh herbs. Serve with the toasted sourdough.

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About The Chef

Colby Garrelts met pastry chef and wife Megan Schultz in the kitchen of Chicago’s Tru. The two moved to Las Vegas to work at Jean Joho’s Eiffel Tower Restaurant, and then Charlie Palmer’s Aureole in the Mandalay Bay Hotel before moving to Santa Monica’s Röckenwagner restaurant. The couple moved to Kansas City and opened Bluestem in 2004, then published Bluestem, The Cookbook in 2011. Rye opened in December 2012.

Check Out Colby and Megan Garrelts' Cookbook
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