Herbed Goat Cheese Spread

When spring arrives in Colorado, my first appearing herbs are precious indeed. Here I bring together garden-tender French tarragon, dill, and parsley with a mixture of goat and cream cheeses. I add a smidge of minced red onion for zing and top it all off with one sweet dash of hot sauce for sheer fun. Use the soft herbs you have available and skip buying the factory-made cheese spreads at the store. Open a chilled Sauvignon Blanc to sip with this cheese and serve with some simple, unflavored crackers or sliced and toasted or grilled baguette.

Makes approximately 1 1/4 cups spread

Ingredients

5 ounces goat cheese at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt-can sub milk
2 tablespoons EACH minced fresh French tarragon, dill weed, parsley, and red onion
¼ teaspoon EACH kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Dash hot sauce-I like Tabasco

Instructions

Mix together all of the ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined using a handheld electric mixer or a fork if you’ve a strong arm. Taste and adjust seasonings to suit your palate. Serve at room temperature with crackers +/or fresh vegetables. Store tightly covered in refrigerator for a week. I haven’t frozen this, but my gut says you could do it!

Notes

Cook’s Notes: Want to use a food processor? No problems, but you might want to stir in the chopped herbs by hand so you can see them. Use leftovers for sandwich spreads, veggie dips, to stuff cherry tomatoes, to fill an omelet, top a piece of grilled salmon or chicken, etc.