Blue Cheese- And Walnut-Dusted Grapes

4 from 1 ratings

Add a touch of elegance to your next outdoor gathering with these distinctively flavored grapes. Makes a superb appetizer or an impressive garnish for green salads topped with blue cheese dressing. Click here to see In Season: Grapes Recipes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

6 ounce crumbled blue cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
4 cup shelled walnuts
1 pound seedless grapes, rinsed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place crumbled blue cheese in a mixing bowl and break up any large pieces. Add heavy cream and using a fork or a whip, mix very well until blue cheese is well incorporated into the cream. Add up to ¼ cup milk to make a smooth dip.
Place walnuts on a large cookie sheet or sheet pan spreading them around evenly and roast in the oven for 12 minutes, stirring with a spoon once after the first 6 minutes. When roasted and aromatic, remove from the oven, and place on a separate cool cookie sheet or in mixing bowl and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
Once cooled, place walnuts in a food processor and pulse for several times until they resemble breadcrumbs. Be careful not to over-chop, as walnuts may start releasing their oil and start sticking together like a paste. Place walnut crumbs in a mixing bowl.
Using 2 wooden skewers for help, pierce a grape, dip it into blue cheese mixture, lift, and using the second skewer push grape into walnut crumbs. Use your hand to cover the grape evenly with walnut crumbs, lift carefully, and place on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining grapes and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Note: Mix any leftover blue cheese cream mix with the remaining walnut crumbs, thin it with a bit of milk and you have a dressing for a salad or a dip for crudités or chips.