Elegant Cheese Appetizer

A while ago, I shared a secret sauce with you, Salsa Maggi. Maggi is such a versatile ingredient that adds great flavor to main dishes, soups, dips, and even drinks! Unless people are familiar with Maggi, it is a difficult flavor to describe or identify and no one will discover your delicious secret ingredient.

Here's a simple and elegant recipe for an appetizer. Perfect for a quick gathering with friends or as a prelude to an elegant dinner, this dish can be prepared in advance. Most of my recipes from Mexico are not difficult to prepare and are not formally written in a book. I'm sharing them with you in my own words as I prepare them. They're simply delicious things that I discovered during my time in Mexico that I want to share with you.

Queso Filadelfia con Ajonjoli (Cream cheese with sesame seeds)
Ingredients:
1 block of Philadelphia cream cheese
several tablespoons or more of sesame seeds
3-4 teaspoons of Salsa Maggi

1. Dilute the Salsa Maggi with a little bit of water so that it is a light brown color.
2. Using a toothpick or fork, poke holes in the cream cheese so that the Maggi sauce can be absorbed.
3. Pour the Maggi over the cream cheese and refrigerate for an hour or so to allow the flavors to blend.
4. By hand or using a small blender or mixer, incorporate the Maggi sauce into the cream cheese until it is smooth.

**Note: Maggi sauce will temporarily stain your hands, so I wore gloves when I mixed and shaped this by hand. Mixing by hand seemed to work better in my opinion.

5. Shape the cheese into a ball or log. I usually made mine into a square log shape similar to a sushi roll and cut it like sushi. It's a perfect size for crackers and allows each piece to have many sesame seeds on it.
6. Completely cover the cheese in sesame seeds. Garnish and serve.
7. If you make this in advance, store in a sealed container and add the sesame seeds right before serving.

You can find Maggi sauce in the international foods section of your super market. I've also seen it close to the steak sauce or soy sauce. Of course, you can also order it from Amazon or Mexgrocer. Seriously, you must try this delicious sauce. Let me know what you think! My next Maggi recipe is going to be a beachy drink. . .

xoxo

P.S. Did you enter the fabulous giveaway from The Pink Dog? Be sure to check yesterday's blog post for full information for this fantastic giveaway.