Luncheon Spreads

From: teawithfriends

Olive-Walnut Spread
It's basically the Olive-Walnut spread I use for tea sandwiches, but I added sour cream to make it more of a dip consistency. The recipe: 3 (8-ounce) blocks of cream cheese, 3/4 cup chopped olives, 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, 1 (16-ounce) carton sour cream. Mix well and you're done! (That makes a heap of dip, by the way. For a smaller gathering, I would probably make only a third of the recipe.)

Three-Cheese Pimiento Spread
 The easy Three-Cheese Pimiento Spread was a simple way to use up small amounts of some cheeses I already had on hand. Into the food processor went 4 ounces (one-half block) of cream cheese, 2 ounces of Swiss cheese, 2 tablespoons of gorgonzola cheese and a tablespoon of pimientos. I processed it all for several minutes until it was a nice, creamy consistency. The gorgonzola definitely makes this a strong tasting spread, which I like, but I might use a milder third cheese depending on what else I'm serving at teatime. My theory is that cream cheese mixed with any other two cheeses in the world can only be good!

 Pimiento Cream Cheese Spread

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used a mix of mild and sharp)
2 ounces diced pimientos
1 tablespoon pimiento juice, or as needed
Dash of white pepper

In a small bowl, cream the cream cheese and shredded cheddar. Add pimientos, pimiento juice (so the mixture won't be too stiff) and pepper. Combine well. Yields enough spread for about 18 small tea sandwiches.