Baby-Blue Cheese Spread

A memory: evening-time, twenty-odd years ago, my dad and I unwrapped a cavernous, moldy wedge of blue cheese. Next to it, a Triscuit box waited with cardboard flaps thrown open like hands asking why not? 

My dad used a knife to apply the creamy smears of blue cheese onto one cracker at a time before placing them in my small hands. They were delicious! And I felt big eating them, initiated somehow by this adult-seeming food.

Darwin's too young to understand the slightly sophisticated reputation of blue cheese; he just knows he likes to eat it. He loves this spread, too, which marries the salt and tang of blue cheese with the smooth, mild familiarity of cream cheese and cheddar. It's a perfect way to share blue cheese with kids, especially when the serving bowl is rimmed with crunchy vegetables and whole grain crackers. The crackers pictured are a Triscuit-style cracker with two ingredients: whole wheat flour and salt. You can find one version at Whole Foods, and another version at Stop & Shop under the "Nature's Promise" label.

Baby-Blue Cheese Spread

1 cup crumbled blue cheese
8oz cream cheese, softened
6oz sharp white cheddar, grated

Combine all ingredients in a food processor with 1 Tbls. cold water. Process until smooth. Serve immediately for a creamy dip, or chill for a firmer spread.