Ava's Holiday Cheeseball Recipe

By Ava Gardner Museum on Nov. 21, 2019

Ava Gardner was a Southern woman through and through. In her autobiography she talks about food & family and brags about her mother's cooking.

“The kitchen…always looked as though a hurricane had just swept through it. But out of that mess came the most wonderful food. Her cooking was really the result of knowledge handed down from mother to daughter for generations.” – Ava Gardner on her mother’s cooking in Ava: My Story.

Ava was a great cook herself and had many cookbooks in her library. In honor of the holiday season we are sharing Ava’s personal recipe for her holiday cheeseball. The recipe is written on the back of a photograph displaying a painting of Ava. Ava had a habit of writing notes on any available piece of paper.

Cheeseball Recipe, Photo Front

Cheeseball Recipe

Handwritten recipe for Ava's Holiday Cheeseball.

Ingredients:

1 large package cream cheese

5 oz Roquefort Cheese

5 oz soft cheddar cheese

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 cup crushed walnuts (soaked in port or sherry)

Leave cheeses out a couple of hours before preparation so they can be mixed easily. Mix all ingredients together (except nuts), blend well. Add ½ cup chopped walnuts and mix again. Form into a large ball and place in fridge overnight or all day. Half an hour before serving, remove from fridge and roll in remaining walnuts. Serve with crackers and/or raw vegetables.

Ava Gardner's Nutcracker

A silver nutcracker used for cracking walnuts. This item once belonged to Ava Gardner and was donated to the museum by Ava's niece, Mary Edna Grantham. Ava may have used it to prepare the walnuts needed for the holiday cheeseball recipe above.

Ava Gardner Museum board member Lora Stocker recently joined Karie Bible for an episode of Hollywood Kitchen featuring Ava's holiday cheeseball recipe. Watch how they made the recipe while learning more about Ava, her love of cooking, and the Ava Gardner Museum. You can find complete episode information here or watch the episode below.

Want more of Ava's family recipes? Check out the Cooking With Ava digital recipe cards on our blog or the recipe cards available in our gift shop! These recipes, straight from the Gardner Family kitchen, include some of Ava's Southern favorites.

Author

Ava Gardner Museum

About our Blog Authors

Lynell Seabold is the former Executive Director of the Ava Gardner Museum. She has been with the Museum since July 2016 and has a background in business and accounting. Since retiring in December 2023, Lynell serves in part time capacity at the Museum managing the accounting and grant writing functions. She is a transplant from San Diego, CA, and now calls North Carolina home.

Beth Nevarez is the collections manager at the Ava Gardner Museum. She has a master’s degree in public history and nearly 10 years’ experience working in museums. A Wilson, North Carolina native, Beth attended UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Wilmington for her studies, focusing on American history and public history. She now operates Beth Nevarez Historical Consulting and specializes in caring for historical collections and sharing history through collections outreach initiatives.

Lora Stocker began volunteering as a social media specialist with the Ava Gardner Museum in 2019 and then joined the Museum’s Board of Directors. She is a professional artist, designer, and illustrator operating her own business Lora Stocker Designs in Johnston County, North Carolina. She received degrees in Studio Art and Visual Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her diverse career in the arts has included commissions from national and international brands as well as those from North Carolina-based businesses and non-profits. When not creating, she likes to spend time traveling and exploring with her husband, visiting the country’s National Parks and sites related to classic film history.

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Ava's Holiday Cheeseball Recipe

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