Swiss Cheese Cranberry and Pineapple Spread

“I made this for an appetizer at a dinner party. I made as directed with sherry. It received mixed reviews. I think I might enjoy it better as a bagel spread for breakfast/brunch. Next time I might try soaking the dried cranberries in the apple juice before combining with the other ingredients. For a breakfast spread I might eliminate/reduce the swiss cheese and add some cinnamon or nutmeg.”

“This recipe got mixed reviews at my Christmas party.A few people really just didn’t like it, I liked it but didn’t love it and several people walked away with the recipe raving about it!I think if you love pineapple and like it warm, this recipe will go over well b/c that seemed to be the most prominent flavor.Thank you for sharing this recipe!”

“This dip was really good and was enjoyed by all.I followed the directions exactly and served this along with bagel chips. Thanks Kathy for posting!”

“Wow!This is delicious and so easy to make.I followed the recipe exactly except used port instead of sherry because that is what I had on hand.This can be made in minutes with one bowl and a spoon, just opening packages and mixing. I served it last night to friends from England and the 4 of us devoured it. ( I would not say it serves 20, as the recipe states.)I will definitely make this again for the holidays.”

“Very delicious dip, I made it for our appie for Thanksgiving dinner.Served it first hot right out of the oven with crackers, mmm mmm it was delish!Later in the evening I served the remainder cold in celery sticks, this was heavenly !! loved it both ways but noticed it dissapeared faster when it was cold in the celery. Couldn’t find cream cheese with pineapple but I did have a fresh pineapple in, so I took a couple of pieces of that and chopped it finely to add to the cheese, a bit more to cover for the crushed, rather than open a whole can for 1/4 cup.It turned out perfect, loved the combination of Swiss cheese, cream cheese and the pineapple, orange zest and cranberries, the Sherry was a lovely addition to the flavours.I will be making it again probably over the Holidays.Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe, will look forward to serving with with apple slices.”

“I am very surprised that this recipe has not been reviewed more than twice before, as it is delicious and VERY attractive too. We loved the clever combination of flavours in this spread/dip; I used sherry instead of apple juice, and it gave a “nutty” flavour to the spread. I LOVE anything with orange zest in it, and this was no exception. The overall combination of fruit and cream cheese was delicate and yet the flavours were quite pronounced. I made the full batch, and as there were only 4 of us, I baked half (as is posted in the recipe), and left the other half unbaked and garnished with extra orange zest and cranberries – BOTH ways work very well – although the baked version has a more intense flavour. I served one spread with rice crackers, and the other with apple wedges as suggested. A keeper for me, I plan to use this for my Festive drinks and nibbles menu this year. Merci Kathy – made for the Kathy and Liza Cook-a-Thon in the photos forum, October 2008. FT:-)”

“This was an interesting little dip!I made it for the Aussie/New Zealand Recipe Swap #14, but would like to try it during the holidays..the cranberries would be so festive.The pineapple gives it a nice tang and the baked cheeses are bubbling hot and creamy.Served with wheat thins and cocktails for a girls night and all loved it!”

“How much better can you get than this for a spread! I used the apple juice, followed the recipe, then topped the baked spread with some small, finely curled slivers of orange zest! A BIG HIT, & thanks much for it! [Made & reviewed as a tagged bonus recips in the Aus/NZ Recipe Swap #14, Mar 08]”