Deli-Wrapped Cheese for Christmas!

I, myself, have a sweet tooth; whereas, my husband has more of a 'meat' tooth. So naturally, when I told him my plans to wrap deli meat around cheese as a Christmas treat, he was over the moon! To be honest, I was half expecting cartoon hearts to start pulsing from his eyes.

Well friends, there were no hearts, but there sure was a lot of praise. In fact, I count myself lucky that I was able to photograph the finished product! I left the kitchen for a little while to test how well the wrapped cheese would set (just to ensure your 'ribbons' wouldn't start falling off 10 minutes after setting them in front of guests), only to return to a chopping board covered with empty toothpicks - I seriously have no idea when he even got into the kitchen?! In any case, there were a few remaining and I was able to successfully test their ability to stay intact at room temperature and in the fridge.

I may be a tad biased here, but I think these are most definitely the cutest, easiest (while looking most complicated), treat you can whip up this holiday season! A definite for your hor d'oeuvres table for sure ;)

Warning: Cheesy, deli meat presents, may turn your loved ones into sneaky food-stealing ninjas.

Ingredients:

• A variety of your favourite Cheeses (I used Swiss, Mozzarella & Cheddar)
• Cold Cuts of your choice (long-cut like in the photo below)

Instructions:

1) First things first, determine how many presents you would like to have, then cube the necessary amount of cheese. Next cut your cold cuts into thin strips - these strips will be the 'ribbon' for your cheesy presents - remember, you will need two strips per present.

Note: Be sure not to slice the rounded edges off completely, but to leave enough space as shown below. You will need enough room to properly secure your toothpick without ripping the cold cut.

 

2) Once cheese has been cubed and deli meat has been sliced, it's time to wrap! Taking your first strip, wrap it around the cheese as shown:

Note: The oils in the deli meat keep it secured nicely in place!

Next, wrap a second piece of deli meat perpendicular to your first.

3) Now comes the part that looks really complex, but in reality, is really quite simple! Take one of the outer strips of the deli meat, cutting it in half so you have 2 slightly rounded bumps.

Grab yourself a toothpick, stick it through the very centre of the strip, then fold the tip of both halves - one at a time - onto the toothpick as well.

Now, repeat this step with the other half of the outer strip. Adding the second 'bow' to the toothpick in the opposite direction.

4) Finally, stick the toothpick down into the centre of the deli crossover area on your cheese. Ta da! You have a present! Now, repeat with your remaining cheese and deli meats.