Caramelized Onion and Cheese Log

Cooking this with onions until they caramelize, enhances the onion flavor and gives it a golden color. It is really very good! Originally this was on Land O' Lakes web site but I have had fun with it and it now tastes better! Not listed is the refrigeration time of 2 hours.

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 64

Ingredients

• Cheese Combination

• 2  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1⁄2 cups  finely chopped onions
• 2 (8 ounce) packages chive & onion cream cheese, softened
• 2  cups  shredded cheddar cheese
• 1  cup  shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 4  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• Garnish

• 2⁄3 cup  chopped fresh parsley
• 2⁄3 cup  finely chopped pecans or 2⁄3 cup walnuts

• Crackers

•  water crackers (recipe #22633) or   rye cocktail bread (recipe #22633) or   pumpernickel cocktail bread (recipe #22633) or   toasted  pita bread, wedges (Crummy Mushrooms)

Directions

1. Melt butter in 8-inch skillet till sizzling.
2. Cook onions over med-heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown about 10 to 14 minutes.
3. Set aside and cool completely.
4. Stir cream cheese in medium size bowl, until the cream cheese is smooth.
5. Add onions, both Cheddar cheese's, black pepper & cayenne pepper, and fresh parsley.
6. Spoon cheese mixture into 10-inch logs.
7. In a small bowl combine parsley and nuts.
8. Then roll 10-inch logs in the mixture & coat well.
9. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours.