If you are anything at all like me, each year I find much of my thoughts about the Thanksgiving menu center almost exclusively around the main meal and dessert, always without fail forgetting to think about pre-meal noshes and small bites. Usually our family meal and party stretches the whole day culminating in our sit down meal around 4 in the afternoon and as such we usually skip lunch in prep for the big feast.

We often scrounge around in the fridge for cheese and crackers to stave off our hunger pangs until the dinner hour rolls around, but this year I’ve decided to prepare a bit in advance and make this easy to prepare, delicious and festive dip.

This recipe is a fantastic mix of flavors, cream cheese, pumpkin, pecans, seasoned salt and a surprisingly delicious ingredient, Norwegian Brown Cheese, also called Brunost. Growing up, this cheese was regularly consumed in our house and was (and still is) widely available in our area under theSki Queen label. If you’ve yet to try it, it’s best described as a creamy, caramel flavored cheese that tastes best served very thinly sliced on toast, crisp bread and even waffles.

I’ve made this twice already this month and each time it’s disappeared, literally in hours. You can certainly skip the brown cheese if you can’t find it, but if you are at all able to get your hands some you should. It adds a great layer of complexity and sweetness to the dip. This and a delicious cranberry cocktail would set you and your guests in just the right festive frame of mind.

Oh and speaking of cranberry cocktails, I’ve got a delicious one to share with you next week, so stay tuned and be sure to check back. You won’t want to miss it. Happy Weekend everyone!

Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Dip

Serves 8 as an appetizer

1, 8 oz. block of light cream cheese

1/2 C. pumpkin puree

1/2 C. shredded Brunost, (also called Geitost or Brown Cheese)

3 sliced green onions

1/4 C. chopped pecans

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Pomegranate seeds, additional pecans and green onions for garnish

Combine all the ingredients except the garnishes and stir until incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then garnish and serve with crackers or crisp bread.

Recipe adapted from the Norwegian American Weekly
This post was in no way sponsored by Tine or Ski Queen. All opinions are my own.