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Love & Best Dishes: Fall Pumpkin Pimento Cheese Ball Recipe | Halloween Appetizer Ideas
Oct 22, 2025
Fall Pumpkin Pimento Cheese Ball Recipe | Halloween Appetizer Ideas - Joseph Harris is back sharing a Halloween party food idea. His no bake pumpkin shaped food idea is great for fall!
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Fall Pumpkin Pimento Cheese Ball: https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/fall-pumpkin-pimento-cheese-ball/
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0:00
- Hey y'all, I bet you're gonna recognize
0:04
this good looking hunk of man with a beautiful smile.
0:08
- Thank you. - His name is Joseph Harris.
0:11
I want to call him Jeffrey, but his name is Joseph.
0:14
(pair laughing)
0:15
- That's what happened the last time.
0:17
- I enjoyed having Joseph on so much.
0:20
- Oh man.
0:21
- And we got so many great comments.
0:24
- Yeah, we did.
0:24
- So we're doing the Joseph Harris show today.
0:28
- No, no, no, no. - Yes, we are.
0:30
- No, I like "Love & Best Dishes with Miss Paula."
0:32
- I'm tired, I'm going on two and a half hours sleep, honey.
0:35
- Oh, that's right, oh gosh.
0:36
- I did get me an hour's nap, though, this afternoon.
0:38
- Good.
0:41
- Joseph has so many wonderful things
0:45
in his head concerning food.
0:47
The last time he was here, he made the most delicious
0:51
- Oh, thank you. - Shrimp tacos
0:52
I've ever put in my mouth.
0:54
- Thank you. - And I'm not a fish
0:56
and shrimp taco, - Taco person, yeah.
1:00
- I could have eaten six of them.
1:01
(Joseph laughing)
1:02
So I'm so glad you agreed to come back.
1:05
- Oh my goodness, anytime.
1:07
- I'm gonna be right here unless you need me.
1:11
- Always, I think people loved us together.
1:13
So we're gonna do as much as we can together.
1:15
- And I told y'all the first time he was here, he won
1:20
- All-Star Academy,
1:22
the best home cook in America.
1:24
- Yeah, the best home cook in America.
1:27
on that cooking channel.
1:28
- Yes, ma'am, yes.
1:31
So, you ready to get started?
1:32
- I would agree with them.
1:34
- Yes, awesome. - Yes, honey, I'm in.
1:36
- Okay. - I was just telling Joseph
1:38
I don't even pretend to know everything.
1:40
- Me either. - And I learned something new
1:42
every day of my life.
1:44
- Same, same. - So I'm here to learn.
1:47
- Today, this is fall-inspired, as you can see
1:50
with the decorations that we have here.
1:52
This is a fall-inspired pumpkin pimento cheese ball.
1:58
And so, a lot of times people have Halloween parties
2:02
or even if you wanted to do this for Thanksgiving
2:04
or just a fall harvest party, something,
2:06
this is a great appetizer that you can make in advance
2:11
and serve to your guests.
2:12
- I have never had anything like it.
2:14
Is there any reason this is here?
2:16
- Yes, that goes on top of the pumpkin.
2:18
- Oh, okay, I kind of thought you might have a lid,
2:22
using a lid. - To make it
2:23
look like a pumpkin.
2:24
- Well, if there's something I can help you with,
2:26
- Absolutely, do you wanna stir or mix it all together?
2:30
That'd be good. - Don't matter what.
2:32
- I'll dump and you stir.
2:33
- Which side do you wanna be on?
2:35
- I'll be on this side.
2:36
And then, so we're gonna start
2:38
with two eight-ounce blocks of cream cheese.
2:41
- Okay, and I'm gonna use the mixer with that, right?
2:43
- Yes ma'am, you are. - Okay.
2:45
- And so we're just gonna put
2:47
- Oh look, there's a black cat.
2:48
- It is, I saw.
2:50
- I just now saw her.
2:52
- (laughs) There's a black cat at the Airbnb
2:54
I'm staying at, too, that's just sitting outside.
2:57
She's so cute, so cute.
2:59
- Is it a live one or?
3:00
- It is, a live one, yeah.
3:02
She came up last night and tried to come in
3:04
and I wasn't gonna do that just 'cause it's not my property.
3:07
But I love cats.
3:09
- I wonder if the cat belongs, though.
3:11
- I think so, to the owner.
3:14
So yeah, we're just gonna put in these two blocks
3:18
of softened cream cheese.
3:19
You wanna make sure that it's soft.
3:21
- Nice and soft.
3:22
- Yes, just so that everything can be blended.
3:24
And I know how you are, get every drop.
3:27
- Yeah. (pair laughing)
3:29
- You're economical. - Waste not, want not.
3:31
I am, you'd have thought I was born during the depression,
3:34
but in a way I lived through my own depression.
3:37
- I understand. - With no money.
3:40
- I understand, yes.
3:41
But, things like that help us to become stronger.
3:44
- That's right. - And be better people, so.
3:46
- That's right, it helps us mold us
3:48
in who we gonna wind up to be.
3:49
- Absolutely, so anyway, what we're gonna do
3:52
is just mix that all together
3:54
and then what we're going to do to make it southern,
3:57
we're going to add in some pimentos.
4:00
- Okay. - Okay, and so
4:01
just a jar of pimentos, it can be any brand.
4:05
- Drained. - Drained, and I actually,
4:07
I got this from you,
4:08
I rinse them a little bit in some water
4:11
just so that the red - The red, right.
4:13
- Does not permeate the color of that beautiful,
4:17
- That's exactly right.
4:18
- Is that pickles or jalapenos?
4:19
- This is pickled jalapeno. - Pickled jalapeno, okay.
4:22
- Yes, ma'am, and so these, I mean,
4:24
they're not super duper hot,
4:26
but definitely add the amount that you are able to tolerate.
4:30
- That's right. - So if you like
4:31
super spicy food, add more.
4:33
This is probably about a little bit over a tablespoon.
4:36
The recipe calls for a tablespoon.
4:39
And so you can, excuse me, a teaspoon,
4:41
you can add a little bit more.
4:43
This is probably about two teaspoons.
4:45
But it needs to have flavor
4:47
and spice equals flavor.
4:48
- Honey, that's a heaping tablespoon.
4:49
- It is, but it'll be all right.
4:53
- Your hands are bigger than mine.
4:54
- Yep, it'll be okay.
4:57
- You can't make it hot enough for my husband.
4:59
- I've heard.
5:00
- Oh listen, he likes his food so hot,
5:04
he has to take, - He'll use a rag, I can't.
5:07
I can't do it. - And mop his brow.
5:08
- I can't do it.
5:09
My best friend, one of my best friends,
5:11
Heather, I think I mentioned her
5:12
the last time I was on here.
5:13
She makes the hottest Cajun food you ever put in your mouth.
5:18
I'm telling, you'd be sweating, it's so good.
5:21
- I know it, but I don't wanna hurt.
5:23
- I don't either, in more ways than one.
5:25
- I can't taste, I can't taste anything if I'm on fire.
5:28
- I agree, and so this is ranch,
5:30
- Ranch dressing.
5:32
- Yeah, it's a seasoning packet.
5:33
- What I thought, yeah.
5:34
- And so we're just gonna add this in.
5:36
- And that's just one single packet that you buy?
5:38
- Yes, this is, according to the recipe,
5:41
it's just a tablespoon of ranch powder.
5:44
You can add more if you want,
5:46
but you definitely want, - I buy the big container.
5:48
- Oh yeah, it's so good,
5:50
and it's so good in so many different recipes.
5:52
- So many different ways.
5:54
- And so we're gonna also add some garlic powder.
5:59
So this is packed with flavor,
6:02
packed, an abundance of flavor.
6:04
And we're just mixing it all together.
6:06
Anybody could cook this.
6:08
I mean, it's not even cooking, it's just mixing.
6:09
- I was gonna say, we ain't cooking, are we?
6:12
- But it makes an amazing appetizer.
6:15
And so that's, and then we're gonna add in some green onion.
6:18
- Al right, now are we gonna roll that?
6:20
- We're just gonna actually add that in, okay.
6:22
And so you just dice this until it's finely chopped.
6:27
You don't want a big chunk of green onion in there.
6:30
And so we've got some southern flavors in here.
6:33
- [Paula] Yeah, I love the colors.
6:37
Now this is a cheese ball, but where's our cheese?
6:39
- It is right here. - Okay.
6:42
- And what we're going to do, - Are we going
6:42
to stir that in? - No, ma'am,
6:44
We're gonna do a little bit of a magic trick here.
6:47
- Oh, yay. - And so what we're gonna do
6:49
is we're gonna put the cheese - I love magic.
6:52
- In the bottom of this bowl.
6:55
And what we're going to do is
6:56
- You watching Theresa?
7:00
- What we're gonna do, - Wait, let me,
7:01
- Oh yeah, go ahead.
7:02
- Let me see if I can just,
7:04
(mixer rattling)
7:05
- There we go.
7:07
- Yeah, kind of get that, - That's perfect.
7:08
How does it taste?
7:10
- Well, I don't know, but I'll tell you.
7:11
I know what it tastes like, it tastes good.
7:12
- I hope so. - Mm mm mm.
7:16
- And this is enough for two balls, actually.
7:20
- Two balls is nice.
7:22
I done got it all over me.
7:23
- Okay, so what we're gonna do is we're going
7:26
to take some of the cheese
7:31
and we're going to roll it around.
7:35
- I'm watching - In the cheese
7:40
and we're gonna make a ball with it.
7:41
- [Paula] I'm trying to get this off my shirt, though.
7:42
- [Joseph] I should have took my ring off,
7:45
but that's all right.
7:45
It's the South, you cook with your jewelry on,
7:49
I've heard you say that many times.
7:51
- [Paula] I just always did because I felt like
7:53
it was safer on my hands dirty.
7:56
- [Joseph] And if you didn't wanna use your hands,
7:57
you can use gloves, but I don't do that.
8:01
- [Paula] Look, in a restaurant we have to.
8:03
- Of course, yes. - We have to use gloves,
8:05
but at home, no.
8:08
- No, you don't have to. - I can't do it.
8:09
- [Joseph] I agree.
8:10
And so what we did, we just made a,
8:12
- [Paula] I didn't get to see that because I was
8:14
getting the stuff off. - It's okay.
8:15
so basically you just take your hands
8:17
and you just put it around and you form a ball with it.
8:22
And if you're not comfortable with doing it with your hands,
8:23
you can do it with a spatula if you want.
8:25
If you don't mind, if you could get me
8:27
a sheet of plastic wrap.
8:31
And what we're gonna do is wrap it up in that.
8:34
- I can do that.
8:35
- We'll show you guys how to do that right now.
8:38
So what we're gonna do now is we're gonna take
8:40
our cheese ball.
8:43
We're gonna put it in some plastic wrap.
8:47
- Yes.
8:49
- Oh, that's perfect, thank you.
8:50
- Let me get that outta your way.
8:52
- And what we're going to do now
8:53
is just form it into a perfect ball.
9:00
And then what we're going
9:01
to do is put it in the refrigerator
9:06
for about an hour.
9:07
And you just want to chill it until the ball
9:10
is solidified, it's whole,
9:13
and you've got yourself a pumpkin cheese ball.
9:16
- Now are you gonna roll it in anything?
9:17
- You can, you can actually roll it
9:19
once it's done in more cheese.
9:22
- More cheese, some fresh parsley, or something.
9:24
- Yes, that would actually be beautiful,
9:26
fresh parsley and cheese. - Or nuts even.
9:28
- You can do nuts too, as well.
9:31
I say pea-can, but y'all might say pe-can.
9:32
- I say pea-can. - Oh, you do?
9:34
- No, that's a pea-can, how you spell pea-can?
9:37
- P-E-A - No.
9:39
- C-A-N. - P-E
9:41
- Oh, P-E-E.
9:41
- No. (pair laughing)
9:44
- P, P-E, can
9:47
- That's right. - C-A-N.
9:48
- That's right.
9:49
It's true, that's how I say it.
9:52
But pecans would be really good with this.
9:53
- Yes, it would. - It would be delicious,
9:55
especially with that parsley and cheese.
9:57
Yeah, we're just gonna put that in the refrigerator now.
10:00
And we'll let it, - I'm gonna stick this
10:02
in your refrigerator drawer right here for you.
10:04
- Yeah. We'll just let it get hard for an hour.
10:09
Then we'll take it out, roll it.
10:11
You can roll it in a little bit more cheese.
10:13
And then we're going to top it
10:14
with our little Halloween stem
10:19
to make it like a pumpkin. - How cute.
10:21
- Yeah, isn't that great?
10:22
We'll just serve it with crackers.
10:25
So we'll show you guys what that looks like shortly.
10:27
Okay, and so now we've just finished
10:29
chilling our cheese ball.
10:32
And what we're gonna do to make it look like a pumpkin
10:35
is in the plastic wrap
10:37
we're just gonna take the back of a knife
10:39
and add ridges in it.
10:42
- And it's gonna look like a pumpkin, y'all.
10:43
- [Joseph] And it's gonna look like a pumpkin, yep.
10:45
And it doesn't need to be a sharp knife.
10:47
- That is so smart. - Isn't that cool?
10:50
- That is so cool.
10:52
- [Joseph] And if you wanted, again, you could take this
10:55
and then dump it in more cheese to make it more like a,
10:59
- I like it like that,
11:01
because it looks like a pumpkin.
11:04
We probably could have chilled it a little.
11:05
- Chilled it a little longer, but we're hungry.
11:08
So that works.
11:10
- That's right. - Okay, and then you,
11:15
you got yourself a pumpkin. - That was from the pepper.
11:17
- Yep.
11:19
- Look how cute that is. - Isn't that cool?
11:22
And if you wanted, you could run
11:24
your knife a little bit more
11:25
to make it more defined if you want, so, yeah.
11:30
- I love it. - Isn't that cute?
11:32
- [Paula] That's why I love being with other people.
11:35
- Same, you can always learn, it's beautiful.
11:38
- How cute. - Isn't that nice?
11:41
Now we should try it. - How cute.
11:44
You're right, it's time to taste it, honey.
11:46
- Yeah, so I'm gonna serve you.
11:49
- Oh, thank you. - You are welcome.
11:51
You know what this doesn't have
11:53
that you probably would've put in it?
11:54
- What? - Mayonnaise.
11:57
- Well, there's - Cream cheese.
11:59
- Probably, but the cream cheese,
12:01
- Do you put mayonnaise in your pimento cheese dip?
12:04
- Uh huh. - You do, okay,
12:05
so then you could do that for this.
12:09
- That's the best pumpkin I've ever had.
12:10
- Me too, oh my gosh, it's so good.
12:14
- Oh, Theresa, come get you some, honey.
12:18
Joseph, Joseph.
12:20
- Isn't that delicious? - It is so good.
12:23
I hadn't tasted anything,
12:26
as many shows as you shot with me,
12:29
I hadn't tasted anything from you that wasn't delicious.
12:33
- Oh, come join me on a weeknight (laughs)
12:37
where I'm experimenting.
12:40
- Well, happy Halloween. - Yes,
12:42
same to all of you guys.
12:43
- I eat this pumpkin any day.
12:45
- Yes, it's so delicious, love and best dishes, guys.
12:49
(pair laughing)
12:54
Hey, y'all, it's Paula Deen.
12:55
Now, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to like it
12:59
and click the subscribe button as well as the notification
13:03
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13:07
Love and Best Dishes Y'all.
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