Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Baked Fontina (Garlic Dip)

Baked Fontina
source: adapted from How Easy is That? by Ina Garten
Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 lbs Italian fontina, rind removed and cubed into 1-inch pieces
  • 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:

  1. Adjust top rack of the oven so that it sits about 5 inches under the broiler unit. Preheat broiler.
  2. Spread cheese out in the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron pan.  Drizzle olive oil over the cheese.  Mix together the garlic and herbs in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the cheese.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top of the cheese.
  3. Bake for 6 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and melted through.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven and set it on a heatproof surface – the pan will be hot!  Serve immediately.

JALAPENO POPPER DIP

 Jalapeno Popper Dip

6-8 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crispy
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, soft
1 cup of mayonnaise
4-6 jalapeno's, chopped and deseeded.  The seeds will make it fiery hot.
1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup diced green onion

Topping:

1 cup of crushed crackers ( I used Ritz)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 stick of butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all of the ingredients into a medium bowl.  Stir well.

Transfer to an oven proof dish. The size of the dish depends on how thick the dip is.  The thicker the dip the longer it may need to warm up.

Creamy Rotel Dip

Creamy Rotel Dip


1/2 lb sausage
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz Velvetta
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can Mexican Rotel Tomatoes, undrained

In a medium skillet, brown sausage and drain. In a large bowl, heat cream cheese, velveeta and sour cream in microwave until melted. Stir in tomatoes and sausage.

Pour in crock pot to keep warm. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cucumber Salsa



Crisp Cucumber Salsa
Yield 2-1/2 cups

2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.

1/4 cup (w/out chips) equals 16 calories
Recipe from Simple and Delicious magazine

Monday, August 6, 2012

Caramelized Onion Dip

Restaurant Style Queso Blanco Dip

    Have you ever been to a Mexican restaurant and ordered the white cheese dip and wondered how they made it and you have tried a number of times to get it right and never can? Well, here is my version of it and I will tell you this, it is identical to the same thing in the restaurant. Enjoy!!!

 

Photographed By: JodieLeigh DeWitt
Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. White American Cheese (Deli-Boars Head)
  • 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
  • 1/4 cup water (give or take)
  • 1 4 oz. can diced green chiles.
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon jalapeno juice (optional)    
 Instructions:

Dice the cheese in 1 inch cubes. Place cubed cheese in a microwave safe bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix. Place in the microwave 1 minute at a time for 5 minutes stirring every minute. It will seem watery and clumpy until after that last minute. After 5 complete minutes stir real good getting the remainder clumps out. pour in a glad or Ziploc container (see photo) and let stand for 20-30 minutes with or without lid. The longer it sits the smoother and silkier it gets. PERFECT!!!