I was feeling like making a hummus lately and Justin had grabbed ingredients to make our Pasta Puttanesca tonight, so I swiped some of his sun dried tomatoes and basil for my hummus. So good.
David Bowie died yesterday. He's all I've been playing today. I can't bring myself to choose some punk rock tunes for this recipe. -jen
SUN DRIED TOMATO AND BASIL HUMMUS Time: 10 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: about 3 cups Need: Food Processor
1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium clove fresh garlic (2 if you like garlic a lot, which we do)
4 whole sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
1 medium green onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 a medium lemon (about 1.5 tbsp)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Combine garbanzo beans, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, green onion, salt, lemon, and sesame oil in your food processor. Process until vegetables are chopped fine. Add all remaining ingredients except the olive oil and turn processor to a medium. While processing, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until a smooth dip (most processors have a lid where you can drizzle through the top while it's processing).
Serve with pita or tortilla chips, fresh vegetables, or use as a sandwich spread.
Last year around the holidays, I made homemade cheese spreads for the first time - a basic Cheddar Cheese Spread and then a fantastic nutty cheese spread that was inspired by French Onion soup and the store bought Swiss Almond spreads - my Swiss-Almond Cheese Spread with Caramelized Onions. We ate the hell out of them.
This year, I was thinking about a southern classic, Pimiento Cheese Spread...but traditionally, the spread is simply made with cheese, mayo and pimientos. I really like using cream cheese because I wanted it more like a cracker dip than a sandwich spread. I also wanted to boost it up a little with flavour, so I added a lot more than what the traditional spread has - garlic, Worcestershire, jalapeño, wine, etc. It's not hot or spicy at all... so even if you shy away from jalapeños, I say add 'em to this recipe. It just adds a little depth to the spread - more layers of flavour.
So if you're trying to come up with some appetizers to make and/or take to a New Year's party, this is a pretty easy and great one!
I think the Descendents said what we were all thinking. -jen
*I recommend at least half of your shredded cheese being sharp cheddar, and the other half could be any combination of Monterey Jack, Havarti, Gruyere, Gouda, Parmesan, etc. I used what I had, which was some Gouda, Havarti Dill, and Pecorino Romano.
Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth and combined. Refrigerate (but I always have to eat some immediately. The flavours marry nicely if you give it a little time to refrigerate though.)
Serve with crackers or raw veggies, make a grilled cheese with some spread inside, use as a sandwich spread - eat it how you want! It'd probably be good mixed in with some pasta (though I've not tried that!)
I haven't had as much time this year to make anything amazing or grand for the holidays like I'd hoped. But I made this for no reason at all this morning (okay, I made it because I've been in a cream cheese mood) and I thought, "This would be so fantastic for any holiday party and so easy!" So in a way, this recipe is perfect for the holidays which makes it both amazing and grand!
I'm a huge fan of crackers and cheese spread. Grew up with the store-bought kind, you know the ones... port wine, cheddar & bacon, Swiss almond. I actually don't see a lot of them in the stores anymore. Maybe it's a passé appetizer... or maybe we just live behind the Redwood Curtain and don't get a lot of selection at our stores. I try not to eat a lot of crackers anymore, but we have some crackers left over from a company Christmas party (where Justin made his own take on Ina Garten's Smoked Salmon dip, which was excellent, made with some fresh-caught, home-smoked salmon a friend gave us!) and we also have a ton of cheese in our house because my dad always sends a box of cheese and sausage from Wisconsin for Christmas - we look forward to it every year! So I was itching for a cheese spread and decided to make one. I don't think I will ever buy another store-bought cheese spread again! This was just so easy to make and the different ideas for what I could put in them seems endless! Beer, wine, garlic, onion, horseradish, bacon, herbs, roasted peppers.... you could put anything you liked into it! Whatever cheese you want to use (I'd really like to make a Swiss-almond one!) Like I said, I just used what I had at home and it came out fantastic!
I just heard this song for the first time the other day and I think it might be one of my new favourite Christmas songs. I've always loved Cyndi Lauper. Here she is with The Hives doing A Christmas Duel. -jen
CHEDDAR CHEESE SPREAD Time: 10 minutes Difficulty: So ridiculously easy Makes: about 2 cups
8oz cream cheese, softened
8oz medium or sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1/4 cup mayonnaise (optional, but helps it spread better)
2 teaspoons dried chives (optional)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
In a food processor (or with a fork), combine all ingredients and mix until well blended. Serve immediately or chill for later. Really, you can choose whatever cheese you want and put whatever seasonings you like in it, that's just what I chose. Be creative!
Skordalia: A garlic lover's wet dream. I first had skordalia with my mother in a Greek restaurant when I lived in Chicago. The garlic in this dish hit us like a roundhouse kick to the face! It's a puree of potato, a massive amount of raw garlic and a bit of vinegar. At the restaurant, they served it with cold beets (probably boiled). The first time I made it, to introduce it to Justin, I opted for roasting the beets and that's how we've made it ever since.
It's got a mean garlic bite and is not for the garlic-whimps. This
is the stuff of nightmares for all city transit commuters! And it's
awesome.
The serving options are pretty limitless - it's a dip, a spread, a puree, a sauce. We put it on roasted veggies, we dip fresh veggies in it, we use it as a spread in sandwiches. We've eaten it with beef, pork, chicken. Traditionally it's served with fish. Tonight I toasted some baguette, spread the skordalia on it, sliced some tomato and fresh mozzarella real thin and laid it on top of the skordalia, then drizzled a basil-lemon vinaigrette over it all. 'Bout the best thing I've ever had!
I had The Queers' "Fuck This World" in my head the other day. And we haven't thrown any Queers up on the blog yet. -jen
ROASTED BEETS
Time: 40-45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 3-4 servings
4 cups beets (about 4 medium-sized beets), peeled and diced into 1/2"-3/4" cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss diced beets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet (I always line mine with foil to save on clean-up). Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes until edges start to brown, tossing halfway through baking time.
SKORDALIA Time: 20 minutes
I used some purple hard-neck garlic we got at the Farmers Market!
Difficulty: Easy Makes: 2.5-3 cups *requires a food processor - or try a blender or beaters at your own risk, I've only used the food processor!
4 large baking potatoes (1.5-2 pounds), diced into 1" cubes
12 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
Place diced potatoes into a large stock pot. Put enough cold water in the pan to just cover the potatoes. Generously salt the water. Over a medium-high heat, bring the water and potatoes to a boil - once the boil is reached, cook for 6-7 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain.
Combine potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse together several times. Then turn onto a medium speed and drizzle in 1/3 of the olive oil, then 1/2 of the vinegar. Repeat and end with the last of the olive oil until combined. Serve hot or cold.
