Vegan Artichoke Dip

Exciting doings here at LTIR central: Rachel and I are actually cooking together because she is visiting the East Coast. Last night we whipped up this tasty dip inspired by a recipe from Blissful Bites by Christy Morgan (a cookbook we highly recommend).

Despite Rachel freaking out just a little because I don't own a single measuring spoon, meaning she had to "estimate" an actual tablespoon, we managed to make this without coming to blows. And I took just a little pleasure — okay, a lot — when it tasted just fine despite the inadequate cooking utensils chez Mom. Hah!

The original recipe calls for garam masala, but I didn't have any so we added a few different curry powders, cardomon and tumeric. My point is don't be afraid to experiment. Enjoy!

Indian Artichoke Dip

ingredients
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon spicy curry powder
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon cardomon
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
2 tablespoons tamari
salt to taste
paprika to garnish on top

method
Puree in the food processor and adjust to taste. Yup, it's that easy.

Roasted What?

Janet here:

My father-in-law was coming for dinner and I wanted to make an appetizer that wouldn't ruin his appetite. He's tended to overindulge on the appetizers in recent months and then not eat much of his dinner, which is actually the part that gives him the most nutrition.

So, inspired by something I'd seen in a magazine, I decided to try roasting some chick peas. You seriously couldn't ask for an easier recipe, and it's light and good for you — the winning combination. I used a Southwestern rub from Penzey's Spices this time around, but I absolutely will be experimenting with other flavors down the road. You can use whatever rub or spices you want to create your own concoction. Let us know what you come up with!


Roasted Spicy Chick Peas

ingredients
1 15-ounce can chick peas, drained, rinsed and then dried (pat them with a towel after they drain)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon (or more to taste) barbecue rub or chili powder or whatever you want for spices, salt, pepper

method
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Spread out on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, turning mid-way. Be careful not to over-cook. Let cool. Eat.

A Crowd Pleasing Dip

It's that time of the year when people drop by unexpectedly and it's always good to have a few things on hand that you can whip quickly. This recipe works particularly well with teens and boys, if my sons are any indicator. It has the two key ingredients: heat (as in Frank's Red Hot Sauce heat) and Ranch dressing. In other words, this is not high brow, but yes, it is mighty tasty, so tasty in fact that I didn't get a chance to photograph it before it was snatched away.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

ingredients
2 13-ounce cans chicken breast drained
2 8-08nce packages cream cheese softened
1/3 cup hot sauce
1 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
1 cups Mexican blended shredded cheese

method
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Sray 9 X 13 cassrole dish with non-stick spray. Put to the side one cup of cheddar cheese for the top of the csserole. blend all together. put in casserole dish, sprinkle with remaining cheese. back 20-25 minutes or until bubbling.

Homemade French Onion Dip, Ooh La La!

Hey Rachel
When I was a kid, cocktail parties were the main neighborhood entertainment. Lots of martinis and manhattans and hors d'oeuvres and women in swanky cocktail dresses and men in jackets and ties. Think Mad Men and you've pretty much got the idea.

As an adult now, I look back on those in marvel. Why was dinner never served? And if dinner was never served, how did those people ever make it home after consuming all that hard alcohol? (Wine and beer were never on the booze menu, at least not where I grew up.) I guess the fact that these were neighborhood bashes and everyone walked there made it okay.

Anyway, I loved coming down to the kitchen the next morning and eating the leftovers. My particular favorite was the onion dip, which seemed incredibly exotic and which I would eat right off my finger. Imagine my surprise as a college kid when I was organizing my first parties (decidedly more plebian believe me) and learned that this magical dip that I assumed my mother slaved over was actually just some soup mix and sour cream! Who knew!

Once I was an official adult, serving something that only involved a pre-made mix and some sour cream seemed a little like cheating so I basically stopped the onion dip and carrots deal. But I'm not going to lie: I missed it. So I was pretty excited to discover this dip in Skinny Dips by Diane Morgan. I amended it so it's not low-fat because really if you're going to have something with sour cream and cream cheese, my theory is go for it 100 percent. Anyway, I hardily recommend this to one and all. Add a little Herb Alpert, a manhattan, and you'll be doing the bossa nova before you know it.

Fresh French Onion Dip

ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 sweet onions, diced small
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely snipped fresh chives

method

Saute the onions, salt and pepper in the oil over medium heat. Stir frequently until they're a nice golden color but not too brown. Should take you about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, white wine vinegar and cream cheese. Add the onions and chives. Taste. Adjust seasonings. I think this is better if it's made ahead several hours at least to give the seasonings time to, um, season. Take it out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you'll be serving.

Appetizer Anyone?

Rachel: It's Friday and that has me thinking weekend, which often means getting together with friends. Your dad and I are blessed with more good friends than I ever imagined I would have, and getting together regularly with them for dinner, drinks, games and laughs is one of my absolute favorite weekend activities.

Anyway, I really recommend this date and walnut cheese ball once you and John get to the point where you can think about actually cooking dinner for anyone besides yourselves and sitting down to a table and eating it with both hands. (Your post yesterday flooded me with memories. I remember so well trying to juggle getting food to my mouth with you or G or S squirming in my arms. The part I really hated was asking your father to cut something up for me; it just seemed so childish and here I was being a mother. But I digress.) This can be made ahead, which I try to do as much as possible when having people over so I can actually enjoy the company I want to be with, and it's delicious. This recipe is from Skinny Dips by Diane Morgan, a cookbook that I highly recommend for people who want tasty dips with fewer calories.

Hope you, John and M have a good weekend.

Mom

Date and Blue Cheese Walnut Ball

ingredients
8 ounces low-fat cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup crumbled blue cheese at room temperature
1 tablespoon reduced fat buttermilk
3 tablespoons minced dates
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted walnuts

method
Mix together the cream cheese, blue cheese and buttermilk on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the dates, shallots, lemon zest, salt and pepper and beat until well combined

Transfer the cheese mixture to a large sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a ball. Wrap the ball in the wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Toast the walnuts in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes. Let cool. On a plate mix the walnuts and parsley. Remove the cheese ball from the fridge. With the wrap still on, form into a ball. Unwrap the cheese mixture and roll it gently in the nut mixture until all the sides are covered. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Books That Make Us Hungry: Skinny Dips

Janet here: So far, we've focused on books about food rather than cookbooks in this feature, and it struck us that this was just silly. The best cookbooks have me salivating as I turn the pages and filling it with sticky notes about recipes I can't wait to try. So we will periodically feature cookbooks we like to get you juiced about all the wonderful recipes out there.

First up is a new book by Diane Morgan called Skinny Dips. (Chronicle Books). I don't know about you, but I love to nosh. One of my favorite parts of dinner parties is the appetizers.

Which also means I tend to fill up on these tasty goodies. Enter Diane and 60 recipes for dips, spreads, chips and salsas minus some of the calories. She's got all of your favorites and then some. Baked crab dip? Check. Hot Artichoke Dip? Check. I made the crab dip this past weekend and it was absolutely wonderful. Four of us ate The. Whole. Thing. Probably not Diane's intent for the lower calorie thing, but it was that tasty. Clearly when I serve this again, I will have to make double.


Baked Crab Dip

ingredients
6 ounces lump crabmeat, well drained
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (I only had dried so I put in about 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives (again I only had dried to about 1 teaspoon if you use dried)
1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise (I'm not going to lie; I don't own reduced fat mayo so I used the real full-fat option)
4 ounces whipped cream cheese
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I used a bit more because I like my food spicy)
1/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

method

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the crabmeat in a bowl and flake with your fingers. Stire in the bell pepper, parsley and chives. Gently stir in the mayo, cream cheese, lemon juice and hot sauce.

Transfer to a shallow 1-quart baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the panko and lemon zest. Just before baking, sprinkle the panko mixture on top and bake until it's toasty brown and the dip is bubbling at the edges, about 12 minutes. Serve hot.

Easy Apps

Rachel here: Ok, so I know I fried pickles for our Friday post, but bear with me because fried olives are truly amazing. The first time I had them was at a restaurant in Berkeley that's now closed with a friend who I had a lot of fun with. Though much has changed in the years since then, I have never forgotten how truly awesome fried olives are. After making the pickles last week, I couldn't stop thinking about these fried olives from yore and decided I'd try my hand at them. The recipe I concocted was pretty simple and, though not as hearty a coating of fried stuff as I'd attained on my goat cheese medallions from a month or so ago or as I got to stick to my pickles last week, John and I concurred that they were not only edible, but delicious. I will definitely be whipping these up again in the not too distant future (I'd say "near future" but I'm pretty sure I should stop frying things for a little while...this penchant for frying can't be good for my arteries). When combined with the recipe my mom's sharing below, I feel like we could host a sort of retro dinner party. What appetizers do you whip up in a jiffy?



Ingredients
2 dozen olives of your choice (I used a medley of jalapeno stuffed, kalamata and sweet italian)
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 tspn. salt
1 tspn. paprika
1 tspn. chili powder
2 T. cornstarch
1 egg
3/4 c. milk

Method
In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, salt, paprika, chili powder and cornstrach. Mix well. In a second bowl, beat your egg and stir in the milk. Dipping the olives first in the bowl of wet ingredients and then in the bowl of dry ingredients, add to your hot vegetable oil (you know your oil is hot enough when you drip water over it and it sizzles). Fry until golden brown, drain and serve with lemon wedges. Sooo good!



Janet here: My mom used to make this recipe, which is, inexplicably, called Empire Pate. A New York State reference? Something from Olde England? Who knows. At any rate, it is ridiculously easy to make and always a hit. I hope you enjoy it.

Empire Pate

Ingredients
6 oz cream cheese--whipped if you're lazy or in a hurry; brick if you've remembered to put it out ahead of time to soften to room temperature
4 oz grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons or to taste, curry powder
1/4 cup chutney
2 scallions, diced

Method
Mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sherry and curry powder. Form into a brick or whatever other clever shape you want and put it in the fridge. When you're ready to serve, spread 1/4 cup chutney on top and the scallions.

Eat Your Veggies

Janet here: I have a new favorite vegetarian cookbook, New Vegetarian by Robin Asbell. I have made two recipes from this cookbook and they both have totally rocked. If you like vegetables, you won't go wrong with this cookbook.

I decided to make the roasted parsnip and gruyere strudels for one reason and one reason only: It involved phyllo dough. The flaky, buttery goodness of phyllo dough makes it one of my all-time favorites. It's a bit of a pain to work with, but once you get past your inhibitions about it, you'll never go back. If a recipe has phyllo dough, it will be good. Period.

And before we go further, a word on parsnips. I thought they were like turnips. I was wrong. They are sweet, not bitter, and tasty. I now have to make up for lost decades and eat a lot of these since I ignored them before. As for this recipe, it's an appetizer, but these are fairly substantive so you could make this as an entree to go with soup and/or salad and you would be good to go. We had plenty left over from our little dinner party and my friend took some home and ate one for breakfast. Yum!


Roasted Parsnip and Gruyere Strudels
makes 12 appetizer-size pastries

Ingredients
2 pounds parsnips, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 large carrots, peeled, quartered, and sliced
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (I used dried; it was fine)
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (I used dried; it was fine)
4 ounces gruyere chees, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
olive oil spray
6 sheets phyllo

Method
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the parsnips and carrots in a large roasting pan. Add the onion, thyme and olive oil. Toss. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes, stir and re-cover and roast for 20 minutes more. Then ucover and roast for an additional 10-20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool

Mix the parsley and cheese with the parsnip mixture and season with salt and pepper. Coat a sheet pan with olive oil spray.

Place the phyllo on the counter, cover with plastic wrap, and then cover with a barely damp towel. It's important not to let the phyllo dry out.

Take a sheet of phyllo, cut in half across the short side and spray it with olive oil. Fold the half-sheet in half, making a tall strip. Place 1/4 cup of the parsnip mixture on the bottom of the sheet and fold up flag-style, forming a triangle as you pull the lwoer left corner up to the right edge, and then the lower right corner up to the left, alternating as you go. Place seam-side down on the sheet pan. Repeat with all sheets.

Bake uncovered until browned and crisp about 20 minutes. (I brushed them with olive oil before baking, which I think made them even a little crispier.) Serve warm.

Rachel here: So, when we decided to go the vegetarian route for this post, I had the totally lame and unoriginal idea to just make some stir-fry. It's basically the only time we don't eat meat of some sort with our dinner and it's not only easy but easy to do using only locally-grown ingredients. Mine was going to feature some kale, mushrooms and tofu along with lemon and garlic. However, before I even got to stir-fry night this week, my mom got to her vegetarian dish that she's shared with you above. Once I saw her picture and read her recipe I realized that there was, quite literally, no way in hell I was going to suffer the humiliation of posting stir-fry as my counterpart to her gorgeous strudels...so I ordered chicken wings instead from Red Buffalo. HA!

Variations on a Theme: Spinach Appetizers

Janet Here: We decided to see what each of us would come up with for an appetizer featuring spinach to kick off this week's blogging. I happen to be a spinach fan but only use frozen spinach — I just can't deal with all that cleaning. Anyway, I decided to go for my tried-and-true artichoke dip and add some spinach. It's that whole theory that if you add spinach, this appetizer is actually good for you. (It's a myth I know, but work with me here.)

My artichoke recipe comes from Tony Clark's New Blueberry Hill Cookbook, a cookbook I bought after spending a weekend cross country skiing and eating gourmet food at Blueberry Hill Inn in Goshen, Vermont. If you've never been there, I highly recommend checking it out; the skiing/hiking is great, the bed and breakfast homey and casual, and the food is unbelievable. (They keep a jar filled with fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies that are so good it's hard not to eat one every hour.) Anyway, here's Tony's basic recipe with my spinach and cream cheese addition. You can make it either way and then just listen to the rave reviews. It's a seriously easy recipe that takes minutes.


Baked Artichoke Dip (with Spinach)

Ingredients
1 16-ounce can of artichoke hears in water, drained
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Method
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend the artichokes, mayonnaise, and cheese. (Or if you're like me and don't have a food processor, dice up your artichoke the best you can and figure no one will care.) Put in a shallow serving dish and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake for about 20 minutes or until it's heated through. Voila!


Rachel here: So, though my mother believes that life can be filled with joy and yet somehow devoid of meat (although she does occasionally eat chicken and fish...tune in Wednesday for more on that), I fiercely disagree. And so, for my take on the spinach appetizer challenge, I decided to include prosciutto. My idea spawned from frequent visits to the sushi place up the street from my house (Kansai at 4345 Telegraph in Oakland, CA in case anybody's in the area and looking for very reasonably priced and yummy sushi) that serves this appetizer of, for lack of a better way to describe it, spinach logs with peanut sauce. I wasn't feeling particularly peanut-y at the time, though, and so I decided to take the spinach logs and go in a different direction. What I ended up with was spinach mixed with roasted sliced almonds, shallots and brie wrapped in prosciutto. They are less cumbersome than they look and function quite well as a finger food. When I made them the recipe yielded 12 prosciutto-wrapped spinach rolls, though you could certainly make them smaller to get more bang for your buck. Anyway, it's the first time I've made this recipe, so feedback is extra welcome (particularly since my mother won't even touch this one due to its delicious cured meat component).

Prosciutto-wrapped Spinach Rolls

Ingredients
20 very thin slices of prosciutto di Parma
brie (approximately 2 oz.)
sliced almonds (approximately 3/4 c.)
lemon
one shallot, minced (approximately 2 generous T.)
spinach (approximately 1/3 lb.)
2 T. butter
Salt and pepper

Method
Blanch, drain and chop the spinach, making sure to set 24 whole leaves aside (de-stemmed). Set aside. Roast almond slices. In a non-stick skillet (this is key because spinach is very inclined towards sticking), melt butter and add chopped spinach. Season with salt and pepper and add a hearty squeeze of lemon. Add shallot. After a minute or so (once the shallot has had a chance to start cooking), begin adding the almonds to taste. When you have arrived at a balance that satisfies your palate (as I mentioned in a previous baking post, cooking is pretty experimental for me), remove ingredients from heat and immediately place in a mixing bowl. Add about half of the brie, stirring until completely melted and blended.

Take one of the whole spinach leaves you reserved earlier and place a heaping spoonful of the spinach mixture on top of it. Add an additional dab of brie before placing a second whole spinach leaf on top. Carefully separate a piece of your prosciutto and wrap the entire thing up, making sure to cover the ends so the insides don't ooze out (the whole spinach leaves should help ensure everything is contained on the top and the bottom). When done, serve immediately with a wedge of lemon. If preparing ahead, I recommend warming these in the oven for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!