Artichoke Spinach Dip

I think I remarked some months ago that this was turning into a dip blog because so many of the recipes I put up here seem to be for something to spread on a cracker or carrot stick. But who doesn't need the occasional dip recipe? Especially this time of year, when the approaching holidays can mean entertaining family and friends. I attempt to entertain friends at the end of every month when I host a stitch and bitch. It's not always possible that all of us can make every meeting, but regardless of the number of people I'm expecting, I always provide homemade snacks.

Most recently, I made spinach artichoke dip. I've always enjoyed this classic veg-and-cheese concoction but didn't want to make the traditional cream cheese and instant vegetable soup-based version. Not to disparage that recipe - I certainly ate plenty of it in my youth and much preferred it to that other soup mix dip, French onion (bleurgh!) - but I wanted to do something different, and just as easy.

Rather than seasoning cheese with soup mix, I bought ready-seasoned cheese. A convenient cheat. Mashed up with veg and a few seasonings, it was pretty tasty. As always, I was too lazy to make crudite, so I served it with Keebler Townhouse Flatbread crackers.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

1 (6.5 ounce) container garlic herb cheese (Alouette or Boursin or whatever)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon mayo
1 14-ounce can or jar of artichoke hearts
1 box frozen spinach, thawed
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Pepper

Stir together the cheese and sour cream. Mix in the mayo. Chop the artichokes finely and add to the cheese mixture.

Squeeze out all of the moisture from the spinach by placing it in a tea towel and wringing it. Chop the spinach and stir into the artichoke cheese mixture. Stir in cheese and scallions, and season with salt, lemon juice, and pepper.

Serve with crackers, flatbreads, crudite, etc.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spiced Peach Cake

Today is my brother's birthday, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a cake recipe. Happy birthday, Dave!

Peach season is almost over, unfortunately, and I have been loving all the sweet juicy ones we are getting from either the farmer's market or in our weekly Washington's Green Grocer delivery. I am sadly allergic to raw peaches, but if I cook them a little bit, they give me no problems (same with plums, cherries, nectarines). Ordinarily, I chop up a peach or two and put them in a microwave-safe bowl, nuke for 2 minutes, and let them cool before shoveling them in. This time, I had several more very ripe peaches than I could comfortably eat in one day. Mr Minx is not a fan of crisps or cobblers, so I decided to make a cake.

Half my life ago, I worked at Gordon's Booksellers at the Rotunda with a bunch of terrific people, many of whom are still among my closest and dearest friends. One year, we had a staff Christmas party at my house. Everyone who worked at the store was invited; we also invited one of our favorite customers. Jay worked next door at Maryland Casualty, but he dropped into the bookstore every morning to buy a newspaper and shoot the shit. He was fun and we figured he was as much a part of the Gordon's experience as any of the rest of us.

The party was pot luck, and Jay brought a loaf cake studded with peaches. Because the peaches had been canned in syrup, each piece was in a juicy little pocket of cake. I loved the texture variation, and asked him for the recipe. He complied, I put it away for safe keeping, and never used it. So this cake, while not the same as Jay's, was made with him in mind.

Spiced Peach Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 pound peaches, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a standard bundt cake pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a bowl. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, beating only until combined. Stir in the walnuts by hand.

Put about a third of the batter in the bottom of the pan. Cover with a layer of the peaches. Repeat batter and peach layers, ending with batter.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Because of the peaches, there may be pockets of moisture here and there, so try the toothpick in several areas. Don't overbake!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Muhammara

A couple months ago, we took a field trip to Southern Maryland for a fishing tournament. Figuring the ride would be long, we took snack foods in the form of a box of Triscuits and a tub of Trader Joe's Muhammara. We'd never tried the stuff before, muhammara, but the combination of walnuts, roasted bell peppers, and pomegranate molasses sounded really good. And it was. Really good. I could have eaten the entire container myself (AND the whole box of sweet potato/onion Triscuits - yum), but I did share with Mr Minx.

When the next stitch and bitch rolled around, I decided to make muhammara. I typically make some sort of dippy thing, because it's the neatest thing to consume while knitting. There were only two of us this time, but we pretty much killed the entire batch. So tasty, and I think this recipe from Epicurious, with my adjustments (much less bread and oil), tasted pretty similar to TJ's version, only, of course, home-made, and therefore, better.

Muhammara (adapted from Epicurious)

1 large red pepper, peeled, seeded, and roasted, or 1 1/2 jarred roasted red peppers
5 tablespoons fine fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted lightly and chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Big pinch cayenne
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Blend everything together in a food processor until it's a fairly smooth paste. Serve with crackers or crudite.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spiced Sweet Potato Snack Cake

Now that the holidays have been over for a while, it's time to resume our monthly stitch 'n' bitch meetings. Every month my girls and I get together to work on knitting projects and to talk about life. All of the meetings so far have been at my house, so I have been supplying the snacks. Usually, there is one savory snack in the form of a dip of some sort, and a sweet treat. The sweet is usually a bar cookie or brownie, and I try to make sure I do something completely different every month.

I keep wanting to make a blondie that comes out with a chewy texture. Seems that the only way to do that is to make bar cookies with a Toll House cookie-type batter. Dry additions are ok, but adding wet stuff, like pumpkin or shredded carrots, changes the texture completely. But I do it anyway. I suppose it doesn't matter that the texture isn't exactly what I want--the end result of all of my various experiments has still been delicious.

I almost ended up with something close to what I was looking for last month. Lots of butter + sugar and not so much flour should make a rich, chewy, vanilla "brownie" sort of snack. But then I found that container of mashed sweet potato in the fridge, left over from something I had made earlier in the week. It was completely unseasoned, and would go to waste otherwise, so it went into the batter, too. I also tossed in the last of a bag of Heath bar chips and some pecans. For flavoring, I was lazy--hey, it was Friday night, after a looong week--so instead of measuring out individual spices, I just tossed in some instant chai mix.

The end result was pretty damn good. While not exactly chewy, the sweet potato-enriched bars were super moist, lightly spiced, with little surprises of nuts and buttery toffee bits. Great served a room temperature, but simply smashing served warm with a dollop of ice cream on top.

These might be a good way to sneak some nutritious vegetables into an item the kids will eat, too.

Spiced Sweet Potato Snack Cake

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mashed sweet potato
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons instant chai tea mix
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Powdered sugar, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" square baking pan.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and sweet potato.

Mix together the flour, chai mix, and salt. Stir into the butter/sugar mixture until well combined. Stir in the toffee bits and pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until just a few moist crumbs cling to an inserted toothpick.

Cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top to add a bit of contrast to the shades of mid-brown.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Non-Babaganoush, Non-Shakshouky Eggplant Dip

Once a month I hold a stitch-n-bitch in my living room. If you don't know what a stitch-n-bitch is, it's a gathering of knitters/crocheters/other fabric-crafty people that involves working on projects and chatting. And often, wine. My gatherings always include food, both savory and sweet. Who doesn't like a little nibble in the afternoon? The biggest concern is that the food be neat to eat. Nobody wants to have messy fingers while crafting, and I'd prefer folks not drop stuff on the floor or sofa. (Yes, we have a dog, but he's very polite.) I usually end up making a thick dip that more often than not includes eggplant. Why eggplant? Because it's easy, tasty, and thick. I can pick up a big glob of it on the end of a pita chip and shove it in my mouth in between stitches without missing a beat or getting messy.

Though the meetings are only once a month, I don't think my guests want to eat the same babaganoush or hummus every time, so I mix things up. Like I said, eggplant is easy, and it certainly takes on flavors well. I had half a preserved lemon in the fridge that I wanted to get rid of so I could use the jar for a fresh batch and decided to use that as a starting point for flavoring. I added a bit of this and a bit of that until the dip had a balance of tart and sweet flavors with a little nip of heat.

If you don't have preserved lemons on hand, use the juice and finely grated zest of half a lemon.

Lemony Eggplant Dip

1 large eggplant
1/2 preserved lemon, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 roasted red pepper (jarred or fresh)
Extra virgin olive oil
Agave syrup
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and place cut-side-down on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until soft and collapsed. (Or...skip the oven and cook in the microwave for 8-10 minutes.) Set aside until cool enough to handle.

When eggplant is cool, scrape out the flesh and put it in the bowl of a food processor along with the lemon, cilantro, garlic, red pepper, and a glug of olive oil. Pulse to a puree. Season with agave syrup, a big pinch of salt, and as much cayenne as you care to add.

Enjoy with crudites and pita chips or fresh pita triangles. Also tasty stuffed into a pita with some baby greens and more roasted red pepper. Feta, too, if you have it.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Paolo's Tapenade

Anyone in Baltimore remember Paolo's? When the Harborplace location opened, it became one of my favorite downtown restaurants. I was first introduced to (the now impossibly dated) raspberry vinaigrette at Paolo's, and the concept of tapenade as "butter." Back then, most restaurants offered butter with their bread--the whole olive oil thing hadn't quite caught on yet in Baltimore. Paolo's served bread sticks and a tasty green olive-based tapenade.

I loved that tapenade, and usually requested more. One of the restaurant's hosts worked with a theater company that I also did some work for, and I was happy to see him bring a veritable vat of green olive tapenade to a company party. Thinking back (waaay back), I probably parked myself in front of it and ignored the other guests (most of whom I didn't particularly like--I think that was true of 90% of the members of this particular group).

Flash forward about a decade to the early 2000s, when Mr Minx and I had dinner at the Towson Paolo's. During our meal, we noticed something rank-smelling. We checked on the table and under the table before realizing it was the crab on his pasta dish. We never went back. Rotten crab aside, I still enjoyed the tapenade. And the raspberry vinaigrette. (I still like both.)

For some reason, that tapenade popped into my mind, and I decided to email my contact at Paolo's parent company for the recipe. Before I did that, I checked the restaurant's Web site (there are still Paolo's in DC and Reston) and found it there. It seemed like a good thing to make for a Stitch-n-Bitch snack. So I did. I reduced the recipe by half and still ended up with a quart. The original also called for chickpeas, which don't sit well with me, so I used cannellini beans instead.

It wasn't quite as I remembered it--I think the chickpeas are probably crucial--but it was really good. I enjoyed it, and my fellow stitch-n-bitcher enjoyed it too.

Green Olive Tapenade (adapted from Paolo's)

1 medium eggplant
8 ounces canned cannelini beans
1 15-ounce jar green olives with pimentos, drained
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded (can be from a jar)
1 large handful fresh parsley
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Split eggplant in half. Place cut-side-down on a microwave safe plate. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 10-15 minutes, until soft and deflated. Remove from microwave and allow to cool.

When cool, scoop eggplant flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Add the beans, olives, bell pepper, parsley, garlic, and half the olive oil. Pulse to a puree. Add the remaining olive oil and season with pepper. Pulse to combine.

Serve with crostini or crusty bread.

Makes a ton.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Mediterranean Bean Dip

Before I started Minxeats in 1995, I had a knitting blog. Yes, that would be a blog all about knitting, and no, that's not just a thing for old people to do. While knitting is fine as a solitary pursuit, it's often more fun to knit in a group situation. I started a Stitch 'n' Bitch this year so I could commune with my fellow knitters and also to instruct non-knitting friends in the craft.

We meet once a month to knit and chat. So far, the meetings have been at Casa Minx, and I've provided the snacks. I figure thick dips, when eaten with veggies and dry dippers like pita chips, are the easiest and cleanest snacks for people who are using their hands for other things (that would be knitting.) Unless they dip their fingers, or drop a loaded chip onto their laps, yarn and needles should stay clean.

That is the hope. It has worked so far, but the year is still young!

Last month I made some tzatziki with feta in it, and a lovely orange bean dip flavored with preserved lemon and roasted red pepper. Both were a big hit.

Mediterranean Bean Dip

1 15-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 jarred roasted red bell pepper
1 tablespoon diced preserved lemon or 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
Extra virgin olive oil
Pinch cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
Honey or agave syrup
Small handful of basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade

Place beans into a food processor with the bell pepper and lemon. Pulse to create a smooth puree, adding as much olive oil as needed to complete the job (a couple tablespoons at least). Season with cayenne and salt and pepper to taste. If the dip seems like it needs a little something, dribble in a tiny bit of honey or agave syrup to balance the lemon. Before serving, stir in the basil.

Serve with pita chips, sugar snap peas, carrots, raw bell pepper slices, whatever floats your boat.




Posted on Minxeats.com.