Herbed Garlic Cream Cheese

 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t do the entertaining that I used to. When the late Mr. O-P was still with us, we entertained every week. We didn’t always have big parties every week, but we did at least once a month. He was an avid cook, and did as much, if not more, of the cooking than I did, so it made entertaining a lot easier than it is for me today.

 

  Because I now host just one or two people at a time, I like to keep things on hand to serve with cocktails, or as a little evening snack. This includes crudités, fresh fruit, cornichons, a wide variety of olives (I have quite the collection), a wide variety of condiments (ask me about my mustard collection), crackers (they freeze beautifully, in case you were not aware), and this cream cheese spread.

Not only is this good with crudités and crackers, but it is also creamy enough to spread on a morning bagel, or use in a wrap-type sandwich. I often enjoy it on its own, using my made-for-one charcuterie board, a recent acquisition, and one that I absolutely love.

Herbed Garlic Cream Cheese

 1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

½ c. sour cream

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1 t. Melissa’s minced garlic

½ - 1 t. fresh lemon zest

1½ t. dried oregano

1 t. dried parsley

¼ t. dried thyme

¼ t. dried dill weed

¼ t. dried basil

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 - ¼ t. Johnny’s Seasoning Salt

Place all ingredients into a medium bowl, and beat until creamy and well combined. Chill in refrigerator at least eight hours, preferably overnight to allow the flavors to meld. Keeps refrigerated for one week.

 

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Jalapeño Pimiento Cheese

 

There is something about summer that makes me want to stock the refrigerator with all sorts of dips and spreads in order to make snacking and sandwich making quick and easy. As you are well aware, if you have read this blog for any length of time, I am a bit of a pimiento cheese fan, am constantly trying new recipes, and tweaking existing ones. It occurred to me this morning when I was chopping vegetables for crudités that I had yet to make pimiento cheese with jalapeño added, so I did just that. This is spicy and delicious, so easy to gobble right up.Jalapeño Pimiento Cheese

2 c. freshly grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

4 oz. cream cheese, cut into 1” cubes, room temperature

4 oz. Melissa’s fire roasted red peppers, chopped

3 T. Duke’s mayonnaise

¼ t. garlic powder

¼ t. onion powder

¼ t. Slap Ya Mama 

1 Melissa’s pickled jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, minced

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Place all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl, and beat at medium speed with a handheld mixer until combined. Turn into a lidded container, and refrigerate for at least eight hours or overnight in order to allow flavors to meld. Keeps refrigerated for 7-10 days.

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Pretzel Dip

 

What I am about to say is going to be controversial, but I am not a pretzel person. Unless they are warm and right out of the oven, I always think they taste like rather dull pieces of bread. In fact, I think that I prefer dull pieces of bread. That said, I stumbled upon some pretzel crisps that I quite like, and thought would go well with this dip that I adapted from one I found online. The pretzels that I chose were sprinkled with that “everything” seasoning, and while they were very good on their own, they were fantastic with this dip. With Super Bowl coming up in a couple of weeks, you may give this some consideration. It helps to make it a day ahead to allow flavors to meld — an added bonus.  Pretzel Dip

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

⅓ c. heavy cream

⅓ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. Frank’s hot sauce

½ t. horseradish

½ t. Melissa’s minced garlic

3 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1½ c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 small Melissa’s shallot, minced

Parsley flakes, for garnish

 Place all ingredients EXCEPT the parsley flakes into a medium mixing bowl, and beat until well blended. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld. Serve with Everything Pretzel Crisps.

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Cream Cheese Olive Dip

 

I have a thing for olives, I just cannot resist them. As a consequence, I have an entire shelf in one of my kitchen cabinets filled with a wide variety. While I do enjoy a pimento-stuffed olive, I particularly enjoy those stuffed with garlic, jalapeño, or blue cheese. I have black olives, Kalamata olives, queen olives, stuffed olives, olive medleys, and olives that have no filled centers at all. I like to use them in all kinds of recipes, and find they never let me down. I have added them to dressing that I have stuffed into a turkey, to a vinaigrette that I tossed with fresh lettuce, included them in the dough when I made biscuits, and when I found this recipe online, I had to make it. It made me wonder why I hadn’t thought of using olives in a vegetable dip before, but having now done so, will make it again and again.

 

 This is so tasty! Not just due to the olives, but the acidity of the lemon juice gives it excellent flavor as well. This would be great on your Super Bowl buffet, make a wonderful spring and summer snack,  or a light lunch by spreading it on toast points or crackers.

Cream Cheese Olive Dip

Slightly adapted from Hearth and Vine

 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 clove garlic

1 t. minced onion

½ t. dried thyme

½ t. kosher salt

2 T. fresh lemon juice

12 small olives

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until well blended. Scrape down the sides and blend again. Spoon into a bowl and serve with a variety of fresh cut up vegetables.

 

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Olive Ham Salad

How did the holidays turn out for you? Ultimately, mine were reasonably good although they didn’t turn out entirely as anticipated. Due to illness, the dinner that I made for Christmas Eve was only enjoyed by my son and me. It was a pretty fancy dinner for just the two of us, but I think we really enjoyed not just the food, but the time that we spent together in such elegant surroundings.

 I sent him home with plenty of food, but I still had a good bit of ham left, as well as the ham bone. I set the bone aside to use in pea soup, used slices in casseroles and sandwiches, and decided to toss what was left into the food processor for ham salad. Generally, when I make ham salad I use sweet pickle relish, but because I had gotten a glazed ham that had a lot of its own sweetness, I decided to replace the sweet pickle relish for olives. It made a wonderful difference!

Olive Ham Salad

 ¾ lb. piece of baked ham, cut into chunks

1 rib celery, cut into fourths

1 scallion, cut in half

10 small pimiento-stuffed olives

1/3 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 t. Dijon mustard

Few gratings ground black pepper

Put all ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until. Cover and chill for at least a Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to meld.

This will keep up to three days, covered and refrigerated.

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Carolina White Pimiento Cheese

 

By now, you, my faithful readers, are well aware that I am a big fan of pimiento cheese. Recently, I received a wonderful pimiento cheese bowl for my birthday. The bowl is from the fabulous Mud Pie, and I am totally in love with it (as I am with all of their products). Yes, I have tried the recipe illustrated on the side of the bowl, but today I was feeling a little spicy. I was interested in trying a white variety of pimiento cheese, which got me thinking about white barbecue sauce. So I combined ingredients that would normally be present in pimiento cheese along with a few other ingredients that would be found in white Carolina barbecue sauce, and thus Carolina White Pimiento Cheese was born. It’s a zesty winner!

Carolina White Pimiento Cheese

 1 8-oz. block white cheddar cheese, grated

2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

½ c. chopped Melissa’s Fire Roasted Red Peppers

3 T. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. brown mustard

1 t. horseradish

1 t. fresh lemon juice

Pinch cayenne

Pinch paprika

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Place above ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Using a fork, combine ingredients thoroughly. Turn out into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for at least four hours to meld flavors.

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Creamy Giardiniera Dip

 

This is the time of the year when I start thinking about holiday food — dips, snacks, side dishes, mains. I’m interested in trying things that I’ve never made before so that I can offer something fresh and new to my guests. I spotted this recipe in Bon Appétit. I was attracted to it by virtue of the fact that I had all of the ingredients on hand, including the giardiniera that I had bought during the summer to use in a sandwich recipe, and never used it again. Bon Appétit had you stirring together all of the ingredients with the exception of the giardiniera, using it on top, with the oil from the relish drizzled overall. That didn’t particularly appeal to me for two reasons. First of all, I didn’t like the idea of the oil drizzled on top. Ew. Second, once that top layer containing the giardiniera is eaten away, you end up with basically just cream cheese at the bottom. Seasoned cream cheese, sure, but cream cheese, nonetheless. So I decided to put everything into the food processor to ensure that the bold taste of the spicy relish was enjoyed in every bite. It worked! This is a snack that you can make one to two days ahead (maybe more, if I’m honest), and pull it out when you need it. After all, during the holidays, you just never know who’s going to happen by. It’s great on chips and crackers, even wavy potato chips work here because this tends to be on the creamy side. Me? I loved it with Fritos.

 Creamy Giardiniera Dip

Adapted from Bon Appétit

 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

½ c. finely grated Parmesan

½ c. sour cream 

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 c. well drained, coarsely chopped, oil-based giardiniera

Process cream cheese, Parmesan, and sour cream in a food processor until combined and smooth; season with salt and pepper (to taste) and pulse until incorporated but dip is not completely smooth. Add giardiniera and pulse until combined.

 Transfer dip to a small bowl and serve with the dippers of your choice. This can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

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Cannellini Bean Dip with Kalamata Olives

 

 

I was feeling particularly domestic over the weekend, perhaps because it took a cold turn and I was able to use up the last of my logs for the season, perhaps it’s because I had a blank calendar for the week ahead. Whatever the reason, I whipped up a massive amount of things in the kitchen, one of which was this delicious bean dip that is so good I could have eaten it with a spoon. I did use it as a condiment on a TLT (turkey, lettuce, and tomato), and it was phenomenal!

Cannellini Bean Dip with Kalamata Olives

1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 t. Melissa's minced garlic
2 - 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
¼ t. rubbed sage
¼ t. dried thyme
¼ t. kosher salt
Few gratings freshly ground black pepper
1/8 t. lemon pepper seasoning
4 Kalamata olives, pitted
1 T. freshly grated Parmesan

Place everything into a food processor or blender (I used a mini food processor) adding oil as needed. This recipe can be doubled or tripled. Just play around with it, tasting as you go. You honestly can’t go wrong.

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Jalapeño Dill Pickle Dip

 

​If you’re unfamiliar with the name, Lisa Fain, I would advise you to get to know her immediately, particularly if you are a text max fan like I am. I reviewed her book, Queso, a number of years ago, and have gotten every one of her books since. I love absolutely of her recipes. This one is hers as well, and a wonderful, zesty addition to other dips and spreads with which you’re probably familiar. This is not overly hot despite the jalapeños, but if you have a difficult time tolerating jalapeños, cut back to 1/4 cup. Remember, as I always tell you, dips and spreads work wonderfully as sandwich fillings or condiments, so keep that in mind.

Jalapeño Dill Pickle Dip

Slightly adapted from Lisa Fain

 8-oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. sour cream

1 c. finely diced dill pickles

½ c. finely diced Melissa’s pickled jalapeños

2 T. grated Melissa’s shallot

2 T. dill pickle juice

1 T. jalapeño pickle juice

¼ t. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. dried dill weed

1 t. onion powder

Pinch cayenne

Salt

Chips, crackers, or sliced vegetables, for serving

 Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, dill pickles, jalapeno pickles, grated onion, dill pickle juice, jalapeno pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, dill weed, onion powder, and cayenne until smooth and well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt to taste.

Chill for at least an hour for the flavors to meld. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving so it can soften. Serve with chips, crackers, and/or sliced vegetables.

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Spicy Cheese Spread

 I don’t know about the rest of you, but I like to keep some sort of cheese spread in my refrigerator at all times. Not only do I enjoy having it to make a quick snack or sandwich (as is often the case with pimiento cheese), but it can come in handy when you are wanting to add additional flavor to everyday dishes such as scrambled or deviled eggs, and can be turned into a lovely bowl, surrounded with crudités and crackers, should you need a quick snack for surprise visitors. This is a good one, and should please everyone. It’s delicious on crackers, but also goes well with wedges of apple. It’s perfect for fall.

Spicy Cheese Spread

8 oz. grated cheddar
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c. mayonnaise
¼ c. sour cream
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
¼ t. smoked paprika
¼ t. cayenne pepper

Crackers for serving

Play some ingredients into the work bowl of the food processor and process until creamy. Serve topped with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. 

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Cannellini Bean Spread

If you don’t follow Daniel Mancini on Facebook or Instagram, I strongly encourage you to do so. He is very generous with his recipes, and posts often. In this intense heat, I am looking for things that are cool and refreshing; his cannellini beans spread fit the bill. This was so good that I really didn’t need dippers as a spoon would suffice. I altered his recipe a bit, adding freshly squeezed lemon juice, because I had some left over from a pasta dish that I’d made and I didn’t want to waste it.  I don’t consider myself a particular lover of beans, but having tried this, I’m ready to buy cannellini beans by the case. Feel free to change up the fresh herbs to suit those that you have on hand and/or like. I have now made this a couple of times, varying each slightly, sometimes using basil and chives. You can’t mess this up. What a wonderful, healthy snack!

Cannellini Bean Spread

Slightly adapted from Daniel Mancini

 1 15.5-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

1 t. fresh lemon juice

2 fresh sage leaves, optional

½ t. fresh thyme, optional

½ t. kosher salt

 ¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 T. freshly grated Parmesan

 1 garlic clove, chopped

Place everything into a food processor or blender process till smooth. Taste for salt and adjust.

Daniel says that he makes this very often, and uses it as a dip for fresh cut vegetables, or spreads it onto slices of toasted Italian bread. It’s so delicious and, as I was saying, it’s healthy alternative to many commercial dips.

 

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