White Pizza Dip

Here it is my Superbowl recipe. Wait for it … White Pizza Dip. Thank me (or Lipton) now. It contains a lot o’cheese, I do eat healthy -I promise. This is a potluck taker, a party pleaser — it is the sheezy! Want to get fancy with it? Stick it in a fondue or bread bowl.

A friend turned me on to this recipe at a long ago work potluck, it was love at first taste. I decided to take the recipe and make it mine. It became my go to for work potlucks and by omitting pepperoni and adding chopped tomatoes, it became vegetarian. I like to make a dish all can appreciate however if you are lactose intolerant then this dish is so not for you – fair warning.

This was my breakfast, lunch, and almost dinner yesterday. P.S. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. This is not the dish to partake of if you are planning to do some exercising. It makes it hard to hit that Reggaeton Stomp if this is in your belly.

Whita Pizza Dip is a socializing type food. A Superbowl Party is a perfect socializing event. It’s one of those days you don’t count calories. I turn into Fat Bastard, “Get in my BELLY!”  When I indulge in this dip, I like to compare it to a smoother version of the filling used in Lasagna. Three words to sum of this dish: Tangy, Cheesey, and Garlicky.

You can either be slow or fast with the making of this dip. I prefer to set it and forget it aka slow cooker. Make it ahead of time, it tastes even better the second day!

Until Next Time,

Jennifer

White Pizza Dip
Adapted from Lipton’s White Pizza Dip

Ingredients
1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix

1 16 ounce container or reduced fat sour cream

1 cup of reduced fat ricotta cheese

4 ounces of cream cheese, cubed

1 cup mozzerella cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup diced tomatoes, drained

Directions
In your slow cooker/crock pot add all ingredients. Set slow cooker/crock pot on HIGH and cook for approximately two hours; stirring occassionally.

Serve in a container of your choosing along with sliced Italian or French bread. In my case I used sliced toasted Garlic bread. Garnish with cheese and diced tomatoes (I would have garnished with diced tomatoes however I stuck the tomatoes in the freezer).

One Bite Steak and Potato

If there was a perfect bite for you what would it be?  For me it would be steak and potato.  I am a meat and potatoes girl, they give me such joy!

I would be depressed if I could not have those simple joys in my life.  The thought of a piece of perfectly cooked beef that melts in your mouth accompanied with a potato that’s tender yet crispy and has a whispering of sea salt has me turning into Miracle Max from The Princess Bride, Mmmmmmmmm!

My friend, more like my frenemy, moderation wants me to be sure to insert the phrase – “in moderation”.  So meat and potatoes are fabulous IN MODERATION and should go with a balanced meal that includes vegetables.

There have been books published and an Oprah episode recently pushing for a more vegetarian/vegan society but I say pish posh.  I think we need beef, chicken, pork, and the list can go on … it has essentials that we need and it is just down right goo-ood!

It’s a circle of life I gladly complete on a daily basis however every one is entitled to their opinion and should follow their own bliss.  I just know a faux piece of beef will never make me happy and a mushroom could never replace my love of beef – it can complement my beef though.

This posting is my entry for the February Kitchen Play Menu that was thankfully extended to March 6, 2011.   The sponsor for this particular menu is Canadian Beef and after reading about how their cows are raised and are fed I have another reason to love Canada.

Did you know that United States is the largest exporter of Canadian beef?  The U.S. exports 77.5 percent. I had no clue either, the more you know.

After reviewing the possible options that I could make and submit, the Amuse Bouche, One Bite Steak with a Frite and Shallot Jam was the winner for me.

To make it my own I  decided to make a version that uses a crisp potato pancake as the base while adding a filling that is compiled of cream cheese, sour cream, and chives.  The piece of resistancé is the bite of beef simply seasoned and topped with a balsamic and Vidalia onion reduction.

This dish is definitely a party starter and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have making and eating it!

Que Sera Sera ,

Jennifer

RECIPES

Crispy Potato Cakes
I located the recipe on Epicurious ( a great source for recipes) and did not make any changes, so to get the recipe and print please click on the link; Crispy Traditional Pancakes.

Cream Cheese Mixture
2 ounces softened cream cheese or in my case Neufatel Cheese
3 Tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream
1 Tablespoon of fresh chives, chopped

Directions:  In a small bowl add all ingredients and mix until there are no lumps. I used a fork and some good old fashioned elbow grease. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Balsamic Vidalia Reduction
1/2 onion sliced
1 teaspoon
1 cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon of honey
2 teaspoons of sugar
3 Tablespoons of Sherry Cooking Wine (or use what ever wine you have on hand)

Directions:  In a small saucepan caramelize onions in olive oil. Raise temperature to a high heat and add balsamic, honey, sugar, and Sherry. Boil down mixture until it resembles a syrup ( approximately 12 -15 minutes. Be sure to consistently stir mixture. If mixture becomes too thick simply add more Sherry wine until you get a resemblance to syrup. Set Aside

Steak
Season and cook steak how you prefer, set aside on a plate once finished cooking and let rest for five minutes and then slice. You can do small slices or large slices … you are the artist of this canvas.

Assembly
To plate simply place the potato cake first then add the cream cheese mixture. You can use a plastic bag filled with the cream cheese mixture and after cutting of a tip, pipe on the filling. Place steak bite on the filling and top with Balsamic Vidalia Reduction. Give yourself a pat on the back and serve.

Mexican White Sauce

Since Superbowl is upon us, the theme of this post is DIP. I’m not talking about tobacco dip – that is just down right nasty!

A dip I have wanted to try for some time is my favorite thing to eat at Mexican restaurants in Virginia. It is the white salsa or as I like to call it salsa blanca Mexicana, thank you three years of Spanish!

It is usually served along side your regular red salsa and chips and I loves it! I like to actually mix the red with the white – which makes this little piggy wee wee in pleasure! It is kick your shoes off in a fit of glee good!

You can usually find this sauce in the Mid Atlantic/Southern states’ Mexican restaurants. It is what you would consider to be Mexican American cuisine, heavy on the American from what I understand when I read about the differences of Mexican restaurants found on the west coast and east coast.

Deciding a few years ago that I wanted to make this salsa blanca Mexicana for myself. Notice I said a few years ago … I googled and nada yet I did not give up hope.

I tried again after a few months and I finally hit jackpot. Some of the concoctions sound down right scary so they were quickly vetoed.

Jackpot #1 was a discussion forum on davesgarden.com and Jackpot #2 was found on allrecipes.com.

The latter recipe was bleck! It sounded like what possibly could be in the sauce I had eaten but I would be wrong. I let the concoction sit for days in hopes that the flavors would meld together and it never happened, it was AWE-ful.

I decided to give the recipe I had located on Dave’s Garden forum a go. Plus, it would be perfect for my dip theme!

The recipe was a winner even though I still don’t believe this is exactly what I eat at the Mexican restaurants in town and my guineas agreed. I wonder if I call my local Mexican restaurant would they share the recipe with me? Hmm.

This sauce/salsa/dip is sweet with undertones of heat thanks to the red pepper and cayenne. The Mexican sour cream and vinegar adds a nice acidity to the mix. It’s a great accompaniment to the usual salsa and chips.

Until Next Time,
Jennifer

Mexican White Sauce

Recipe from cgclemons from davesgarden.com

Ingredients

1 Cup Mexican Sour Cream (I used Cacique Crema Mexicana Agria Grade A Sour Cream)

¼ Cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 ½  Teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (try to avoid the seeds)

¼ Teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Sugar

Milk or Buttermilk to thin

Directions

In a medium size bowl combine sour cream, ketchup, vinegar, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, salt, and sugar – mix well.  Add milk accordingly, you want it to the consistency of salad dressing (runny – for lack of a better term).   Refrigerate for at least 24 hours to allow the ingredients to incorporate.

Serve with Tortilla Chips.

Can’t locate Mexican Sour Cream in your grocery store? Try making it! Fine Cooking’s Mexican Sour Cream

Touchdown Wings

Wings – magnificent wings.  I love wings!  I don’t like getting my hands dirty but for wings I am willing to make the sacrifice.   Chicken wings is a great social food – you can bond with friends and family over wings.  However, you must add some liquid refreshment whether it be alcoholic libations or an icy cold soda … Icy Icy cold Cherry Coke with two cherries is my poison.  Wings, Coke, and a smile.  It’s always the simple things – am I right?

Touchdown Wings are simply Mahogany Wings with a couple of extras.  They are simple and easy – baked and not fried!

The taste is sweet, garlicky, sticky, with a smidge of heat. The finishing touch for these wings is the broiler so you can achieve the crispiness like fried wings.

Touchdown Wings

Adapted from All Recipes: Mahogany Chicken Wings

2 lbs chicken wings, split (or wingettes if you can find them)

1/3 cup soy sauce, low sodium

1/3 cup honey

1/8 cup molasses

2 T. Barbecue Sauce

1 T. Sweet Chile Sauce

1 T. Rice Wine Vinegar

1 T. water

½ t. ginger, minced

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Directions

In a medium size bowl add soy sauce, honey, molasses, barbecue sauce, chile sauce, water, ginger, and garlic. Whisk until all ingredients are mixed together; set aside.

In a large size Ziploc bag place the chicken wings that have been split and cleaned.  Add liquid mixture and seal Ziploc and refrigerate for two hours.  Give the Ziploc bag a shake every 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large baking dish ( you can either line baking dish in foil for easy clean up or not – your choice) place the wings along with the marinade/sauce.   Bake the wings for 50 minutes.   Every 15 minutes coat the wings with the marinade/sauce with either a spoon or pastry brush.  You want the sauce to adhere to the wings which will be easier since the marinade/sauce will thicken as it bakes.  Also during the baking process remember to turn the wings once.

After baking for 50 minutes remove wings from the oven and give the wings a final coat of the marinade/sauce.  Set your broiler to High.   Place the wings in the broiler for approximately 5 minutes … every broiler is different so you will need to monitor this process.  When the wings start to get a crispy finish you will want to remove from the broiler and turn the wings and place them back in the broiler for another 5 minutes before removing.

Serve your wings with your favorite sauce accompaniment.  I used a BBQ Ranch Sauce, which is simply one part BBQ sauce to two parts Ranch dressing.

Happy Eatings!

Barbecue Chicken Dip

Are you looking for a quick and oh so delicious appetizer to serve to many?!?  Then look no further!  Barbecue Chicken Dip is a hands down crowd pleaser – at least in my office it is.

This dish is my take on the ever popular Buffalo Chicken Dip.  I simply omitted the Buffalo Sauce and added my favorite Barbecue sauce.

My favorite Barbecues Sauce hails from Canada.  I discovered Canadian Club Barbecue Sauce over a year ago at the Toronto’s Womens Show and now I need to visit Canada at least three or four times so I can stock up – I am totally not kidding.  I bought five bottles when I went visiting last month and my stock is already getting low. I have yet to find a good American counterpart and I am open to suggestions.

Barbecue Chicken Dip
adapted from Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

2 c. shredded chicken breast *

12 oz. pkg. Reduced Fat cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup Ranch Salad Dressing

1 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce of Choice

2 c. shredded Monterey Jack/ Colby Cheese

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a casserole dish add chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, barbecue sauce, and 1 cup of monterey jack/colby cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, stir mixture until evenly blended. Add the remainder of cheese. Return dip to the oven for an additional 2 minutes to melt cheese topping.

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips, pita chips, crackers and ENJOY!

* You can use any type chicken you prefer;rotisserie chicken, canned chicken or in my case I simply baked skinless boneless chicken breasts with my favorite seasoning.

Happy Eating!

Updated recipe as of July 5, 2010.