Whipped Feta Dip with Spicy Honey

Sunny A. 

Recipe Found HERE

7 ounces feta (without brine)
3.5 ounces ricotta full fat
1.5 ounces sour cream full fat
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove grated or pressed
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp crushed red chili flakes
chopped chives for topping (optional)
1 tsp za’atar for topping
1 tsp black & white sesame seeds for topping
pita chips for serving

naan for serving

raw veggies for serving 

Feta, ricotta, and sour cream should be at room temperature. 

Add feta, ricotta and sour cream to a food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Blend on high until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Taste, add salt and pepper. 

In a saucepan, heat olive oil over low. Add garlic, sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Stir in honey, lemon juice and chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Serve the whipped feta drizzled with spicy honey. Top with chives, za’atar, sesame seeds, some extra freshly ground black pepper and chili flakes. Enjoy with pita chips, naan or on a veggie platter. 

NOTES: Leftovers can be used as a spread or a dressing.

Mango Salsa

The key to great salsa is dicing everything very small.

Recipe Found Here

3 ripe mangos, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 

½ cup chopped red onion 

¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced 

1-2 large lime, juiced (about ¼ cup lime juice) 

⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste 

In a serving bowl, combine the prepared mango, bell pepper, onion, cilantro and jalapeño. 

Drizzle with the juice of one lime. 

Using a large spoon, stir the ingredients together. 

Season to taste with salt, and stir again. For best flavor, let the salsa rest for 10 minutes or longer.

Sunny's Book Club Fruit Salad

Recipe Found HERE

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Water 

Juice Of 1 Orange 

Zest Of 1 Orange 

2 whole Vanilla Beans, Caviar Scraped Out (or 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract) 

4 pt. Strawberries, hulled and halved 

2 pt. Blueberries 

2 cups Red Grapes, halved 

2 cups Green Grapes, halved 

Mint Leaves 

Place the sugar, water, orange juice and orange zest into a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 to thicken slightly. Set aside to cool, then store in the fridge until cold. 

Mix together all the fruit in a large bowl and pour the syrup over the top, tossing gently. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.

Cranberry Sauce

1 (12-ounce/340-gram) bag fresh or frozen cranberries 

¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar 

2 large lemons

water

Combine the cranberries, sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Zest the lemons directly into the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the berries burst and the mixture is jammy, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Smoked Salmon Dip

Recipe Found HERE

1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons capers, drained
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
4 ounces smoked salmon, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped dill
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped chives
Salt, to taste

Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, and Tabasco in a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse until blended.

Add the salmon, dill and chives and pulse, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the salmon is finely chopped. Taste and add salt, if necessary (I usually add about 1/4 teaspoon, but it depends on the saltiness of the smoked salmon).

Serve as a dip with crackers or bagel chips, or as a spread with bagels.

Make ahead: This dip can be made a few days ahead of time. However, it gets quite firm in the fridge so let it sit out at room temperature before serving, otherwise it will be hard to scoop.

Mascarpone Stuffed Dates

Recipe Found Here

4 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened to room temperature
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 Tablespoon roasted, salted pistachios, chopped
pinch of salt
16-18 large medjool dates
1-2 Tablespoons pomegranate arils, for garnish
flaky sea salt for garnish

Instructions Preheat oven to 375℉. Remove the pits from the dates, leaving one side intact so you can stuff them.

In a medium bowl, mix together the mascarpone, honey, orange zest, pistachios, and salt until smooth and combined. Using a small spoon, stuff the dates with the mascarpone mixture (about a couple teaspoons per date depending on the size of your dates).

Place on a plate and put them in the freezer for 10 minutes. (This prevents the filling from oozing out when you bake them!)

Place dates on a baking sheet and bake for 3-4 minutes, until dates are just warmed through. Garnish with pomegranate arils and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Serve immediately!

Authentic Traditional Swiss Fondue

Recipe found here 

Randi V.

1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere (6 ounces, 180 g)
1 1/2 cups shredded emmenthaler cheese (6 ounces, 180 g)
1/2 cup shredded Appenzeller cheese (2 ounces, 60 g)
2 -3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 garlic clove, halved
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 pinch nutmeg
crusty bread, cut into large cubes
apples
pears

The optimal choice of pots is a steel or cast iron medium sized pot (2 quart) with an enameled interior. In a medium sized bowl, combine the three cheeses and toss with the flour. Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic halves. Add the wine and heat over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Stir in lemon juice and kirsch. Add a handful of cheese at a time to the wine mixture, stirring constantly and not adding more cheese until the previous has melted, bubbling gently and has the appearance of a light creamy sauce season with pepper and nutmeg. Remove the pot from the heat and place over an alcohol safety burner on the table. Adjust the burner flame so the fondue continues to bubble gently. Serve with plenty of crusty bread cubes, apples, and/or pears.

NOTES 

If you are amendable to it, using alcohol removed wine (I recommend the FRE brand if you can find it) works great. If you use cooking wine, know that it is much salter than normal wine. And if you don't like that idea, sparkling cider works well. It will be sweeter than normal fondue but still pretty good. Oh- and only go with a white grape base. Reds are NOT good in fondue. Omit the Kirche. It is just cherry flavored alcohol and not necessary. But, I do recommend finding the Emmenthaler, Gruyere and Appenzeller (can substitute French Compte' if you can't find the Appenzeller). Anywhere with a more extensive cheese section should have at least the Emmenthaler (just a strong swiss cheese) and Gruyere (stronger swiss cheese). If you can't find the appenzeller/compte (it is just the strongest swiss cheese and adds a nice richness to your flavor base), just add the needed amount of this cheese as grueyer.

***Cool Veggie Pizza***

Recipe Found here

1 package (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 cups assorted fresh vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, green or red bell pepper, tomato, green onions, mushrooms, carrot, zucchini or yellow summer squash

Preheat oven to 350°F. Unroll crescent dough; separate into eight triangles. On Large Round Stone with Handles, arrange triangles in a circle with points in the center and wide ends toward the outside. Using lightly floured Baker's Roller®, roll dough to a 12-inch circle, pressing seams together to seal. Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely.

In Classic Batter Bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic pressed with Garlic Press and dill weed. Season with salt and black pepper; mix well with Small Mix 'N Scraper®. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over crust.

To prepare vegetables, coarsely chop broccoli or cauliflower with Food Chopper. Dice or slice cucumber, bell pepper, green onions or tomato using Utility Knife. Slice mushrooms using Egg Slicer Plus®. Grate carrot using Rotary Grater. Crinkle cut yellow squash or zucchini using Crinkle Cutter.

Sprinkle vegetables over pizza. Cut into squares with Pizza Cutter; serve using Mini-Serving Spatula.

Yield:
10 servings of

Nutrients per serving:

Calories 190, Total Fat 14 g, Saturated Fat 6 g, Cholesterol 25 mg, Carbohydrate 11 g, Protein 4 g, Sodium 260 mg, Fiber 0 g

Cook's Tips:

All-Purpose Dill Mix or Italian Seasoning Mix can be substituted for the dill weed, if desired.

***Best Cheese Ball***

Jessica S.

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained (8oz)
1/4 Cup chopped fine green onion
2 teaspoons chopped fine green bell pepper
dash of season salt (or just plain salt)
1/2 Cup chopped walnuts

Mix and roll in a ball ( or just put in a dish). Roll in another 1/2 cup chopped nuts (or if in bowl cover top. Refrigerate and serve with crackers.

Oilve Tapenade Dip/Spread

from Ina Garten, Foodnetwork

1/2 pound good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced (I used mostly kalamata but also some green olives)
3 tablespoons capers, drained
8 anchovy fillets (I left these out)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup good olive oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (I used 1/4 tsp crushed dried thyme)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 baguette, sliced and toasted (I used crackers)

Combine the olives, capers, anchovies and garlic in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and pulse 3 times. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, thyme and parsley and process until chunky. Keep refrigerated.

Serve on toasts, french bread slices, etc.

Roast Beef Bruschetta Appetizer

Kirsten R.

Recipe Found Here

1 loaf (1 lb.) baguette French bread, cut into 30 (1/4 in) slices
2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
½ cup chive-and-onion cream cheese spread
* ½ lb. thinly sliced cooked roast beef (from deli)
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
4 plum (roma) tomatoes, thinly sliced
8 medium green onions, sliced

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush both sides of bread slices with oil. (I sprayed them with my Presto oil sprayer to make the coating lighter). Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 5 minutes or until crisp. Cool 5 minutes.

Spread cream cheese over each bread slice. Top with beef; sprinkle with pepper. Top each with tomato slice and onions.

Makes about 30 bruschetta.

* Can substitute roast beef with ham or turkey if preferred

Cucumber Salsa

(Johan G.)

2 cucumbers, chopped (no seeds)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup green bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (no seeds, this is optional)
1 small onion, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsp lime juice
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 tsp minced fresh parsley
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp salt

Mix everything, cover, refrigerate. Sometimes I use dried parsley and cilantro, as well as garlic powder, if I don't have them fresh. Served well in a flour tortilla!

Black Bean Dip

(Elaine R.)

1 Tablespoon oil
2 strips uncooked bacon
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
2 cups black beans, washed
8 cups water (a little less for a 4 quart pressure cooker)
salt
chips

Add the oil to pressure cooker and place on high heat. Add onions, garlic, and bacon and saute for 5 mintues stirruing constantly. Add beans and water. Close lid tightly. Follow general pressure cooker directions and process for 45 minutes.

Once pressure is reduced, open lid. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and simmer on low until desired amount of liquid remains. Mash if you like and serve with chips.

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip

(Kellie G.)

Great football party dip.

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
24 ounces chunk chicken breast or 2-3 boiled chicken breasts, shredded
8 ounces buffalo hot wing sauce
1 small bottle (8 ounces) chunky blue cheese dressing
2-3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
French bread, celery, crackers, etc for dipping

Mix cream cheese, chicken, wing sauce, and blue cheese together and put all in crock pot, until melted (leave out the cheddar cheese). Set crock pot on high for 30 minutes to get everything melted fast, or leave on low setting for 3-4 hours. If using oven mix all in casserole dish, place in oven at 350˚ for 25 minutes. Cut up slices of french bread and celery, crackers and anything else that sounds good for dipping.

Fresh Fruit Kabobs

(Heather C.)

Much more popular than a regular serving bowl of fruit, these will go extremely fast! You can make a day ahead and cover in the fridge with plastic wrap. Use any fruit you want, but rememeber some like apples or bananas will turn brown.

1 bag grapes
1 container strawberries
1 pineapple
1 extra large cantaloupe, or 2 small
1 bag long wooden skewers

Cut strawberries in half and slice pineapple and cantaloupe in small chunks. Start wooden skewer with:

3 grapes
2 cantaloupe chunks
2 pineapple chunks
2 strawberry slices
2 cantaloupe chunks
3 grapes

Place on large platter to serve, makes about 20.

Apple Dip

Light cream cheese tastes just as great. This is an easy recipe to double.

1 package cream cheese, 8 ounces
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 bag Toffee bits

Mix cream cheese, sugars, and vanilla with electric mixer. Add toffee bits and stir by hand. Dip in apples!

Pico de Gallo

(Pioneer Woman Cooks blog)

5 plum (Roma) tomatoes (firm, not soft)
1 small onion, or half of 1 large
3 jalapeno peppers
1/2 - 1 bunch cilantro
1 fresh lime
salt
tortilla chips

Cut the ends off the jalapenos and chop them into a small dice. To reduce the spiciness discard seeds from the peppers. Place peppers in a large bowl. Do not remove seeds with your fingers, the heat of the pepper seeds can burn your skin if rubbed in, use a small spoon or wear gloves! (can you tell that comes from my personal experience)?
Dice the tomatoes and onion and add to bowl with jalapenos. Chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. You can cut off the long stems before you start, but there's no need to peel the leaves from the stems. Chop cilantro until it's relatively fine, but not minced. Add cilantro to bowl and stir.
Cut lime in half and squeeze one half or the whole lime over the mixture in the bowl. Add salt to taste, remember the tortilla chips or other accompaniment will likely be salty. Stir all and serve with tortilla chips. Store in container in refrigerator (I like to chill mine at least 1 hour before serving, but you don't need to).

If you don't finish eating it as a dip, it makes a great quesadilla filling too!
Quesadillas too!
whole wheat flour tortillas
cheese
pico de gallo

Place one tortilla in frying pan over medium heat. Add cheese and pico and then place one more tortilla over top and heat until cheese melts and it's as crispy or soft as you like your quesadilla to be. Yum!
recipe & photo found here

Five Layer Dip

(Oma J.)

1 can Castelberry’s Hot Dog Chili sauce (original)
Black olives, sliced
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Spread Chili Sauce on a large plate, heat in microwave until warm, 2-3 minutes. Layer olives and then cheese. Put a big spoonful of sour cream in the middle of the plate and serve dip with chips.