dips and spreads

December in the kitchen – Cheddar beer dip
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December in the kitchen – Cheddar beer dip

Do you end up with lots of odd bits of cheese during the holidays? Maybe the pieces are not so pretty to put out “as is” anymore, but too good to toss into the garbage? Here is a way to use them up. This is a good choice for game day with crackers and celery; and it is a no-brainer with beer. I’ve served it as part of a spread with chicken wings, perfect food for watching sports on TV.

This is actually a “non-recipe”; there isn’t any real cooking involved. That doesn’t make it any less satisfying or delicious. The recipe for cheddar-beer dip or spread has been in my files for many years. I don’t know where it came from, maybe some long forgotten blender book?

I call this cheddar beer dip because I usually have odd bits of cheddar in the fridge; it would equally good with almost any cheese, even blue.

Cheddar beer dip

Cheddar beer dip

Cheese Dip

  • 8 oz. of softened cream cheese at room temperature
  • ¾ cup of beer, your choice
  • 8 oz. of aged cheddar or other cheese, diced
  • 1 clove of garlic
  1. Place the softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup of beer in your blender container, cover and blend on high speed for about 20 seconds or until smooth.
  2. Add ¼ cup of beer, 8 oz. of cheese, and garlic. Cover and blend for another 20 seconds or until smooth. You may need to stop to scrape down the sides.
  3. Empty into a bowl and chill before serving.

I used white extra sharp cheddar and garnished with with ground cumin and crushed chili Aleppo for color.

IMG_2194

Cheese dip – Cheddar and Beer

I haven’t tried this, but I think it would be equally good using cider in place of beer, especially if you served it with apple slices.

cheddar beer dip with celery, apple slice and cracker

cheddar beer dip with celery, apple slice and cracker

I’m taking this to the party at Fiesta Friday sponsored by Angie from the Novice Gardener. Please join us.

fiesta-friday-badge-button-i-party-1

December in the kitchen – Pickle marinated chicken leg quarters
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December in the kitchen – Pickle marinated chicken leg quarters

I have to admit it; I am still kicking myself over the loss of that pickling brine from the red beets. Do you remember, I poured the extra brine down the sink just as the deliciousness of it sunk in?! I cannot seem to get it out of my head. Would you say my brain is pickled? Maybe if you know me!

So, when we recently finished a jar of pickled asparagus, I didn’t make the same mistake. I saved it. Pickled asparagus is delicious with softly scrambled eggs and goat cheese, that’s how we finished off the jar last weekend. The big asparagus season comes in March and April here in California, but there have been some tiny thin ones in the store. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised as it has been sprouting in my garden as well. I usually pass by the thin ones, preferring the larger and more flavorful stalks. But, asparagus pickle juice and fresh asparagus hmm; the combination caught my imagination.

Pickle brine

Pickle brine

“Bon appetite” had an article for pickle brine marinated fried chicken a few months ago. I don’t do a lot of frying but thought I could use that idea for some roast chicken thighs. The asparagus could roast at the same temperature, maybe some sweet potatoes as well. They would add a sweet note to the sharpness of vinegar.

I made a simple version of a blender mayonnaise to go with the chicken and asparagus.

I was very happy with the results.

Pickle brine marinated chicken thighs

  • 4 chicken leg quarters
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups of left over pickle brine (mine was asparagus brine, recipe below)
  • Olive oil
Pickle brined chicken leg quarters

Pickle brined chicken leg quarters

  1. Pat the chicken pieces dry and place in a large bowl. Add the pickle brine, it should cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.
  2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F
  3. At the end of the brining, pat the chicken dry and put in a roasting pan, skin side up.
  4. Place into the preheated oven. You can add the sweet potatoes at this same time if you are baking them to go with the chicken.
  5. Roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until brown and juices run clear. You will put the asparagus into bake at the 1 hour mark.
  6. Trim and the asparagus, put into a baking pan in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and grated parmesan. Place in the oven for the last 15 minutes (if your asparagus is thicker, it could need 20 minutes).
asparagus

Roast asparagus

Asparagus sauce – blender mayonnaise with pickled vegetables

Blender mayonnaise with pickles

Blender mayonnaise with pickles

  • 1 cup of salad oil, I used ½ cup canola and ½ cup olive
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon dry powdered mustard
  • 2 tablespoons of pickle brine
  • 4 tablespoons of chopped pickles (asparagus, green beans, golden beets, cucumber pickles). Same as were in the brine.
  1. Into the container of a blender put the egg, mustard, pickle brine, and ¼ cup of the oil.
  2. Cover the container and blend at low speed.
  3. Immediately uncover and add the remaining oil in a steady stream (try to do this in about seconds).
  4. Switch the blender to high for 5 seconds.
  5. Add the chopped pickles and blend until a smooth puree.
  6. Serve with the chicken and roast asparagus.
roast chicken quarters with asparagus and sweet potato

roast chicken quarters with asparagus and sweet potato

You could use brind from any kind of pickle although I’m not sure about sweet ones. Let me know if anyone tries it.

Brine from Pickled Asparagus with Tarragon and Garlic (from Saving the Season by Kevin West).

  • 1 1/2 cups white-wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked
  • 2 allspice berries, crushed
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • six 4 inch sprigs of tarragon
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  1. Bring all the ingredients to a boil, remove from the heat and steep for 15 minutes.
  2. Cool if using as a marinade.

If you are interested in the full pickle recipe, I can send it to you.

I’ll be taking this to Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen, Full Plate Thursday.

November in the kitchen – Pumpkin Humus
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November in the kitchen – Pumpkin Humus

This idea for this came from Rana in Dubai, she writes the blog Zaatar and Quinoa which features healthy vegan food. She recently posted a recipe for sweet potato humus, which is quite yummy. I wondered how it would be with pumpkin, I think of pumpkin as the November vegetable.

I adapted the recipe slightly. It’s still vegan, vegetarian and gluten free. I think this would be perfect served as part of a holiday meal.

Pumpkin Humus

Pumpkin Humus

Pumpkin humus

  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • ½ cup of cooked pumpkin or winter squash
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Juice and finely grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of Tahini
  • 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Pomegranate seeds or cilantro to garnish

Toast the sesame seeds and ground cumin in a small dry skillet. Watch closely, they will burn easily. Remove them to a small plate to cool.

Once cool, place all the ingredients above in your food processor or blender and puree. You may need to add water to thin it to the proper consistency. Blend until smooth.

Serve drizzled with additional olive oil and garnished with pomegranate seeds or cilantro.

This humus would be good in a pita bread sandwich with some left over turkey! How would you serve it?