A Tale of Two Dips

Tags

appetizer, Cinco de Mayo, dip, jalapeno, Mexican, queso, ranch

Cinco de Mayo is nearly here. It’s one of my favorite times of year because the blogosphere is full of delicious Mexican dishes of every variety. If I were forced to choose only one cuisine I had to eat for the rest of my life, it would be Mexican. Real Mexican. Not the Tex-Mex, cheese dip covered stuff you can get anywhere.

With that said- here are two great dips that maybe tend more toward north of the border… But they taste amazing… Who really cares where something is from as long as it tastes DIVINE?!

On a trip to Texas a couple of years ago, I ate at Chuy’s and loved their creamy jalapeno dip. I have been trying to recreate it ever since. When I found the recipe below, I was absolutely tickled to death. I love it’s fresh flavor and that it can be served with chips or veggies for those low carbing. Try it! I know you’ll love it!

Creamy Jalapeno Dressing

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup mayo
• Juice and zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 green onion, chopped
• Small handful cilantro
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeds and stem removed (use gloves!)
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend for 10 seconds. Check consistency. If too thick, add a bit of buttermilk. Store in an air-tight jar in the fridge.

Who doesn’t love a good queso? With delicious, creamy cheese. Just enough spice. The American cheese melts amazingly well and is about $6/lb at the deli counter. You will be so in love with this dip that you won’t want to eat anything else. 

Queso Blanco

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup white onion, diced
• 1 large jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed, using gloves
• 12 oz white American cheese, shredded
• 4 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1/4-2/3 cup cream, depending on the consistency
• 1 roma tomato, seeds removed and diced
• 1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Cook the onion and pepper until softened and reduce heat to medium-low. Add the shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of the cream. Stir until mostly melted. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, and additional cream a little at a time until you reach desired consistency. Serve with chips.

Both recipe are from Confections of a Foodie Bride.

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Peppered Brie

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appetizer, brie, cheese, food, peppered, umami

I love brie. Who doesn’t? This brie is special. It’s rind is studded with cracked pepper. Imagine spicy creamy umami.

There are so many great uses for this brie. Besides as a delicious appetizer.

Mixed Mushroom and Brie Sliders with Balsamic Reduction

Brie, Basil, Bacon and Blue Grilled Cheese

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Brie Grilled Cheese

Black Truffle and Parmesan Popcorn

Tags

black, cheese, fancy, food, gluten free, parmesan, popcorn, snack, truffle

This recipe is almost as quick as popping a bag into the microwave and the result is WAY more impressive than that highly processed crap. Maybe you can pop up a big bowl, snuggle on the couch with the one you love, and watch a good movie or play Scrabble. Happy Weekend!!!

Black Truffle and Parmesan Popcorn

• 1/4 cup black truffle infused olive oil
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp black truffle butter, melted 
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy bottom pot with a lid, combine the olive oil and popcorn kernels. Place on the lid and heat over medium high heat. As the oil heats and the kernels brown, they will begin to pop. Every couple of seconds, heartily shake the pot so that the unpopped kernels settle to the bottom of the pan. When most of the popping stops, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the butter over the popcorn evenly. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

The Cheese Woman….

Tags

cheddar, cheese, food, hickory, smoked, Troyer's

One of my favorite blogs is The Canada Cheese Man, a blog completely devoted to cheese. I love it because the author reviews all varieties of cheese, the popular and the more obscure. I have loved every cheese I have tried thus far. The Cheese Man is inspiring me to try more.

Today’s Cheese- Troyer’s Hickory Smoked Cheddar

Troyer’s has well over 75 different cheeses sold under their label. According to their website, it is a family owned business that sells to family owned businesses. I bought it at  the Old Town Amish Food Store in Berea, KY. (This is a pretty neat place. If you are in the area, you should check it out.) The cheese was $4.28 for about 8 ounces.

The cheese has pizzazz but would not be classified as “sharp”. The smoked flavor is nice but not overpowering.  I really like the firmness of the rind, with its nice basket weave pattern. It is in slight contrast of the firmness of the cheddar. The cheese is not a soft cheese but is less firm than the generic cheddar you would buy at the grocery. (Maybe this is because of the increased processing and decreased freshness of mass produced cheese?!) This would be a nice cheese eaten with crackers or on a sandwich as it would hold up well against other flavors. I like this cheese a lot. Probably will buy it in the future too. If you try this, let me know what you think…